Arts groups all over Brooklyn are bracing for the discontinuation of funds from Altria/Phillip Morris, as the company changes it’s philanthropic focus. From the New York Times:

The city’s arts world is bracing for the money to run out. Arts groups as varied as the Urban Bush Women in Brooklyn and the Dance Theater Workshop in Manhattan are hustling to find other companies, hedge funds or real estate developers to replace Altria’s grants.

Karen Brooks Hopkins, president of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, said she was initially stunned when she learned that Altria would discontinue its funding, which included a $375,000 donation last year.

The company has been the primary sponsor of the academy’s Next Wave Festival since its inception in 1983, and Ms. Hopkins and her staff are seeking new sponsors.

“They did it because they saw the vision. They got it,” she said. “It’s hard to get money for the arts. It’s even harder the more experimental and unusual the program.”

The separated companies will continue to make charitable contributions but are expected to spend most of their money in areas other than New York.