An Atlanta Church and a Theater Nonprofit Find Sanctuary Together

Investments into the arts serve as significant economic catalysts. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, legacy foundations like the Heinz Endowments, Benedum Foundation, and Richard King Mellon Foundation pooled their resources to create the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, which supports art and culture in the city’s downtown districts. By purchasing and refurbishing existing real estate, as well as lending support to smaller initiatives like the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company, PCT’s investments have served as an engine of growth for the city.

Coaching in strategic partnership allows arts nonprofits to build their capacity. Based in Minneapolis, Artspace offers its capacity-building workshop program, Immersion, to nonprofits in several cities, in including Detroit and Memphis. The workshops connect local art organizations to specialists in real estate and financing, allowing them to build partnerships or find new space in which to operate.

Amplifying local culture, history, and food through the arts increases tourism and can revitalize areas struggling with depopulation. The Hammana Artist House, a collaboration between a philanthropist and Collectif Kahraba, a local theater non-profit in Hammana, Lebanon, has resulted in an arts program that attracts new visitors to the town. In addition to the village’s historic cherry festival, the collaboration has resulted in a new artist residency program and projects that enhance the identity and visibility of the community.

Renewing distressed economies can be done through reinvesting in arts and culture. By building successful partnerships with rural Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) like the Woodlands Community Lenders (WCL), the town of Thomas, West Virginia, has found a new identity as a hub of arts and culture after the collapse of its coal-based economy.

Real estate cooperatives are able to raise capital from their members, ensuring re-investment in the communitie they serve. In Oakland, California, the East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative (EB PREC) finances real estate acquisitions through California’s cooperative ownership model. EB PREC also works with partners from the Sustainable Economies Law Center and the People of Color Housing Network, which provide additional resources and expertise.

There is a substantial argument for increased involvement of private companies in venture philanthropy. Unlike large government bodies and NGOs, private companies are more nimble and experienced when it comes to strategies in marketing, R&D, creating pricing structures, and adapting to rapid social change. Three companies in India are seeing real results by serving India's poorest customers with a market-based approach.

Empowering young entrepreneurs fosters new, sustainable, and inclusive approaches to design and fashion. In Brazil, designers from Aglomerado da Serra, a favela in Belo Horizonte, are using up-cycling to make a more sustainable—and inclusive—fashion brand. The brand, Remexe, represents just one of the projects undertaken at Lá da Favelinha, a cultural center and showcase of novel ideas from the favela. With the support of grant funding, designers from Remexe also held a workshop in Bristol, helping their colleagues in the UK create a sister social enterprise group, Re:Wurk.

Performance art provides a healing outlet for formerly incarcerated individuals. In New York City, the Ritual4Return program encourages participants to express the transition in their lives through art. Using an artistic expression helps individuals cope with the experience of incarceration and encourages them to reflect on crossing the threshold into the next stage of life. The program operates with the support of grants from universities, foundations, and private donations through a Kickstarter campaign.

A more diverse theater scene requires arts and culture organizations that embrace and reflect communities of color. In Detroit, Michigan, the nonprofit Black and Brown Theatre works to eliminate barriers for actors of color. The organization fosters a supportive network, casting actors, directors, and staff from communities of color in the Detroit area. Still, disparities in access to funding for arts organizations focused on racial minorities remain a challenge.

Producing art restores dignity and a sense of purpose to victims of violence who suffer from disability and chronic pain. In New York City, the Open Doors collective empowers patients at hospitals like the Coler Specialty Health Center on Roosevelt Island, encouraging them too engage in community theater, poetry, music, graphic design, and other projects. The approach of contemplative care aims to help the shooting survivors cope with their pain through artistic expression.