Campaigning for Griot nonprofit to win a $250K grant.
Our community partner, Griot Theater Company made the top 23% for the Marin County Participatory Budgeting Grant.
They were evaluated based on their proposal's alignment with the County's Equity Guide. After a "highly competitive evaluation process," they are one of the 24 projects advancing to the PB Community Ballot for voting.
Having worked with Griot since 2020, we know how much passion, dedication, and talent Griot holds. GTC has completed three years of theater making, producing nine live stage performances. Each year, they’ve trained 3 high school Griot Apprenticeship interns, 18 Young Griot Ensemble performers, and contracted with 12 adult artists.
This $250,000 grant will help them solve some of these issues:
The project is needed because there are longstanding racial disparities in the arts, particularly in underserved communities like Marin City, which has a history of systemic injustice, segregation, and disparity. Although Marin County is among the healthiest in the state (#1 on the Healthy Places Index), huge health disparities exist. Marin City is in the 45.2 percentile; more than 50% lower than the county as a whole.
The program requires that students be present at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley and MLK Academy in Marin City when mentoring and rehearsing for shows. Transporting students will need to be tightly coordinated. Griot will work with other nonprofits in Marin City (ie. Play Marin) that have vans to offer shuttle service. Additionally, students graduate and exit from the school system. Keeping the pipeline of students connected while recruiting and training the next wave causes attrition over the summer. Griot will maintain an active summer program that keeps these linkages intact.
By voting, you'll be helping marginalized public school students who have experienced long‑standing racial and economic disparity. Every year, ~350 students from SMCSD and ~500 students from Tamalpais HS experience our programs, along with families and community members. 100% of apprentices from previous years have enrolled in four‑year universities to study the arts.
Griot Theater Company is committed to creating theatrical experiences for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) artists in Marin County. This program is a theater-focused work-based learning experience for marginalized students. Griot’s mission is to create more equitable student outcomes through theater-making and nurture a culturally rich pipeline of brown and black artists. Founded in response to the school desegregation mandate for SMCSD (Sausalito Marin City School District), they ensure that students of color have a safe place to explore their culture and artistry.
Vote for Griot Theater Company: https://apps.marincounty.org/MCPBP/0
