Capitalization, for Art’s Sake!

Rebecca Thomas writes for the GIA Reader:

In 2010, Grantmakers in the Arts put capitalization on the national arts agenda by starting a conversation about what funders can do differently to address the chronic financial weakness undermining the vitality of the sector. To advance this dialogue, Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) and our consulting partner, TDC, then went on the road with GIA, delivering Conversations on Capitalization and Community, a daylong funder workshop about the financial health and resource needs of arts and culture organizations in local communities. We convened arts grantmakers in thirteen cities around the country from 2012 to 2013.

The partners collaborating on this program define capitalization as the alignment of financial resources to support an organization’s mission for the long term. We collectively advocate for improvements to organizational capitalization because we know that stronger balance sheets enable artistic risk taking and freedom. If society demands and deserves more relevant, accessible, and dynamic art, we emphasize capitalization as the means to that end.