South Arts launches $1.1 million grant program for ‘cultural sustainability’

Regional arts organization South Arts launched its newest grantmaking initiative with the $1.14 million Cultural Sustainability program on Nov. 15.

Funded in part by the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, organizations with annual expenses under $500,000 across the nine-state region will be able to apply through Feb. 5, 2025. South Arts will choose 12 organizations rooted in communities of color to receive the grants by June 2025 and will distribute the funds by summer 2026.

“We’re thrilled to take part in stewarding this major support across our region,” South Arts President and CERO Susie Surkamer said in a press release.

South Arts Vice President of Programs Joy Young, Ph.D said the concept of cultural sustainability has long been central to the organization. South Arts was founded in 1975 to “build on the South’s unique heritage” and enhance the region’s arts landscape.

South Arts leaders said the organization’s goal is to “elevate and bring visibility to the diversity of the South.”

That’s why the initiative looks at typically underfunded programs that are by and for communities of color.

The phrase was born naturally. To Young, sustainability is about “being resourced.” The grantees will get those resourced via general operating funds that can be used at each organization’s discretion.

“Sustainability also means the ability to commit to the work of the community in ways they can’t with just project support grants,” Young said.

Art Partnerships Director at South Arts Aiyana Straughn said the money is largely unrestricted, and she encourages people to “think creatively about these funds.” The money can go to wellness funds and preventing burnout, emergency preparedness, future planning and more.

“It’s about acknowledging the labor of the past and not asking people to do more or prove more, but to sustain what they have already been doing,” Straughn said.

The grants are more than money, too. Young said the region has long recognized the need for more resources through several avenues: funding, cohort building and technical assistance.

“We think about resources very broadly, money, time, people, knowledge — that’s what this investment is about,” Young said.

The grant applications are open to nonprofit organizations, fiscally sponsored groups, private entities and state and federally recognized tribal governments. Those who do receive funding will also have access to “learning experiences” through the regional organization.

Straughn said those who don’t get selected can be chosen for opportunities, too. South Arts plans to “do storytelling” around applicants who don’t make the cut. The partnership’s director said it’s about going “beyond the check.”

The cultural sustainability program is part of the national nonprofit The Wallace Foundation’s “Advancing Well-Being in the Arts” initiative. The initiative is centered entirely around organizations by and for people of color.

The well-being program has three parts: supporting 18 relatively large organizations, funding intermediary organizations by region and supporting research projects. The national $6.6 million cultural sustainability program is offered by six regional arts organizations that will distribute funds accordingly.

According to a press release, the Wallace Foundation’s is to “help build a more equitable and sustainable arts ecosystem.”

There will be a webinar in early December of 2024 to share more information on the grants with interested applicants.