Arts Forward Fund, a partnership between the Greater Washington Community Foundation, The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, and 16 other foundations and individual donors, announces grants totaling $1,048,500 to 43 arts and culture organizations in the DC region.
These grants will help organizations make essential shifts needed to sustain their work through the COVID-19 pandemic and to respond to the national movement for racial justice. A majority of the grants will be used to support expanded digital and online programming. More than 60 percent of grants and grant funding will go to organizations that are BIPOC-led and predominantly BIPOC-serving.
In response to a call for applications released in early August 2020, Arts Forward Fund received 227 applications totaling nearly $8 million.
“The volume of applications illustrates the devastating impact of the pandemic on arts and culture organizations in our region,” says Calvin Cafritz, President and CEO of The Cafritz Foundation, which made a lead grant of $500,000 to establish Arts Forward Fund. “The pandemic has exacerbated challenges for groups that have historically had inequitable access to philanthropic capital, and these grants reflect the collective commitment of our funding collaborative to prioritize those organizations.”
“Arts and culture organizations are a critical economic engine for the region and they contribute immeasurably to our sense of community and our well-being,” says Tonia Wellons, President and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “We are proud to partner on the Arts Forward Fund to bring much needed relief to these organizations that enrich our communities and touch our lives.”
Following is a list of Arts Forward Fund grant recipients, grant amounts, and a brief description of how grant funds will be used.
826DC
$25,000 to support the shift to online and small group programming, including increased training for volunteersAnacostia Playhouse
$25,000 to support the shift to digital contentArch Development Corporation
$30,000 to support transition to online programsArt Enables
$25,000 to implement an enhanced digital marketing planArt Works Now
$25,000 to support the shift to virtual programming, including an expansion of the Creative Aging programARTSFAIRFAX
$25,000 to support the WORK-SMART training series for Fairfax County arts organizationsArts on the Block
$25,000 to upgrade IT and HR capacity with a focus on equity and human-centered designArtStream
$25,000 to hire a virtual programming manager and develop a new evaluation system for online programsCoalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts (CAAPA)
$25,000 to support the shift to virtual programmingCritical Exposure
$20,000 to support the shift to digital curriculumDance Institute of Washington
$30,000 to support facility renovation and program evaluation with a focus on racial equityDance Place
$30,000 to support diversity, equity, and inclusion trainingDC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative
$50,000 to support a distance-learning database and virtual projectsDC Jazz Festival
$30,000 to support a new digital content initiativeFoundation for the Advancement of Music and Education (FAME)
$25,000 to support an online learning platformGala Hispanic Theatre
$30,000 to build fundraising capacity and create online programmingGreater Reston Arts Center
$20,000 to support digital contentHeritage Signature Chorale
$20,000 to support digital contentInterAct Story Theatre
$10,000 to support the shift to virtual and blended programsJoe's Movement Emporium
$30,000 to support the transition to a new online teaching platformKalanidhi Dance
$10,000 to support website development
Life Pieces to Masterpieces
$30,000 to support outdoor programming, PPE and safety precautions
Live It Learn It
$25,000 to support equipment and curriculum to adapt to distance learningMuseum of the Palestinian People
$20,000 to strengthen the museum’s online presence and create a new online exhibitionMusic for Life
$10,000 to support the shift to online programsOne Common Unity
$20,000 to support software and training for a digital platformP0STB1NARY
$15,000 to support online content platforms and web developmentPEN/Faulkner
$50,000 to support online accessibility (joint proposal with Split This Rock, The Writer's Center, 826 DC)Prince George's African American Museum and Cultural Center
$25,000 to support virtual programmingProject Create
$17,500 to support rebranding and marketingRestoration Stage
$25,000 to support the transition to digital programsShout Mouse Press
$20,000 to increase digital and print sales and engage a DEI consultantStep Afrika!
$30,000 to support the shift to virtual programsSynetic Theater
$25,000 to support the shift to online contentTeatro de la Luna
$20,000 to support the shift to online contentThe Essential Theatre
$25,000 to support capacity-buildingTheatre Alliance
$25,000 to support the shift to online programsUrbanarias
$16,000 to support expanded digital marketing and improved ticketing and production for digital contentWashington Jazz Arts Institute
$20,000 to support an online music collaboration projectWoolly Mammoth Theatre Company
$25,000 to support innovative online productions, anti-racism training, marketingWords Beats And Life
$25,000 to support the shift to online programsYoung Playwrights Theater
$25,000 to support the shift to online programsZora Neale Hurston Richard Wright Foundation
$20,000 to support the shift to online programs
About Arts Forward Fund
Launched in July 2020 with lead grants from The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, the Harman Family Foundation, and the Weissberg Foundation, Arts Forward Fund is a funder collaborative housed at and administered by the Greater Washington Community Foundation. Additional supporters include Linowitz Family Fund, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, S & R Foundation, Diane & Norman Bernstein Foundation, Lois and Richard England Family Foundation, Philip L. Graham Fund, Greater Washington Community Foundation, Share Fund, Walter Brownley Trust, Nancy Peery Marriott Foundation, and other individual contributors.