NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — More than 50 New Haven artists received a collective $680,000 in federal grant money on Friday.

The artists and organizations include the city’s annual Puerto Rican festival.

“It’s not just about making art, it’s about making sure communities thrive,” said Babz Rawls Ivy, the chair of the Greater New Haven Arts Council.

The funds come from the American Rescue Plan.

New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said the arts make the city better.

“That embraces everyone’s culture, that uplifts it,” he said. “That provides more resources so that we can amplify the culture within each other, and that is what today is all about.”

The groups said that the funds will be transformative.

“This grant funding allows us to take the idea of a group of people — my team — and to take an idea and turn it into reality that evolves community and culture in a meaningful and impactful way,” said Jamal Robinson, with the Change in the Air Foundation.