Ken and Ann Bloomquist of Northport have heard reports about funding shortfalls in the state budget.

The Bloomquists are acquainted with the importance of state funding since Ken is a retired Michigan State University professor and Ann is a retired public school teacher.

Neither has fears about the future of the Northport Community Arts Center (NCAC) in Northport, however, because the organization doesn’t rely on state funds.

“We have been funded very sparsely in the past by grants through the state, just a few hundred dollars here or there. It is nothing we rely on,” Ken Bloomquist said.

The Bloomquists are founding members of the NCAC group, and helped organize the private fundraising effort to get the 450-seat facility built as part of an improvement project to Northport Public School. Like the rest of the 200 volunteers that make the NCAC work, the Bloomquists would like to see more grant funding become available to help defray the costs of bringing performing groups to Northport.

Henrietta Barnes, president of the NCAC Board of Trustees, said applications have been submitted to the Michigan Council for Cultural Affairs and the Arts to help cover the costs of bringing two approved performing groups to the facility. But, she said, the grants would only cover up to 30 percent of the performance fee. “They never really amount to much and not having them will not change our 2007 lineup,” she said.

Bloomquist said the arts group raised about $150,000 for this year’s lineup. “We can do it because of the tremendous amount of talented volunteers who are willing to help out around here. We only have one full-time paid staff person, the rest is done by volunteers,” Bloomquist said.