The future of equitable funding: Arts Workforce Empowerment (AWE) as a model for change
Project: creating a more equitable funding process
The Purpose
To address this gap, the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) introduced a new category of funding, Arts Workforce Empowerment (AWE). This new annual category, conceived in the summer of 2020, was released in November 2020 and is now entering its third cycle.
The Challenge
Nonprofit arts organisations led by artists from specific backgrounds and socially focused groups continue to experience notable disparities in financial and technical support. Many of these nonprofit arts organisations are small by design and utilise funding structures that favor broad focus and larger budgets. Moreover, while the arts sector in LA has a high percentage of leadership roles held by female-identified workers, the nonprofit arts workforce does not yet reflect the diverse demographics of LA. Addressing the challenges of raising art workers from diverse ethnic backgrounds, recognising immigrant workers who are often bilingual, promoting artists and artworks featuring disabilities, and elevating individuals from working-class backgrounds are interlinked challenges requiring innovative approaches to grant-making.
The project is an important demonstration of the future of grant-making, addressing power imbalances between grant applicants and funders and recognising the value of small and mid-sized arts organisations for their creative output and community work.
The Solution
The AWE grant program provides targeted support for staff salaries at minority-defined DCA grantee organisations. AWE grants are directed toward organisations whose mission and programming serve populations impacted by poverty and systemic discrimination and are deeply rooted in their communities. It is designed to support the salaried employment of staff members who personally represent, and ideally come from and live within, the communities they are serving.
The Impact
The policies and procedures for AWE aim to increase support for small and mid-sized culturally specific nonprofit organisations while addressing three historic grant-making barriers to access:
- Lowering barriers to funding by replacing written applications with video submissions.
- Allowing each applicant organisation to self-score for 50% of the qualification questions, empowering them to assess their authenticity within their specific community.
- Offering a two-year guarantee of non-matching funds specifically underwriting the salary of key program and staff member(s) ($10,000 per position).
AWE has enabled DCA to allocate 20% of its investment funding to promote equity by focusing on arts nonprofits that demonstrate authenticity and alignment in their mission, staffing and programming. It is an important demonstration of the future of grant-making, addressing power imbalances between grant applicants and funders and recognising the value of small and mid-sized arts organisations for their creative output and community work.
Source: World Cities Culture Report 2022
Images Courtesy © Getty/Canva, City of Los Angeles
