Non-Profit Phila. Dance Organization Loses Major Source Of Funding, Will Go Dark At End Of Year
By Molly Daly
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- Dance Up, an organization that provides a range of services to Philadelphia's dance community, will go dark at the end of the year after the loss of a major source of its funding. Now, the non-profit is exploring ways to transfer its most valuable services to other organizations.
In a statement, the William Penn Foundation said with more than 600 cultural institutions across the region, it's sometimes faced with difficult decisions about where to invest its finite resources.
Dance Up Executive director Lois Welk says unlike a project grant -- in which money must be spent on a specific project -- the William Penn Foundation grant was essential for keeping the lights on.
"This is an issue that is much bigger than Dance Up: that sources for general operating are few and far between for artistic organizations," Welk said.
But Welk says despite the setback, the beat goes on.
"It's a kind of a three steps forward, one step back situation. But Philadelphia is a dancing city, and it is one of the most important cities for dance in America," she says. And one more thing, "Go see live dance!"