Walker International Communications Group

Show Me the Money

This article examines the decision-makers and the process of funding arts organizations

© Copyright Donna Walker-Kuhne

Where does the money come from and who controls the flow of income for non-profit cultural institutions? Understanding and mastering the dynamics of this flow often leads to the financial success of an organization. Having worked in this industry for over 20 years, I have observed the success stories and the failures and it boils down to one thing - understanding the power and effectiveness of generating and smartly investing money and building cash reserves. The business of funding the arts is challenging because there is scarce funding allocated for the arts in this country. Therefore, it was with great interest last November that I accepted an invitation to serve as one of eleven panelists recommending funding for 181 applicants to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Theater and Musical Theater Division.

Throughout the week, eight hours a day, we read, discussed and advocated organizations we felt worthy of public funding. Our criteria were to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed programs with a uniform system to score each application. Our task was to recommend the applications that best exemplified artistic excellence and artistic merit.

While this was a noteworthy effort and a very important one, I was concerned about the lack of applications from African American cultural organizations. Of the 181 applications, less than one quarter represented non-white organizations. Less than 10 of the applications were from African American arts organizations. This translates to a small percentage of our cultural organizations seeking funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (at least in this category). One of the advantages of receiving funding from this important agency is that it serves as an acknowledgment of credibility from the funding community. This grant can then be used to leverage funding from other public and private sources. It is not the only funding source that carries this weight, but it is an important one. Therefore we need to be present in significant numbers.

As a panelist of African American descent, I was concerned about making sure funding is evenly distributed, but there are guidelines. Just because the applicant shares my history doesn't guarantee a successful grant. Therefore, I had to separate my desires to fund all African American organizations to following the prescribed rules with the intent to be as equitable as possible. In several instances, it was quite obvious that the organization was a novice in completing the application and competitively did not rank high because of this. Does this lack of expertise diminish the value of their proposed project? Probably not, but when you have limited dollars to grant awards, this criterion becomes significant and helpful in making distinctions.

When I questioned arts organizations about their fundraising efforts (including my sister who runs an African dance company in Chicago) I was told that it takes too much time to complete the applications or they don't have staff to complete them and in any case they believe they will not be awarded a grant. So there are two problems: lack of applications to potential funders and lack of funding appropriated to communities of color. If we are not applying for the funding how can we expect to receive the grants? How do we bridge the gap?

This past June, I was invited along with 14 other individuals including a university president, performing visual and music directors and artistic directors of major cultural institutions, to participate in a think tank meeting to offer ideas to a prominent foundation on future directions for the Foundation's performing arts program. This Foundation will receive an infusion of $2billion dollars and felt it important to seek counsel of experts in the field. I admired their decision to select a diverse group of 'thinkers' from the arts community to help direct their efforts. As the day progressed, it became clear to me how important it is for African Americans to think about art from a business point of view. We examined current needs in the performing arts, and discussed emerging issues that should be funded. We weighed the usefulness of small grants versus large grants, money for artists to create versus producing already existing works. I realized that African Americans have to become more sophisticated about how we curate, run, develop and build our cultural institutions. Organizations with an accumulated operating deficit, or that exhibit poor management are not considered. It's about being competitive. Where are we in this picture? There is a national focus from the funding community to be inclusive but there are strict requirements for being invited to the table. We have to find a way to present not only excellence in our art but also to become savvy business mavens.

In my next article, I will examine trends and solutions that address these issues and are being implemented in today's non-profit cultural arena.