A popular arts group that celebrates diversity was denied a grant last month by the Sarasota County Commission.
Now, a private donor says he'll pay for it.
Sarasota County businessman Hugh Culverhouse Jr. and his wife, Eliza, announced they are giving $107,643 to Embracing Our Differences.
The organization creates school lessons about diversity and tolerance. It also hosts an annual art exhibit which displays works that promote inclusion and respect.
Sarah Wertheimer is with Embracing Our Differences.
She says the donation is a lifeline.
"We were really concerned that we were going to have to cut back some of our programming," she said. "And now, with this funding, we no longer have that fear. We instead have hope. It is going to allow us to not only continue our year-round education programming and our annual exhibition, but to also expand that programming and reach more people in our community and beyond."
It's not the first time Culverhouse has stepped in to finance a program cut by Sarasota County commissioners.
Earlier this year, he paid to have United Way Suncoast’s 211 helpline service active for another year after the Sarasota County Commission cut $109,000 of its funding.
Embracing Our Differences was one of three arts groups denied funding by the Sarasota County Commission.
Last summer, the group canceled a show celebrating diversity and inclusion that was scheduled to be shown at the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota.
It came after college officials asked them to remove several pieces.
One showed a Black child wearing a shirt with the words "justice" and "equality" and surrounded by civil rights imagery — and another of pregnant women talking to a group of men about bodily autonomy.
Sarasota arts groups continue to reach out to potential donors after losing funding from both the county and the state of Florida.
In June, Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed $32 million in arts and culture grants from the state budget.
