Overview
The Arts Program considers presenting institutions (or “presenters”) — such as performing arts centers and festivals — to be a fundamental vehicle through which the foundation can support performing artists nationwide.
Presenters connect artists and audiences by supporting the production, marketing and presentation of performances, master classes, commissions, residencies, lectures and community-based projects.
The Presenting Institutions Initiative supports three categories of presenters:
- Leadership Presenting Institutions – The foundation considers leadership presenting institutions to be presenters of national significance with annual performing arts budgets of more than $3 million. The foundation supports these large institutions through grants that combine artistic program support with matching endowment support.
- Mid-Sized Presenting Organizations – The foundation considers presenters with annual performing arts budgets of $500,000 to $3 million to be mid-sized presenting organizations. The foundation supports mid-sized presenters through the Mid-Sized Presenting Organizations Initiative, which is administered by the Nonprofit Finance Fund. The initiative provides diversified financial support and customized technical assistance to 17 grantees that were selected in 2005 through a national competition.
- College and University Presenters Program – This program was launched in 2006 to provide artistic program and matching endowment grants to leading campus-based presenters, and to support a re-granting program for innovative projects that integrate the performing arts into campus life and the surrounding community.
Background
From 1997 to 2001, the foundation approved $44 million in grants to 17 leadership presenting institutions and nine mid-sized presenters, predominantly for artistic programming and matching endowment support.
In 2001, the foundation commissioned an evaluation of its Presenting Institutions Initiative grants, and learned that while endowments are appropriate for large presenters – which typically have boards with significant financial resources that enable them to raise their endowment matches – the same is not true for mid-sized presenting organizations.
The evaluation recommended that the Arts Program consider a more flexible and diverse range of funding strategies for mid-sized presenters. In 2003, the Arts Program engaged a consortium of consultants to research and design the Mid-Sized Presenting Organizations Initiative, which was launched in 2005 and is administered by the Nonprofit Finance Fund.
To further broaden the foundation's support for the presenting community, the foundation launched its College and University Presenters Program in 2006.