Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund announces Arts Capitalization grant recipients
Atlanta Celebrates Photography and the Horizon Theatre named finalists along with the Contemporary
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- Scott Chester? ?
- Horizon Theatre? ?
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In October of 2013, the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund confidentially invited six arts organizations to submit ideas for how they would use a major capitalization grant. After extensive training and consultation, three of those organizations augmented their original concepts into specific, donor-ready capitalization proposals. On May 1, 2014, the plans were presented to the Arts Fund Advisory Committee: the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center was to be the single, happy recipient of a $200,000 grant to sustain a strong, long-term financial foundation and strategic plan. ?? ?
Until three days ago, this was the only known recipient. ?? ?
On Feb. 23, however, the Arts Fund announced that the remaining two finalists, Atlanta Celebrates Photography and the Horizon Theatre Company, would also receive capitalization grants of $160,000 and $180,000, respectively. The idea behind the Arts Capitalization program is to encourage the long term financial stability of arts organizations — not just keep them above water. ?? ?
“Historically, many small-to-midsize arts groups have thin financial resources and little if any cushion,” Arts Fund director Lisa Cremin said in a statement. “The Foundation’s capitalization initiative advances a healthier, more sustainable business model, not only for individual organizations, but for the region’s small and midsize arts organizations overall. Being ‘well capitalized’ means that an arts organization has the resources to meet its artistic mission; build reserves for stable operations; has access to cash for artistic programs in their strategic plan; pays staff leaders fair salaries; and is able to take care of facilities and fixed assets.” ?? ?
By providing these monetized resources, the pilot program facilitates stable operations: fair salaries, well maintained facilities, and the cash necessary to meet artistic missions. In other words, if something unexpected were to happen, these organizations would have the liquidity required to recover. ?? ?
The program is the result of years of research and education, during which the Arts Fund worked with the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), based in New York. A leader on nonprofit financing, NFF has provided educational programs on capitalization to regional Atlanta art groups and donors — in addition to training nonprofit consultants in developing capitalization plans. Funding for the capitalization program came from the Zeist Foundation, Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, and R. Howard Dobbs, Jr. Foundation. Other supporters include the Coca-Cola Company and PNC Bank. ?? ?
“Our intent all along has been to create a groundswell rather than just make a single grant,” Cremin said. “All of this won’t happen overnight. There is tremendous work to be done. But everything about the pilot encourages us to push ahead.” ??