Cultural Sustainability

Cultural Sustainability was a pilot program that offered grants of up to $67,000 to small arts and culture organizations that are rooted in community.

Photo Credit: Azure Mahara for Flutes at Dawn.

About Cultural Sustainability

Cultural Sustainability was a pilot program offered by the six U.S. Regional Arts Organizations (USRAOs) in partnership with The Wallace Foundation. It gave general operating support grants to arts and cultural organizations rooted in communities of color with annual operating expenses up to $500,000.

In total, Arts Midwest awarded 18 general operating grants across our nine-state region.*

9 Organizations (one per state) with operating expenses between $0-$249,999 received a $55,000 general operating grant.
9 Organizations (one per state) with operating expenses between $250,000-$499,999 received a $67,000 general operating grant.

Over the 15-month pilot program, Arts Midwest offered five virtual workshops on topics such as long-term visioning and sustainability planning. Grantees were also invited to join virtual peer networking sessions and quarterly check-ins with Arts Midwest staff.

The application deadline has passed.

Funders + Supporters

Cultural Sustainability is made possible by support from The Wallace Foundation in partnership with the six US Regional Arts Organizations (USRAOs). This opportunity is part of the Wallace Foundation’s Advancing Well-Being in the Arts initiative, which funds arts organizations to advance their well-being, enhance understanding of their contributions to community, and ultimately help to build a more equitable and sustainable arts ecosystem.  