Atlanta, GA — November 15, 2024 — South Arts is pleased to announce the launch of a new grantmaking initiative, Cultural Sustainability, which will award approximately twelve organizations located among its nine-state region with general operating grants totaling more than $1.14 million.
In partnership with The Wallace Foundation, Cultural Sustainability launches as part of a national $6.6 million program offered by the six U.S. Regional Arts Organizations (USRAOs), acknowledging the invaluable contributions arts and cultural organizations of color make in our communities and the broader cultural landscape. The national program is designed to provide general operating support and collaborative learning opportunities for arts organizations rooted in communities of color with annual operating expenses under $500,000. Each USRAO has developed a unique granting program and guidelines for their region, totaling approximately 100 grants nationwide.
“We’re thrilled to take part in stewarding this major support across our region,” said Susie Surkamer, President and CEO of South Arts. “Through this program, we look forward to growing our knowledge and understanding of how community-based arts organizations can advance our region’s sustainability and well-being through the arts and culture, while also highlighting their work at the helm of their communities.”
Funded in part by the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, South Arts’ program will strive to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion within the arts sector while learning how organizations that have historically been underrepresented advance sustainability. The initiative is guided by the question: How do arts organizations founded by, with, and/or for communities of color define and develop their well-being and that of their communities? Through this program, South Arts aims to provide support that benefits the communities of selected organizations and develop new knowledge and insights to catalyze broad impact.
“We're excited to introduce Cultural Sustainability as a new initiative at South Arts, though this concept has long been central to our mission. This marks a significant milestone in our journey toward realizing that vision,” said Joy Young, Ph.D., South Arts’ Vice President of Programs. “The program is dedicated to amplifying the unique heartbeat of each community among our region, recognizing organizations that excel in engaging their audiences and fostering a sustainable ecosystem where the arts can thrive.”
Through South Arts, Cultural Sustainability will award grants to a broad range of organizations encompassing the full scope of arts and culture disciplines and operational structures that engage and support communities of color among South Arts' nine-state region: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Eligible grant recipients may include, but are not limited to, designated nonprofit organizations, private entities, fiscally sponsored artist/ensemble organizations, and/or state and federally recognized tribal governments.
In addition to the grant, recipient organizations will also have the opportunity to participate in collaborative learning experiences rooted in themes, such as repair, solidarity, healing, wellness, preservation, and advocacy.
This new initiative 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, enhance understanding of their contributions to community. Through this work, Wallace aims to help to build a more equitable and sustainable arts ecosystem.
As Cultural Sustainability grants will be administered by each of the USRAOs within their individual and multistate regions, applications for South Arts’ program will be open through February 5, 2025. There will be an informational webinar in early December 2024 for organizations considering to apply. For more information on the program, eligibility, or to apply, please visit southarts.org.
About South Arts
South Arts advances Southern vitality through the arts. The nonprofit regional arts organization was founded in 1975 to build on the South’s unique heritage and enhance the public value of the arts. South Arts’ work responds to the arts environment and cultural trends with a regional perspective. South Arts offers an annual portfolio of activities designed to support the success of artists and arts providers in the South, address the needs of Southern communities through impactful arts-based programs, and celebrate the excellence, innovation, value and power of the arts of the South. For more information, visit www.southarts.org.
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
About the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta
Since 1951, the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta has been leading and inspiring philanthropy to increase the vitality of our region and the well-being of all residents. With more than 70 years serving the Atlanta region and a robust team of experts, the Community Foundation expands its philanthropic reach and impact by providing quality services to donors and bold, innovative community leadership committed to equity and shared prosperity. The Community Foundation is a top-20 community foundation among 800 nationally, with approximately $1.2 billion in current assets, and is Georgia’s second largest foundation. For more information, visit: cfgreateratlanta.org or connect with the Foundation via Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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