Capitalization

Grantmakers in the Arts defines capitalization as “the accumulation of the resources an organization needs to fulfill its mission over time,” specifically regarding financial health. Capital is money saved in order to respond to challenges and opportunities. Capital is different from revenue (which is immediately spent), and from assets like endowments or facilities (which are not available as liquid cash that can pay expenses). It has been the norm for the nonprofit arts sector to be poorly capitalized, an issue which disproportionately affects organizations of color. In response, GIA embarked on the National Capitalization Project (NCP) in 2010. Since its launch, GIA has provided resources, conferences sessions, publications, and workshops on nonprofit capitalization. GIA’s Capitalization and Nonprofit Financial Health Workshops are specialized workshops, held separately for funders and nonprofit grantees, focusing on what each group can do to support the financial health of nonprofit arts and culture organizations. GIA has also updated the workshop to reflect the financial impacts of the pandemic and to reflect a racial equity lens. These workshops are available either in-person or online by contacting workshops@giarts.org.

Capitalization and Risk

March 26, 2015 by giarts-ts-admin

Capitalization has been a hot topic in the arts funding community — and in these very pages — in recent years. Funders and cultural organizations alike are increasingly invested in the capital structures that undergird a vibrant cultural sector. Driven by a shared desire to increase artistic vitality in the Greater Boston area, two GIA members — the Barr Foundation and The Klarman Family Foundation — are taking a closer look at how capitalization supports their grantees’ ability to both take and manage risk.

March 19, 2015 by Steve

Rebecca Thomas finishes her six myths piece for Associated Grant Makers:

In my last piece for In Philanthrophy, I offered three recommendations for how grantmakers can overcome commonly held misconceptions about the role of money in strengthening nonprofit effectiveness. I encouraged funders to: support comprehensive capitalization planning, reward financial management practices that promote surpluses and savings, and consider seeding cash reserves as a source of funds for handling and taking risk. Here, I share three additional myths that get in the way of healthy nonprofit finances and suggest funder practices that, in my experience, create an environment more supportive of organizational success.

March 10, 2015 by Steve

From Rebecca Thomas, writing for Associated Grant Makers:

February 6, 2015 by Steve

In 2009, TDC published Getting Beyond Breakeven, a study commissioned by the William Penn Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts, which reviewed the capitalization needs and challenges of arts and culture organizations in Philadelphia. This study, also commissioned by the William Penn Foundation, is divided into two major sections.

Capitalization, for Art’s Sake!

September 19, 2013 by Steve

Rebecca Thomas writes for the GIA Reader:

December 28, 2014 by Steve

Lessons Learned about Change Capital in the Arts: Reflections on a four-year evaluation of Nonprofit Finance Fund’s Leading for the Future initiative, a report from Alan S. Brown and Arthur F. Nacht, takes stock of a four-year evaluation of Leading for the Future: Innovative Support for Artistic Excellence (LFF), an experimental $15 million funding initiative administered by Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) with support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF).

January 18, 2011 by Steve

From her blog Jumper:

Sarah Lutman: Just Say No

December 12, 2010 by Steve

From her blog, Speaker:

When you go to the Grantmakers in the Arts website you can read two documents there that provide deep background on a conversation GIA members are having about trends in their work and how their grants shape the financial and artistic vitality of the nonprofit cultural sector. The reports posted there are the result of a literature review and then meetings to discuss capitalization in the nonprofit arts sector (and lack thereof).

Read the full post.

An Oversupply of Art? (Janet's Blog)

November 8, 2010 by Steve

Janet Brown posts to her blog:

October 18, 2010 by Steve

From the GIA 2010 Conference blog, Arlene Goldbard reports on the discussion of Capitalization, a focus topic of the conference: