Talk about a legacy!
A fund created in honor of late rapper Mac Miller has announced plans to award 75 microgrants to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC).
According to Billboard, The Mac Miller Fund — which was established by the Miller family in 2018 — will award grants of $1,000 to 75 BIPOC artists to help them with their work.
The BIPOC Artist Micro-Grant program was created by the Pittsburgh Foundation’s Center for Philanthropy with funds provided by the Mac Miller Fund.
“This program is yet another wonderful example of how the fund is channeling Mac Miller’s spirit in the Pittsburgh region and the rest of the country,” said Pittsburgh Foundation President and CEO Lisa Schroeder in a statement. “As his fame skyrocketed, he shared his musical artistry generously — allowing people to internalize it however they would choose, and he reached out broadly. While there is much more work to be done in supporting racial diversity in our region’s arts community, we are grateful to the family of Mac Miller and our Center for Philanthropy staff for collaborating to develop such a powerful program.”
Vice President of the Foundation’s Center for Philanthropy also added that the grant program is on a mission to “carry forward Mac Miller’s creative and artistic legacy and his family’s vision for helping artists, particularly younger artists, recognize their full potential.”
This is nothing new for the Mac Miller Fund as the organization previously donated $100,000 to a music program for teens in the “Objects In The Mirror” emcee’s hometown of Pittsburgh. The donation was given to the Homewood-Brushton YMCA to fund its partnership with the nonprofit Tuff Sound Apprenticeship which is dedicated to training young adults on how to become sound engineers.
The program is open to artists who live in the following counties: Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Mercer, Lawrence, Somerset, Venango, Washington, and Westmoreland.
Applications for the program open July 23 and a selection committee will inform grantees of their decision by Sept. 1.
Click here for more information on how to apply.