The YoFiFest will receive an $8,500 Art$WChallenge matching grant after a successful fundraising campaign in 2022. ArtsWestchester’s grant program rewarded the Yonkers film festival for raising $8,502 in private donations.
“(This donation) is huge because we can use the money for anything,” said Dave Steck, YoFiFest’s founder, executive producer and creative director. “A gift like this allows us to motivate ourselves, our staff, our constituents and our audiences to engage with the arts in Westchester.”
YoFiFest is one of 102 Westchester arts organizations that will receive matching funds under the program, which had a record-breaking year in 2022. Participating arts organizations raised $786,541 in new private funds from 1,320 donors through the program, and the private funds were matched with $501,571 from the Westchester County government.
“I would like to thank the individual donors to this program and Westchester County and the Board of Legislators for their long-term investment in an a matching grant program that over 16 years has paid dividends for the economy,” said Janet T. Langsam, CEO of ArtsWestchester.
Grantees included arts organizations in every corner of Westchester such as: the historic Tarrytown Music Hall (receiving a matching grant of $8,500), presenting live music, theatre, dance and film to tri-state audiences; Westchester Children’s Museum (receiving a matching grant of $8,500), a vibrant, interactive learning space for kids of all ages in Rye, NY; and the Wakanda Celebration (receiving a $5,000 matching grant), a festival of community, culture and African pride in Mount Vernon, NY.
“Since the inception of the Art$WChallenge in 2007, this powerful public/private program has raised over $6 million to support Westchester’s arts and cultural sector, matched with over $3 million in County support,” said County Executive George Latimer.
