By Steve Martarano

What happens if your Sacramento nonprofit suddenly loses an already approved $65,000 federal National Endowment for the Arts grant that was to support critical youth programming? 

If you’re the 53-year-old Latino Center of Art and Culture on Front Street, you take a step back, evaluate your next move and dance in the meantime.

“I think the biggest takeaway for us, is we persist, we resist,” said Jorge Quintana, the center’s digital curator as people filed into the space near Miller Regional Park on Aug. 1 for a dance fundraiser called ¡Cumbiatón Al Aire Libre! “This is a great reminder that art is a form of resistance, and whenever we lose, we gain.”

The youth programming was intended to support “youth, artists, programming and keeping our doors open to our community,” according to a Facebook post.

This was the center’s first fundraising dance party, Quintana said, and probably won’t be its last. About 150 tickets at $20 each (children were free) were sold for the event, he said, which enabled LCAC to make a profit. 

“We engaged a new demographic and created a positive ambiance for our community to come together and dance the night away, especially in these challenging times,” he wrote in an email.

The center has built a strong reputation in the community, known for its exhibitions and big, colorful outdoor events such as “Fiesta de Frida,” “Las Pastorelas de Sacramento” and “Oaxaca en Sacramento,” as well as featuring adult-learning programs and other year-round programming that supports seeking social justice for marginalized and underrepresented Sacramento communities.

The center had acquired a $130,000 National Endowment for the Arts capacity-building grant to be delivered in two installments, said LCAC Executive Director Bridgétt Rangel-Rexford. After receiving the first installment, the second one was suddenly rescinded, with the bad news coming through a “devastating” email, she said.

“The administration had ordered for it to be retracted, even though it was already allocated to us,” said Rangel-Rexford, who has been LCAC’s director since March. “We understand we’re not alone in this, and we understand there’s a lot of other nonprofit organizations that have been hit.”

She said there are a couple of other grants they’ve applied for and the center is looking at other funding sources such as growing its board of directors and bringing in more people to focus on fundraising.

“We are not only hoping for the best, we’re planning for the best,” she added. “All the organizations are aware of each other’s weaknesses and strengths, so we’re trying to work together to survive together and thrive. And dancing is a great way to express this resilience.”

This story is part of the Solving Sacramento journalism collaborative. Our partners include California Groundbreakers, Capital Public Radio, Hmong Daily News, Russian America Media, Sacramento Business Journal, Sacramento News & Review and Sacramento Observer. Support stories like these here, and sign up for our monthly newsletter.