NORWICH – A state grant program for arts and cultural activities administered by the Chenango County Council of the Arts now includes three counties – Chenango, Broome and Otsego.

The New York State Council on the Arts offers the grant monies through its Decentralization (DEC) program, which seeks to foster arts-related activities in rural areas by giving funding to non-profit organizations. The Chenango Arts Council has administered the DEC program locally since 1986. In 2003, the Norwich-based organization began running the same program for Broome County. Now, for the 2011 funding cycle, they’ve added Otsego County to their roster.

“NYSCA is moving toward a regionalization model for this program,” stated CCCA Development Coordinator Michelle Connelly. “We were pleased to be invited by NYSCA to administer DEC in Otsego County as well.”

The program was previously run in Otsego County by the Upper Catskill Council of the Arts, which has undergone staff and organizational changes in the last year which rendered it ineligible to administer DEC under state guidelines, Connelly said.

With the three-county program, a total $72,670 is available for cultural grants up to $5,000 – $18,826 for Broome, $28,844 for Chenango and $25,000 for Otsego in 2011. DEC is available to all non-profit organizations, including municipalities and artists sponsored by a non-profit, in each of the three counties. Locally, the DEC program helps fund Colorscape, the Blues Festival, the Smyrna Citizens Band and programs at various libraries and churches throughout the county.