Charlene Victor and Ella J. Weiss Cultural Entrepreneur Fund
The Charlene Victor & Ella J. Weiss Cultural Entrepreneur Fund honors the legacy of Brooklyn Arts Council’s founder, Charlene Victor, and former president, Ella J. Weiss, a passionate advocate for the cultural life of the borough. Victor and Weiss paved new paths for generations of Brooklyn-based women artists and arts leaders. This annual grant will provide awardees with the necessary support to leverage their creative passions with the entrepreneurial skills necessary to maintain sustainable creative careers.
About this Grant
The Charlene Victor & Ella J. Weiss Cultural Entrepreneur Fund is designed to support the professional development of Brooklyn's emerging and mid-career women artists and arts administrators. Charlene Victor founded Brooklyn Arts Council in 1966. Victor created a platform to support individual artists in Brooklyn through vibrant arts programming and services. She expanded the mission of the organization to provide grants to artists in 1980 and was dedicated to creating equity in access to arts experiences for Brooklyn residents.
Ella J. Weiss served as Brooklyn Arts Council's President from 1999–2015. In that time, Weiss expanded programs and brought stability and leadership to the organization, forging the foundations for our prominent force in the cultural scene. Under her leadership, Brooklyn Arts Council enhanced its partnerships with the borough and with city and state agencies, and introduced innovative new professional services for artists and cultural groups.
Funding is made possible by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs.
Charlene Victor, Brooklyn Arts Council Founder and Executive Director 1966–1991
Ella J. Weiss, Brooklyn Arts Council President 1999–2015
GRANTEE HIGHLIGHTS
Beryl Briane Ford
Beryl Briane Ford
Charlene & Ella Cultural Entrepreneur Fund | 2022
Beryl engaged in a 12-month executive coaching program with CauseEffective, an organization committed to cultivating the next generation of nonprofit leadership. She received tailored one-on-one coaching that addressed the following areas of growth: (1) Strategies to develop and execute a fundraising plan under COVID; (2) Guidance to strengthen her case for support to maximize fundraising campaigns; (3) Approaches to identify new donors and cultivate relationships; (4) Guidance on how to establish her organization's Development Department priorities and maximize her team‘s impact.
Raquel Acevedo Klein
Raquel Acevedo Klein
Charlene & Ella Cultural Entrepreneur Fund | 2021
Raquel participated in a year-long producer academy program, which trained her on how to executive produce a live performance, music-theater work, and opera, using her Puerto Rico project Se Levanta as a case study. The program was divided into eight units, which covered topics on producing, including: creating proposals for pitching projects to performing arts venues/festivals; devising a creation budget; fundraising; contracting; managing production and tech, marketing, documentation; and touring a live performance project.
Persephone Da Costa performing with Bantigua Arts during Brooklyn Arts Council’s 2022 Grantee Celebration. Photo by Will O’Hare.
Persephone DaCosta
Charlene & Ella Cultural Entrepreneur Fund | 2020
Persephone took a traditional and contemporary dance and drum classes in Ivory Coast West Africa. The funds went towards flight a to Africa, tuition for the two dance intensives, and payments in the village for her training. She stayed one week at the world renown Rose Marie Giraud School of Dance and Cultural Exchange in Abidjan. Next, she went to the village of Toufinga to witness authentic mask dances and drumming. Persephone also did a day intensive at Afrik Art Dance and trained in Contemporary Dance with a youth performing artist, Michel Kafando.
2024 GUDIELINES
The guidelines below apply to the Charlene Victor & Ella J. Weiss Cultural Entrepreneur Fund.
ELIGIBILITY SELF-CHECK FORM
This 5-minute self-check questionnaire helps you understand eligibility requirements. BAC hopes that this short checklist will allow you to see if you can apply and what you will need to submit.
2024 APPLICATION
BAC’s 2024 applications are now closed.
2024 INFO SESSIONS
Missed something during BAC’s live Info Sessions? Don’t worry! Info sessions are available on-demand.
TIPS FOR WINNING A BAC GRANT
In this mini-series, we spoke with four Grantees who shared tips on how they scored really high with panelists on certain parts of the BAC grant application.
1) Work Samples, Non-duplication & Narrative with Benjamin Akio
2) Narrative & Community Support with JP Howard
3) Budget & Narrative with Marj Kleinman
4) Work Samples with Yasmin Mistry
WELLNESS CARE PACKAGE
Wellness practitioners across Brooklyn present mini-motivational demos, workshops, and exercises that calm anxiety, promote courage, and interrupt procrastination and stagnation during the grant application process. Episodes feature Cheryl Walpole-Tiku, Maraliz Campos, Oluadare Bernard, Salomé Egas, and Olaronke Akinmowo.
BECOME A GRANT PANELIST
BAC’s 2024 applications are now closed.
Want to become involved with Brooklyn Arts Council's grantmaking efforts? We welcome you to become a panelist for our upcoming cycle of grant applications.
QUESTIONS?
Is your question missing from our F.A.Q. page? Contact our grants department at GRANTS@BROOKLYNARTSCOUNCIL.ORG.