The Macon Film Festival, Cox Capitol Theatre, the Tubman African American Museum and a few other local cultural organizations and venues stand to gain from portions of a just-announced $77,000 Knight Foundation national arts grant.

Beverly Blake, the foundation’s local program director, said Tuesday that funding for “innovative arts programming” was awarded based on “ideas and initiatives that will create an informed and engaged” community.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, among other philanthropic efforts, seeks to further the arts in places where the Knight brothers once owned newspapers. Along with The Telegraph, the Knight Ridder newspaper chain used to own Georgia papers in Columbus and Milledgeville.

The Macon Film Festival will receive $20,000 to expand its reach and recruit higher-quality films as well as market the city as a movie-making destination.

“It’s gonna really give us the chance to branch out and network and research larger festivals to help give us a path on what we need to do in order to help our festival grow,” said Tabitha Walker, one of the festival’s co-founders.

The Cox Capitol Theatre is getting $10,000 to help “new and emerging local artists to perform” and to help them rent the venue for functions.

“It will benefit the Capitol because it will be used more often, and it will benefit our smaller arts and culture organizations because they will be able to utilize the theater,” Blake said.

She added: “Arts not only will engage residents and get us more involved in our community, arts is good business. Arts is economic development.”

Jim Coleman, executive director of the Macon Arts Alliance, said his organization’s $10,000 grant from the foundation will be used to promote its annual Fired Works ceramics-and-pottery exhibition and show as a Southeastern event.

He said the foundation “wants to see what you can do, and when you show them what you can do, they help you get to the next level.”

Said Coleman: “We’re very pleased to get (the grant).”

Other groups receiving grants: Macon Symphony Orchestra ($15,000), Tubman African American Museum ($16,000) and the Hayiya Dance Theatre ($6,000).

Blake said the grants will be given out in the coming weeks and that others will be made as more groups come forward with ideas the foundation embraces.

“What we are excited about is the opportunity to ask people to let us know about great and creative arts ideas and projects that they have that we may be a part of,” Blake said.

To contact writer Joe Kovac Jr., call 744-4397.