Nonprofit Agency Selected for Program on Self-Sufficiency

A nonprofit center in Venice dedicated to preserving public art was one of two Southern California groups chosen to participate in a program aimed at making such agencies financially self-sufficient, the group announced Monday.

The Social and Public Art Resource Center, or SPARC, a 20-year-old agency that creates and preserves murals, will participate in the Ford Foundation’s Working Capital Fund for Minority Cultural Institutions. The 4-year-old program allows mid-sized agencies to hire a business manager and develop a business plan that will be funded up to $75,000.

The Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Little Tokyo was the other Los Angeles-area recipient.

SPARC relies heavily on grants from Los Angeles’ Cultural Affairs Department and private donations, said spokesman Sydney Kamlager. With an income generated from the sale of its own products, the agency would be less subject to goals set by outside funding groups, he said.

Officials at SPARC plan to sell products developed through their year-old program which uses digital computer technology to reproduce mural images. The images have been reproduced on vinyl to make portable murals. They also are exploring ways to make their digital computer laboratory mobile so it can be used in workshops in other communities.