Frankenthaler Climate Initiative – Mar 15

Posted by Helen Frankenthaler Foundation on February 20, 2024

Frankenthaler Climate Initiative invites applications from cultural institutions for capital projects to reduce emissions

Launched by the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation in partnership with RMI and Environment and Culture Partners, the Frankenthaler Climate Initiative provides visual arts institutions with the support and guidance required to undertake ambitious sustainability and energy efficiency initiatives.

The $15 million initiative is the largest private national grantmaking program of its kind in the country supporting the assessment and implementation of energy-efficiency projects at art museums, non-collecting visual arts organizations, and art schools across the United States. The 2024 grant cycle extends the program’s impact by allowing nonprofit art events, such as biennials, to become eligible for grants for the first time.

Organizations are invited to submit applications for the 2024 grant cycle for the following categories:

Catalyst Grants: Will fund a simple stand-alone energy-efficiency project, such as at a small space or a first action at any site, and can include an additional award of in-project coaching of up to five hours. Grants of up to $15,000 will be awarded.

Scoping Grants: Will help institutions understand the energy-efficiency and clean energy opportunities at their facilities by conducting an assessment with an independent environmental engineer, building science specialist, or sustainability consultant. Grants of up to $25,000 will be awarded.

Technical Assistance Grants: Will fund advanced assessments or technical specifications, where an initial comprehensive evaluation may have been completed (e.g., site-wide master plan). Grants of up to $50,000 will be awarded.

Implementation Grants: Will directly address an institution’s climate impact and provide partial or full funding for organizations who have achieved institutional buy-in for their projects. These grants typically range from $50,000 to $100,000 and do not exceed $100,000.

Eligible applicant categories include museums, archives, and institutions whose primary mission includes visual art; higher education art schools, centers for study, residency programs; community and cultural organizations whose missions include an emphasis on visual art; artist-endowed foundations; arts organizations, including those that may not have a physical structure (but must have an ability to monitor energy consumption and/or generation); and not-for-profit events, including biennials, temporary projects, and large-scale public art exhibitions.

An information session will be held on February 15, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. ET, with applications due on March 15, 2024.

For complete program guidelines and application instructions and to register for the information session, see the Frankenthaler Climate Initiative website.

Deadline: March 15, 2024