The number of small arts and cultural organizations in Salt Lake County is booming — and it may have consequences for the way taxpayer funds are distributed in the future.
The Zoo, Arts and Parks (ZAP) program will fund more groups than ever this year with $2.2 million split among 183 organizations. But since the county had less than the approximately $3.4 million applicants requested this year, almost every group got less than it asked for, according to program director Kirsten Darrington.
And she expects competition for these grants for smaller groups, called Tier II awards, will only become tougher in coming years, which could result in a slight decrease in awards per organization.