The Evanston Arts Council announced its recipients of the 2020 Cultural Fund Grants on Wednesday.
The program directs money from the city’s general fund to support a variety of art organizations across the city. This year, the fund awarded money to 21 recipients, including local groups such as Evanston Present and Future, the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian and Northlight Theater.

After getting input from an equity working group, the Council redesigned its application process to be more streamlined, and loosened the qualifications to enter. The changes were intended to make the grant process more inclusive, and resulted in 65 percent more applicants this year.

The number of organizations supported by the grant also increased from 12 groups in 2019, and 71 percent of the groups awarded are intended to serve the city’s BIPOC residents. This stemmed from the easier application process, as well as the fact that projects serving underrepresented groups were given special consideration, a news release said.

The changes to the fund are intended to reflect the needs of the community, as well as the disproportionate impact COVID-19 has had on marginalized groups.

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