$50,000 grant awarded for 2015   

MEMPHIS, TENN. (January 7, 2015) – – – Ballet Memphis Founder and Artistic Director Dorothy Gunther Pugh announced today that the organization is a recipient of a Hearst Foundations grant. Ballet Memphis is one of only 15 organizations to receive a Culture grant in the latest funding cycle and is the only dance organization in Tennessee honored by the Hearst Foundations this year.  

The $50,000 Culture grant will be used for community and school programs, including afterschool dance programs at Knowledge Quest in South Memphis and at Leadership Empowerment Center in Frayser and need-based scholarships at Ballet Memphis School.  

“It’s an honor to be recognized for our commitment to civic progress in our community, as we nurture an appreciation of dance, the arts, and the importance of individual creative expression for everyone” said Dorothy Gunther Pugh, founder and artistic director of Ballet Memphis. “The Hearst Foundations have strict funding criteria, and we’re pleased that Ballet Memphis is included in this year’s grantees.  

“We believe in developing ‘citizen dancers,’ where not only performance and training are emphasized but also leadership development, community enrichment and pedagogy.”  

Founded by William Randolph Hearst in 1945 and 1948 and based in New York City and San Francisco, the Hearst Foundations are national philanthropic resources working in the fields of culture, education, health and social services. The Hearst Foundations identify and fund outstanding nonprofits to ensure the people of all backgrounds in the United States have the opportunity to build healthy, productive and inspiring lives.  

“Ballet Memphis has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to making the best of dance available to the Memphis community,” Mason Granger, director of grants for the Hearst Foundations in New York, said. “By offering free community matinees and discounted tickets as well as funding dance training and providing quality afterschool dance programs in neighborhoods with need, Ballet Memphis helps to further the Hearst Foundations mission.”