The AMP at Sam Michaels Park

  Jefferson County Parks and Recreation Receives $90K, Multi-Year Grant to Continue
Presenting the Levitt AMP Shenandoah Junction Music Series through 2025

The expanded grant opportunity provides matching funds over three years bringing
free outdoor concerts to Sam Michael’s Park

SHENANDOAH JUNCTION (September DATE, 2022)—The Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation, a social impact funder supporting nonprofits nationwide at the intersection of music and public spaces, has announced that Jefferson County Parks and Recreation in Shenandoah Junction, W.Va., has been awarded a multi-year Levitt AMP Grant Award of $90K in matching funds to present a free outdoor music series in 2023, 2024, and 2025. As a current Levitt Foundation grantee, Jefferson County Parks and Recreation submitted its Levitt AMP proposal to continue its Levitt AMP Shenandoah Junction Music Series, which began in 2021.

The Levitt AMP Grant Awards is an exciting, multi-year matching grant opportunity bringing the joy of free, live music to towns and cities with a population of up to 250,000 people. For the 2023–2025 grant cycle, the Levitt Foundation expanded the Levitt AMP program from an annual matching grant of $25K into a three-year matching grant of $30K per year, for a total grant award of $90K. In May, the Levitt Foundation invited current grantees to reapply and submit proposals that would reflect the three goals of the Levitt AMP Awards: Amplify community pride and a city’s unique character; enrich lives through the power of free, live Music; and illustrate the importance of inclusive and vibrant public Places. All 18 returning Levitt AMP grantees were awarded $90K matching grants each to present the Levitt AMP Music Series in 2023-2025, reflecting a total grant award of $1.62 million.

In addition to returning grantees, the Levitt Foundation will award up to 10 additional U.S. nonprofits a total of $900K to bring the Levitt AMP Music Series to their communities. Following an open call for applicant submissions in June, the new Levitt AMP grant recipients will be announced on November 15, 2022.

Since 2015, the Levitt Foundation has provided funding to 38 communities across America through the Levitt AMP program, activating underused outdoor public spaces, ensuring access to the arts, and strengthening the social fabric of communities through creative placemaking. Levitt AMP concerts are intended to create inclusive experiences, where all members of the community are welcome to participate and enjoy a diverse lineup of artists, music genres, and cultural programming.

"Emerging from the pandemic, we have all witnessed the importance of community and connection on our well-being, and free, live music in public spaces is a powerful way to bring people together of all ages and backgrounds. Expanding the Levitt AMP [Your City] Grant Awards into a multi-year, $90K grant and inviting additional towns and cities into the program was inspired in part by the positive impact Jefferson County Parks and Recreation is having on the local community,” says Sharon Yazowski, Executive Director of the Levitt Foundation. “We look forward to the continued impact of the Levitt AMP Shenandoah Junction Music Series, which has energized Sam Michael’s Park, giving the community opportunities to connect in a family-friendly and welcoming environment.”

From Main Street communities to rural towns in the heart of Appalachia to historic state capitals, the 18 returning Levitt AMP grant recipients hail from across the country including rural towns with populations of less than 10,000 like Whitesburg, Ky.; Galva, Ill.; Earlham, Iowa; Shenandoah Junction, W.Va.; Soldotna, Alaska; St. Johnsbury, Vt.; and Middlesboro, Ky.*; to mid-sized cities like Berea, Ky.; Carson City, Nev.; Gallup, N.M.; Ocala, Fla.; Sheboygan, Wis.*; Stevens Point, Wis.; Utica, N.Y.; and Woonsocket, R.I.; to larger cities spanning the country including Fort Smith, Ark.; Springfield, Ill.; and Trenton, N.J.*