Filmmakers Get $1 Million for Classes, Staff, New Home

Good news for local media-makers: the Bay Area Video Coalition just scored a $1 million grant, allowing the organization to expand and as it continues supporting local independent media.

The grant comes from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and will be split into several different uses: half of the money will create an endowment. A little will go towards a search for new facilities, since their lease is ending soon. BAVC may soon expand into a larger headquarters.

Other funds will be set aside for an "Innovation Fund" that develops new programs.

BAVC has been a San Francisco institution for many years, providing training and equipment for artists, public media, youth, and non-profits.

Classes range from videography to programming to sound design to photography, and are available to the public. In addition, the group recently took the helm of San Francisco's public access station.

More than 5,000 people interact with the organization in an average year.

Despite the windfall, the organization can't stop its fundraising. They need more than three million dollars on top of the grant.