Three Kentucky organizations receive $40,000 in NEA Big Read funding

Grants support community reading programs

FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 29, 2016) — Three Kentucky organizations have been selected as grant recipients of more than $40,000 for The Big Read, a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) initiative that supports community reading programs.

The NEA Big Read’s goal is to broaden understanding of the world, communities and individuals through the joy of sharing a good book. Managed by Arts Midwest, this initiative offers grants to support innovative community reading programs designed around a single book. The NEA Big Read supports organizations across the country in developing community-wide reading programs which encourage reading and participation by diverse audiences.

Gateway Community and Technical College in Florence received $12,100 to build a program around “A Lesson Before Dying” by Ernest J. Gaines. Ashland’s Paramount Arts Center received $14,000 for a program centered on Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Pennyroyal Arts Council in Hopkinsville received $14,000 for its program on books by Edgar Allan Poe.