The Bravo Annual Awards Gala has been held on the first Saturday in February for the last 15 years and is always an event to remember. It is a celebration of arts and culture in our community and the perfect showcase for the work Bravo does year-round. But, like so many of the cultural organizations we support, Bravo has been hit hard by the pandemic. Our revenue is 99.9% funded through hotel/motel taxes which were down 20% for FY20 and are budgeted to be down 50% for FY21. While the Bravo Awards Gala is the most visible thing Bravo does, our most essential role is to provide funding and support for the cultural sector. So that we can focus on that work, we have made the difficult decision not to host a Gala in 2021.
We are still reimagining ways to celebrate and elevate the arts in February 2021 and hope you’ll pencil us in for February 5, 2022. While no one knows what the future will hold, we are certain that arts, culture and heritage are more essential than ever and can’t wait until we can all gather together again to celebrate at the best event in town!
Questions? Please email gala@bravogreaterdesmoines.org
Until we meet again, please enjoy these videos from the 2020 Bravo Awards Gala which tell stories of Bravo’s impact:
ABOUT BRAVO GREATER DES MOINES
The Bravo Awards Gala is the perfect showcase for the work Bravo does year-round. Through investments made by 17 local communities, Bravo provides a competitive and reliable source of funding to regional arts, culture and heritage nonprofit organizations and programs. In addition to grantmaking, Bravo also measures the positive impact of arts, culture and heritage organizations on the regional economy, and leads the vision for the future by enhancing and elevating economic development and quality of life for residents and visitors throughout Central Iowa. Proceeds from the Bravo Awards Gala help offset Bravo’s administrative expenses allowing more dollars to be invested back into the arts, culture and heritage organizations that create the entertaining and thoughtful experiences we all enjoy.
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