The Community Foundation of Broward has announced 27 recipients of the WLW Catalyst Grants, funded by Wayne and Lucretia Weiner's Donor-Advised Fund, to champion art and cultural organizations in Broward County. The grants, which provide up to $200,000 over two years, aim to enable transformative impact by strengthening existing programs, implementing bold new initiatives, increasing reach, and enhancing organizational capabilities.
More than 100 local nonprofits submitted letters of intent for the grants, which were awarded this summer. Highlights include the Stranahan House, which will use the grant to expand its reach online by creating a realistic Stranahan House within the Metaverse, allowing more people to learn about and experience this historic attraction. The Slow Burn Theatre Company plans to bolster costume and set production, launch a costume and prop rental service to generate income, and incorporate a training program focused on technical theatre and backstage trades that leads to new careers. Mad Arts will expand its hands-on art and technology training program for students and young adults in underserved communities, while also providing more support for emerging South Florida artists.
“We are grateful to the Community Foundation for introducing us to organizations unfamiliar to us. We were delighted to discover new opportunities to enliven our community and to enable more people to experience art and culture in Broward,” Wayne and Lucretia Weiner said. “We’re excited to see the transformative impact of the WLW Catalyst Grants in the coming years.”
The 27 WLW Catalyst Grant recipients include: African American Research Library and Cultural Center, Art Prevails Project, Black Violin Foundation, BLINC, Brazilian Voices, Brévo Theatre, Broward Art Guild, Broward Performing Arts Foundation, Business for the Arts Broward, Developing Dreams Foundation, Exceptional Theater Company, Florida Atlantic University, History Fort Lauderdale, Gold Coast Jazz Society, Hued Songs, Las Olas Capital Arts, Mad Arts, Master Chorale of South Florida, Museum of Discovery and Science, New Canon Chamber Collective, New City Players, Ocean Rescue Alliance International, Pompano Beach Hive Theater, The Pride Center at Equality Park, Seraphic Fire, Slow Burn Theatre, and Stranahan House.
The WLW Catalyst Grants are an extension of the Community Foundation’s longtime commitment to art and culture, one of its six leadership and grantmaking focus areas. In 2024, the Foundation provided nearly $4 million in grants for art and culture in Broward, thanks to partnerships with philanthropists. “Supporting and championing art and culture is vital to the growth of a vibrant and thriving community,” said Community Foundation of Broward President/CEO Jennifer O’Flannery Anderson, Ph.D. “The WLW Catalyst Grants are a powerful example of how the Community Foundation partners with philanthropists to support their charitable passions, so together we can transform and uplift the community we love for many generations to come.”
For more information about the Community Foundation of Broward, please visit https://www.cfbroward.org/.
