Online votes cast Nov 1-20 are a key factor when the Levitt Foundation selects up to 15 winners
Waterville, Maine — Waterville Rocks!, the free, family-friendly summer concert series hosted by the Waterville Opera House and Waterville Creates!, is now in the running for a $25,000 grant to expand to a 10-week live music series at Head of Falls in downtown Waterville next summer. Created in 2016 to provide free live music programming for the community and animate downtown Waterville, the series has grown in popularity each year and now needs to rock the vote as the Top 25 grant finalists will be selected through online public votes cast November 1st – 20th. The Levitt Foundation will then review the proposals of these 25 finalists and will select up to 15 Levitt AMP winners, who will be announced on December 18, 2018.
Sponsored by the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation, a national foundation dedicated to strengthening the social fabric of America through free live music, the Levitt AMP [Your City] Grant Awards are an exciting matching grant opportunity designed to serve small to mid-sized towns and cities with populations up to 400,000. Up to 15 nonprofits will receive $25,000 each in matching funds to produce their own Levitt AMP Music Series—an outdoor, free concert series featuring a diverse lineup of professional musicians.
Waterville Creates! submitted the proposal to expand the existing Waterville Rocks! concert series to a weekly, 10-week series in 2019 and relocate the events to Head of Falls next to the new RiverWalk in downtown Waterville. The past three summers, the concert series has consisted of four evening concerts in Castonguay Square. Waterville’s proposal is now posted on the Levitt AMP website for public voting.
A successful campaign for Waterville Rocks! depends on community participation to get as many online votes as possible to bring the concert series to town. Community support, as measured by the number of online votes received, will be one of the key factors when the Levitt Foundation selects up to 15 winners.
Supporters are asked to visit https://grant.levittamp.org/voter-registration-page/ to register and vote. Online public voting opens on November 1 and ends November 20 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time. The top 25 finalists will be selected through online public voting. The Levitt Foundation will then review the proposals of these 25 finalists and will select up to 15 Levitt AMP winners, which will be announced on December 18, 2018.
“This is an incredible opportunity for this growing community event as we head into the planning phase for year four of Waterville Rocks!,” says Shannon Haines, President and CEO of Waterville Creates! “Strong attendance during this past summer’s Waterville Rocks! proves that our community wants more free and accessible arts programming, and is especially interested in live music. This funding would allow us to continue to provide a high-caliber concert series while utilizing the amazing new greenspace adjacent to the RiverWalk at Head of Falls.” Waterville Creates! provides funding and marketing support for Waterville Rocks!, which is supported by a variety of community sponsors.
Waterville Creates! asks supporters to start spreading the word to family, friends, colleagues and neighbors and rally the community to sign up and vote for the Waterville Rocks! proposal.
Learn more about this grant opportunity at http://levittamp.org
About Waterville Rocks!
Waterville Rocks! is a free, family-friendly concert series held in downtown Waterville’s Castonguay Square. Established in 2016 by local business leaders and arts-focused organizations, Waterville Rocks! has become an annual community celebration of all-things-music held in the great outdoors. Keep up to date on all the latest and greatest news and event updates at operahouse.org/watervillerocks/ or on Facebook at facebook.com/WatervilleRocks.
About Waterville Creates!
Waterville Creates! is a non-profit on a mission to promote, support, and grow greater Waterville’s arts and cultural scene. Collaborating with regional arts and culture cultural institutions and their supporters, together we are strengthening our community as a vibrant center, increasing access to creative opportunities. Learn more at https://www.watervillecreates.org and learn more about our ongoing community capital campaign for the Downtown Arts Center at http://www.downtownartscenter.org.