(BURLINGTON, NJ) -- Arts Ed NJ, the statewide nonprofit dedicated to ensuring access to a comprehensive arts education for all New Jersey students, is thrilled to announce that it has been awarded a $40,000 grant from the New Jersey Cultural Trust as part of its record $1.04 million in Fiscal Year 2025 Institutional and Financial Stabilization Grants for Arts Organizations.

This grant will allow Arts Ed NJ to create a new part-time staff position focused on supporting the organization's development initiatives and fundraising efforts. This critical investment will help strengthen Arts Ed NJ's financial stability and operational capacity, enabling the organization to continue its vital work of advocating for, promoting, and providing resources for arts education across the state.

"We are deeply grateful to the New Jersey Cultural Trust for this generous grant, which will have a transformative impact on our organization," said Wendy Liscow, Executive Director. "This funding will allow us to build our capacity to secure the resources needed to advance our new ambitious five-year vision plan and fulfill our mission of ensuring that every child in New Jersey participates in a high-impact, comprehensive arts education."

The Fiscal Year 2025 Institutional and Financial Stabilization Grants for Arts Organizations(IFS Arts grants) were recommended to the Cultural Trust by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. The more than $1 million in awards represents the largest total dollar amount the Board has approved in grant awards in a single fiscal year in the Trust’s history.

“These grants are a historic investment in New Jersey’s cultural community that will resonate for years to come,” said Lieutenant Governor Tahesha Way, who oversees the Cultural Trust in her capacity as Secretary of State. “The Cultural Trust’s unique grant programs support projects that strengthen the foundations of our state’s cultural organizations — organizations that anchor local economies, improve the health and vitality of our communities, and contribute immeasurably to New Jerseyans’ wellbeing and quality of life.”

Arts Ed NJ looks forward to utilizing this grant to enhance its development initiatives and further its vision for a state where all students have access to a well-rounded education that includes the arts.

Arts Ed NJ is a collective impact coalition of statewide partners that works to ensure that all New Jersey Prek-12 public school students participate in a high-impact, sequential, equitable arts education that celebrates diverse lived experience and artistic expression and prepares the creative leaders of tomorrow.