The Elk County Council on the Arts (ECCOTA) is a 501 (c) non-profit organization based in Elk County, Pennsylvania, a rural county located about two hours northeast of Pittsburgh. Founded in 1984 as a center for the development of all the arts in the Elk County area, ECCOTA provides a variety of opportunities to participate in the arts for the area’s residents. A wide selection of art classes and workshops for adults and children are offered. Additionally ECCOTA brings a selection of cultural programming to the area including: an annual children’s theater workshop; and programs by nationally and internationally renowned performers. ECCOTA also maintains a sales gallery featuring local art work. Since 2007 ECCOTA has administered over $325,000 in re-granted funds to over 100 projects and programs across 9 counties as a Pennsylvania Partner in the Arts (PPA). The PPA is a decentralized granting program that is a partnership between local organizations and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA). Now operating in all 67 counties in Pennsylvania, PPA re-grants funds to support a wide variety of local and community arts activities. ECCOTA also helps to administer PCA allocated Arts in Education (AIE) residencies in 5 counties. The AIE program places approved teaching artists in classrooms for 20 day residencies to provide a learning experience for the students and broaden the classroom teacher’s ability to teach their curriculum. Since 2007 ECCOTA has worked with the PA Wilds Artisan Development Work Group to develop and promote the Pennsylvania Wilds Artisan Trail (pawildsartisans.com). This DCED sanctioned trail, spans 12.5 counties and is working to develop directed tourism to promote exposure for artisans in the PA Wilds region. Since March 2014 ECCOTA has served as the administrative support for the Pennsylvania Wilds Artisan Trail, running communications, member billing and customer support for over 80 artisans and 50 trail sites (and growing).