Hamilton, March 25th, 2015 – The Hamilton Chamber of Commerce applauds Hamilton City Council for approving a $500,000 increase in the 2015 budget to establish the Arts Program category of the City Enrichment Fund. The allocation is the first budgetary increase for the Arts community in over 15 years.

Over the last five years, the city’s Art Task Force had completed comprehensive research including identifying current programs, a comprehensive survey of arts community funding needs and a comparison of municipal arts funding practices in other Canadian cities.

From an operational perspective, it will streamline the grants application for arts organizations, make the process more transparent and will hold arts and community organizations accountable for the funding they receive.

“There is a mountain of research telling us investment in the arts and music pays enormous dividends,” says Keanin Loomis, President & CEO Hamilton Chamber of Commerce.  “Organizations like Theater Aquarius, Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Supercrawl and so many others bring in significant tourist spending, positively impact our quality of life and enhance our city’s image.”

Hamilton’s low funding level compared to peer cities in Canada had arguably inhibited the growth of new and existing businesses and individual artists, all of which will be supported by programs in the proposed new funding model.

Lastly, stable funding will allow many organizations to compete for provincial and federal dollars that are contingent upon matching at the municipal level. The Hamilton Community Foundation in fact announced just before the Council vote that they would match council’s commitment with a $300,000 grant for the arts community.

To read the Chamber’s Pre-Budget Submission, go to: http://goo.gl/mRDVOr

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For more information, contact:
Huzaifa Saeed | Policy & Research Analyst, Hamilton Chamber of Commerce

T: 905-522-1151 ext: 230

h.saeed@hamiltonchamber.ca

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