Discover Kansas Arts Fund Established to Promote Arts in Kansas

(Oct. 17, 2008) Salina, KS — The Discover Kansas Arts Fund, an affiliated fund of the Kansas Rural Communities Foundation in Wamego, has recently been established to allow tax-deductible donations to this grassroots arts organization.

Discover Kansas Arts’ (DKA) mission is to promote and connect Kansas artists, arts organizations and arts businesses through marketing, networking, tourism, advertising and education.

Kansas is an art Mecca,” says Susan Howell, Wichita. “Our state has amazing artistic and cultural attractions, but I think our arts and artisans are still some of the nation’s best kept secrets.”

Howell is the chairperson of DKA’s board of directors; she and her husband, John, also publish Kansas Traveler, a quarterly publication devoted to travel and tourism in Kansas.

“Art not only enriches our communities,” says Howell, “but also provides opportunities to promote travel and tourism in our state.”

Prior to 2006, Discover Kansas Arts was called Tourism Arts Alliance of Kansas. It was formed in 1999 by the Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing, Division of Travel/Tourism, as one of several niche-marketing groups configured to promote Kansas. Subsequently, this statewide arts organization developed a website, DiscoverKansasArts.org, which continues to disseminate information about art events and individual artists.

DKA is now supported solely through memberships and private donations. “We are delighted with the Kansas Rural Community Foundation’s services and the establishment of the DKA Fund, which are making it possible to take DKA to the next level,” said Howell.

“We welcome artists of all media, art businesses and organizations, as well as art supporters, to join us,” says Loui Nossaman, DKA executive director. “DKA provides a voice that encourages public investment in art whether through purchases, appreciation, preservation or education.”

For more information about Discover Kansas Arts, visit their website at www.DiscoverKansasArts.org or contact Loui Nossaman at loui_DKA@cox.net or Susan Howell at Howell@KansasTraveler.com. For more information about the DKA Fund, visit http://www.thekrcf.org.

About the Kansas Rural Communities Foundation
The formation of the Kansas Rural Communities Foundation in 2006 as 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation created an efficient mechanism through which individuals, families, corporations, nonprofit organizations, and private foundations have been able to create funds and make gifts to benefit their communities.

Donated dollars have established scholarships, built new community playgrounds, assisted families who have children with disabilities, and aided historical preservation, just to name a few. Some of the communities that have benefited from the services provided by the KRCF include Belvue, Havensville, Norton, Olsburg, Onaga, St. George, St. Marys, Wamego, Westmoreland, and Wheaton.

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For more information about the KRCF, contact
René Eichem, executive director
Kansas Rural Communities Foundation
P.O. Box 25 | 529 Lincoln Ave. | Wamego, KS 66547
Phone: 785-456-8444 | Fax: 785-456-8443
E-mail | http://www.thekrcf.org