Millions of dollars are up for grabs for those in the arts.
VENU Holding Corp., the hospitality and live entertainment company behind Ford Amphitheater and the freshly renamed Phil Long Music Hall at Bourbon Brothers, recently announced its new VENU Arts and Culture Foundation, which will help support talent in the Pikes Peak region and increase access to the arts.
The foundation will offer $3 million in grants and scholarships to individuals and organizations, and also provide educational workshops and community concerts featuring local musicians.
VENU, founded by JW Roth in 2017, also is building restaurants, amphitheaters and indoor music halls around the country. Colorado Springs is its flagship location.
Funding for the foundation will come from private donors and revenue generated by VENU’s nationwide brands. Roth and his wife, Kilyn Roth, donated the initial $3 million.
“VENU was built off the passion we have for creating a vibrant community in every city where we plant roots,” said Chloe Hoeft, the foundation’s president. “Everywhere VENU plants roots, these foundations will also touch — creating vibrant community though grants and scholarships for kids, artists, musicians.”
Encore Grants up to $2,500 are available to any individual and organization that aligns with VENU’s goals. There is no age limit and they can be applied for annually. Scholarships up to $2,500 also will be offered. Both can be applied for online at venufoundation.org.
Anyone can apply, as long as they fit into VENU’s arts and culture mission.
“We’re happy to collaborate from a standpoint of what do you need and how can we help,” Hoeft said. “For example, it could be a student looking to buy a new guitar to join a band. Or a nonprofit putting kids through music school or looking to put a mural in a building because you’re an education building, or a middle school and you want to put a mural up to enhance vibrancy.”
Hoeft hopes the foundation will offer at least one concert next year and begin workshops to help attendees learn about arts and business.
“We’re helping them get to new places and find new information. We’re walking them through the ins and outs of the business industry,” she said.
“It’s one thing to start a band, but how do you grow and tell people about you? We’re excited to give back through education. We have so much potential from talent in the city.”
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