Colts Get Relief With Iowa Arts Council Grant

June 3, 2020

Iowa Arts Council logo
National Endowment for the Arts logo

The Colts Youth Organization is pleased to announce that it has received an Emergency Relief Fund Grant from the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. Grant funds will support ongoing operations as the entire Colts Drum & Bugle Corps 2020 summer tour was cancelled due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. The Colt Cadets Drum & Bugle Corps also had their season cancelled.

The Emergency Relief Fund Grant will, in part, allow the organization to compensate a portion of its educational faculty who are not full-time employees covered by the Payroll Protection Program. Many of the Colts design and instructional staff teach private lessons and have endured significant loss of income during the lockdown. With grant support, the Colts will be able to continue designing their next competitive program, and they hope to be in great shape for the start of auditions in the fall. Support from the Iowa Arts Council is helping the organization remain strong in their mission to serve over 600 young people annually.

“Certainly, not having a summer tour is rather devastating to our annual budget,” Colts Executive Director Jeff MacFarlane said. “All of the students’ tuition and fees had to be refunded or held for the 2021 season. We were fortunate to receive some federal funding, and we’ve had invaluable support from our donors, but we have a long way to go to get back on track before next season.”

Funding for the Emergency Relief Fund Grant is made possible by the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Colts programs serve young people who desire high levels of challenge, achievement and success, and they carry an expectation that members are committed to hard work and dedication. The organization has been in continuous existence since its founding in 1963. The Colts are proud to represent Iowans across the country each summer as “Iowa’s Ambassadors of Music.”

You can read the Iowa Arts Council press release here.

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