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 Contents Great Grants 
Upcoming September 7, 2007 October 2, 2007 December 7 2007 January 11, 2008 Fast Facts In the last five years, 40% of grants made by the Arts Fund have been multi-year grants, lasting two or three years. This sustained funding provides organizations with a greater opportunity to support the granted initiative after the end of the grant. Join Our List If this newsletter was forwarded to you by a friend, you will need to join our mailing list to get the next one. We will only send you emails like this quarterly newsletter and announcements about special events. Join here. Photo Credits Header (left to right): Studio photos for Corazón Abriendo (Heart Opening) at Several Dancers Core (2007 grantee) photo by Keiko Guest Waiting to be Invited, 2007 by S.M. Shephard-Massat at Theatrical Outfit (2007 grantee) photo by Bill DeLoach A 2006 issue of Art Papers magazine (2007 grantee) Dancers from Northeast Atlanta Ballet Ensemble (2007 grantee) perform The Nutcracker In articles (top to bottom): Ayesha Ngaujah in PushPush Theater's production of Samuel Beckett's Endgame. Muralist Shannon Lake brings ”The Gypsy” panel of the Arts Clayton Mural to life. |
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In May the Arts Fund brought together 700 arts, business, community, and civic leaders at the annual Arts Fund luncheon to celebrate the 2007 Arts Fund grantees. We welcomed back representatives from arts organizations who have received grants over the last 15 years and shared an inspirational moment with Kenny Leon, artistic director of True Colors Theatre Company. (Photos) The luncheon was made possible by the luncheon guests and our corporate and media sponsors, led by The Coca-Cola Company. Through their support the Arts Fund raised over $120,000, which will be used to help strengthen the small and midsized arts organizations that make up the foundation of Atlanta's arts community. The 2007 Arts Fund Grant Recipients 
Once a year the Arts Fund reviews applications from metro Atlanta's small and midsized arts organizations. This year, seven organizations received grants totaling $500,000 to fund new operating initiatives that will strengthen and stabilize their organizations: Art Papers will use $110,000 to fund a new development and public relations staff position for the next three years; Conyers-Rockdale Council for the Arts will improve its theatre facility with a $75,000 grant; with $75,000 the Northeast Atlanta Ballet Ensemble will hire its first business manager; PushPush Theater will also hire a business manager with $68,000; Several Dancers Core received $50,000 to establish a fund development staff position; and $75,000 will create a full-time group sales staff position at Theatrical Outfit. The Spruill Center for the Arts will receive $20,000 from the Arts Fund and an additional $50,000 from the Boston-based Fidelity Foundation to expand its staff and offer online class registrations. In addition to the above grants, the Arts Fund also awarded $27,000 to fund Arts Stabilization Toolbox awards and projects in the coming year (see article below). In over 15 years of grantmaking, the Arts Fund has awarded more than $5 million in 124 grants to 62 organizations in metro Atlanta. In The Field: Milestones For Our Grantees 
Actor's Express hired Freddie Ashley as producing artistic director. (2006 grantee, 2005 Toolbox) True Colors Theatre Company hired Wendy Riggs as managing director. (2006 grantee, 2005 Toolbox) Arts Clayton received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to partially fund the Arts Clayton Mural project. (2002 grantee) Youth Ensemble of Atlanta (YEA) received a grant from Theatre Communications Group’s New Generations Program to mentor YEA alumnus and current staff member, Ife Okwumabua to become a Future Leader in the arts. (2004 grantee) Predrag Gosta joined the staff of Gwinnett Ballet Theatre as music director. (2007 Toolbox, 2002 grantee) Atlanta Celebrates Photography hired Michael David Murphy as program manager. (2005 grantee) The Spruill Center for the Arts announced that it is building a new 45,000 square foot art center and gallery complex on land it owns in Dunwoody. (2007 grantee, 2006 Toolbox) This space is for announcements of our recent grant or Toolbox recipients. Please submit items to jphillipson@atlcf.org. Our Impact: The Arts Fund in the Community
Lisa Cremin serves on the executive committee of the board of Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA), a membership organization that explores ideas about arts philanthropy within a diverse community of grantmakers. In October both Lisa and Josh Phillipson will participate in the annual GIA conference in Taos, New Mexico. At the Council on Foundations' 2007 Fall Conference for Community Foundations, Lisa Cremin and Arts Fund board member and Kendeda Fund advisor Barry Berlin will lead a discussion on leveraging an outside donor's funds to support foundation grant recipients. Since 2003, the Kendeda Fund has given more than $2 million to the Arts Fund for support of small and midsized arts organizations. Four Organizations Receive Toolbox Awards
The Arts Stabilization Toolbox Award is granted three times annually to arts organizations who apply with a specific organizational challenge. Recipients are matched with a management consultant and work with the Georgia Center for Nonprofits to complete their project. In June, four organizations were selected to receive Toolbox awards: Atlanta Lyric Theatre received an organization assessment; Conyers Rockdale Council for the Arts will complete a strategic plan for the next three to five years; New Arts Exchange will develop an organization plan with a focus on its facility; and Ruth Mitchell Dance Theatre will complete an organization assessment and develop a hiring plan. Additional Toolbox awards will be awarded after the September and December application deadlines. A full list of Toolbox recipients is available on the Arts Fund website. Americans for the Arts Study: Arts & Economic Prosperity "Nationally, the nonprofit arts and culture industry generates $166.2 billion in economic activity every year—$63.1 billion in spending by organizations and an additional $103.1 billion in event-related spending by their audiences." Americans for the Arts has released a study that documents the key role played by the nonprofit arts and culture industry in strengthening our nation’s economy. Arts & Economic Prosperity III: The Economic Impact of Nonprofit Arts and Culture Organizations and Their Audiences demonstrates that the nonprofit arts and culture industry is an economic driver in communities—a growth industry that supports jobs, generates government revenue, and is the cornerstone of tourism. In addition to the national report, which brings together the findings from 156 communities across the country, Americans for the Arts has produced a separate report with just the data from the Atlanta community. To see how Atlanta compares to other cities around the country, download the Atlanta Report (word, 3mb). |
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 Moving in the Spirit's mission is to positively transform the lives of young people through dance with programs that inspire, educate, and unite them to become compassionate leaders. Grants: 2005 - $75,000 to create a new, full-time development director position. The development director will strengthen its relationships with supporters, enhance marketing efforts, tap new sources of support,and stabilize its funding for the long term. 2003 - $30,000 for a working capital reserve. Photo: Dancers perform in “The Right Time,” a piece inspired by the American Blues era. 404-624-5295 |
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Moving in the Spirit 
"The most terrifying are the months when funding is promised but not yet in,” says Dana Lupton, founder and artistic director of Moving in the Spirit (MITS). That may have been the case for Moving in the Spirit, but in 2001, an Arts Fund grant allowed the organization to build a working capital reserve. Now MITS can “weather lean times” and keep its programs on track using the money when it is needed and replenishing it when the revenue becomes available. A cash reserve is handy but a steady stream of income is crucial. In 2005, another Arts Fund grant helped Moving in the Spirit address this by funding a full-time development director position. Lupton says that having a focused development staff has allowed the organization to diversify its funding streams and connect fundraising to positive PR such as its 2006 Coming Up Taller Award from the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. The Arts Fund grant supported the development position for three years, giving the organization time to build a base of support large enough to fully sustain the position after the grant ends. It is that time that Lupton credits with making the Arts Fund’s stabilization grants so effective. To Moving in the Spirit, stabilization means allowing the organization “to go from (focusing on) day-to-day existence to the big picture,” and giving the organization the tools it needs to “dream and create.” |
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