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This press release originally appeared on the US RAO website.
New grant from the USRAOs and The Wallace Foundation will distribute $6.6MM to arts organizations with annual operating expenses under $500k.
Cultural Sustainability, a new grant program offered by the six U.S. Regional Arts Organizations (USRAOs) in partnership with The Wallace Foundation, provides general operating support to organizations with annual operating expenses under $500,000 that are rooted in communities of color.
Cultural Sustainability acknowledges the invaluable contributions arts and cultural organizations of color make in our communities and the broader cultural landscape. This pilot program will endeavor to support and understand how small, community-based arts organizations can advance their sustainability and well-being.
“This initiative seeks to directly impact smaller, grassroots organizations that, historically, have been under resourced by funders,” says Christian Gaines, chair of the USRAO collaborative and executive director of the Western States Arts Federation. “Through this program, which includes grants, peer-learning, and technical assistance, we hope to support these organizations as they continue their impactful work enriching the cultural fabric of our nation.”
Cultural Sustainability grants will be administered by each of the USRAOs within their individual, multistate regions. The USRAOs are a national collective of place-based nonprofit arts service organizations comprising Arts Midwest, Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA), Mid Atlantic Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), South Arts, and the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF). Applications will open for each RAO in the coming weeks and months. More information can be found at usregionalarts.org/cultural-sustainability-grants/.
In total, at least 100 Cultural Sustainability grants will be given out nationwide. Grant amounts will vary per USRAO, ranging from $10,000 to $150,000 per award. Each USRAO has developed a unique granting program and guidelines for their region.
A broad range of arts and culture organizations and businesses are encouraged to apply for Cultural Sustainability grants. Eligible grant recipients may include, but are not limited to, designated nonprofit 501(c)3 organizations, fiscally sponsored artist/ensemble organizations, and/or state and federally recognized tribal governments.
This opportunity is part of The Wallace Foundation’s Advancing Well-Being in the Arts initiative, which funds arts organizations rooted in communities of color to advance their well-being and enhance understanding of their contributions to community. Through this work, Wallace hopes to help to build a more equitable and sustainable arts ecosystem.
“When The Wallace Foundation launched the Advancing Well-Being in the Arts initiative in 2021, we knew it would be vital to support and learn from a range of arts and culture organizations rooted in communities of color, and we’re thrilled to partner with the USRAOs to support these efforts,” said Bahia Ramos, vice president of arts at Wallace. “The Cultural Sustainability grant program will be especially vital for organizations with smaller budget sizes and will allow Wallace to better understand the USRAOs’ practices and regions as we look to help create a more equitable and thriving arts sector.”
Cultural Sustainability in Each Region
New England Foundation for the Arts
Folks in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont:
Learn More About NEFA's Cultural Sustainability Grant
Visit our sister Regional Arts Organization’s websites to learn more about Cultural Sustainability in each region, including application timelines, grant amounts, and specific guidelines:
Arts Midwest
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin
Mid-America Arts Alliance
Arkansas, Kansas, MIssouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas
Mid Atlantic Arts
Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia, and West Virginia
South Arts
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee
Western States Arts Federation | WESTAF
Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Colorado, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
About the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations
The United States Regional Arts Organizations (USRAOs) are a collective of six nonprofit arts service organizations committed to strengthening America’s infrastructure by increasing access to creativity for all Americans. We serve the nation’s artists, arts and culture organizations, and creative communities with programs that reflect and celebrate the diversity of the field in which we work. We partner with the National Endowment for the Arts, state arts agencies, individuals, and other public and private funders to develop and deliver programs, services, and products that advance arts and creativity. Together, the USRAOs work to activate and operate national arts initiatives, encourage, and support collaboration across regions, states, and communities, and maximize the coordination of public and private resources invested in arts programs. In Fiscal Year 2023, the USRAOs invested over $18.4 million across the United States and Jurisdictions, through nearly 2,400 grants that reached more than 1,000 communities
About The Wallace Foundation
Based in New York City, The Wallace Foundation is an independent national philanthropy whose mission is to help all communities build a more vibrant and just future by fostering advances in the arts, education leadership, and youth development. Wallace aims to help solve problems facing the fields in which it works, benefiting both the organizations it funds directly and the broader field by developing credible, useful knowledge to inform policy and practice nationwide. Research commissioned and produced by the foundation is available without charge at www.wallacefoundation.org