Funding for arts service orgs – Jun 9 (letters of interest)

Posted by Wallace Foundation on May 24, 2022

Wallace Foundation invites applications for field studies by arts service organizations rooted in communities of color

The mission of the Wallace Foundation is to foster equity and improvements in learning and enrichment for young people and the arts for everyone.

As a part of the foundation’s five-year initiative intended to support arts organizations rooted in communities of color as they explore strategies for achieving organizational resilience (ability to adapt and thrive) while retaining their relevance (mattering to their communities), the foundation invites arts service organizations serving and prioritizing such arts organizations to propose research projects that answer important questions related to the arts communities they serve. As used here, the foundation defines arts service organizations serving these communities as organizations, networks, collectives, or associations founded by and for arts and culture communities of color, which play a role in advancing the interests and practices of those constituencies.

Proposed studies should address key issues of importance to the work of the arts service organization while also providing important learnings about the field of arts organizations founded by, with, and for communities of color. Proposals may be submitted for one of two types of studies:

Research planning and implementation: Grants of up to $250,000 will be awarded to work with a research partner to develop a research plan and conduct a research project involving data collection, analysis, and reporting. Organizations awarded these grants will also receive advice from research methods advisors and arts service organizations of color mentors on research design.

Research expansion: Grants of up to $500,000 will be awarded to work with a research partner to scale up or refine an existing robust research design and implement an expanded research project. These proposals should include a detailed research plan and the rationale for the project and its expansion in terms of scale, depth, or additional components, how results will be used, and how they will be disseminated.

Topics of research projects could include but are in no way limited to structural and contextual features that impact organizations, associations, networks, and collectives founded by and for artists and arts communities of color; histories and strategies of arts service organizations rooted in communities of color, and their role in the arts ecosystem; Indigenous organizational models and art ecologies; cooperative fundraising, organizing, and economic models used by arts organizations of color; forms of and approaches to the assessment of organizational impact by arts organizations of color; and cross-sectoral work being conducted by arts organizations of color, such as organizational strategies and collaborations intersecting with the fields of education, community development, and public health.

Letters of intent are due June 9, 2022, and selected applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal by August 19, 2022.

For complete program guidelines and application instructions, see the Wallace Foundation website.

Deadline: June 9, 2022 (Letters of Intent)