FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Venice, FL – May 13, 2020 – Gulf Coast Community Foundation has awarded The Venice Symphony a $30,000 Arts Appreciation Grant in response to the COVID-19 crisis. This grant comes at a crucial time for The Symphony, after the orchestra was forced to cancel its final four performances at the Venice Performing Arts Center in 2019-20 and Jazz with Pizzazz, its biggest fundraising event of the year.

“The continued support of Gulf Coast Community Foundation has been vital to The Venice Symphony’s success and growth,” said Executive Director Christine Kasten. “The impact of this  grant, doubling Gulf Coast’s investment in The Venice Symphony at this challenging time, cannot be overstated. We are so grateful to the Foundation and its Board of Directors for all they have done for our organization and the community.”

Founded in 1974, The Venice Symphony is a 501(c)(3) professional orchestra deeply rooted in its community, offering concerts from November through May, special events and long-standing music education programs for all ages throughout the year. The orchestra is led by Music Director/Conductor Troy Quinn. The Venice Symphony’s 2020-21 Concert Season at the Venice Performing Arts Center begins on November 20, 2020. Learn more at thevenicesymphony.org.

For 25 years, together with its donors, Gulf Coast Community Foundation has transformed our region through bold and proactive philanthropy. Gulf Coast is a public charity that was created in 1995 through the sale of the Venice Hospital. Since then, it has become the philanthropic home of nearly 1,000 families, individuals, organizations, and businesses that have established charitable funds there, and together they have invested more than $370 million in the areas of health and human services, civic and economic development, education, arts and culture, and the environment. Learn more at GulfCoastCF.org.