National Capitalization Project

Grantmakers in the Arts offers Conversations on Capitalization and Community, a new design to the successful full-day funder workshop that was offered in 14 cities between 2012 and 2014. Responding to feedback from members, the day is now two workshops - one for funders and one for their grantees. Local funders will meet for three hours focusing on how their actions can improve the financial well-being of their grantees. A follow-up three-hour workshop will then be offered to grantees discussing the same principles but underscoring what actions they should take to secure financial health. Since nonprofit stability and sustainability relies on the local marketplace, these workshops held in your community or region review financial principles and actions that can be taken by both funders and their grantees to change the under-capitalized nature of the nonprofit arts sector.

The highly rated workshop develops a common vocabulary about capitalization and identifies its universal application for financial health of the nonprofit arts sector in the local marketplace. Each discussion reveals how funders can change their policies and practice to have more candid discussions about finances with their constituents and how nonprofits can approach funders about financial need that is not programmatic. Conversations are designed and facilitated by Rebecca Thomas & Associates and Janet Brown, Grantmakers in the Arts. Conversations on Capitalization and Community can be scheduled for 2015 by contacting Janet Brown or SuJ'n Chon at Grantmakers in the Arts.

Progress Report on GIA’s National Capitalization Project (.pdf, 316 Kb) (2014).
Helicon Collaborative was commissioned to help Grantmakers in the Arts understand the value of its local funder workshops presented in 2012 and 2013 and other GIA programs activities since we began our focus on capitalization in 2010. The results are a progress report on this continuing work.

Critical Steps Toward Capital Health in the Cultural Sector (.pdf, 61 Kb) (2014).
A Capitalization tip-sheet authored by Rebecca Thomas, Nonprofit Finance Fund, and Holly Sidford, Helicon Collaborative.

National Capitalization Summary (.pdf, 399 Kb) (2010).
Summary and conclusion of convenings including a “set of common practices” agreed upon by Project participants that could, if implemented by funders, improve the financial stability of the nonprofit arts sector.

Capitalization Literature Review (.pdf, 525 Kb) (2010).
Discussion was informed by a comprehensive literature review on the subject of capitalization compiled by TDC, Boston.