Art & Social Change Funding Circle
To join the Funding Circle
Funding Circle participants:
- Make at least a $1,000 contribution (preferably more, by people with greater financial means) payable to Threshold Foundation, earmarked for the Funding Circle on Arts & Social Change.
- Do their best to attend both face-to-face gatherings—a one-day meeting in New York City in early November, and a two-day meeting in the spring (sometime between late Feb. and May, place and date tbd). Those who miss meetings will stand aside from the decisions made at those meetings.
- Agree to a code of ethics and behavior, including a conflict of interest policy
- Actively work with at least one of the three funding committees, which includes:
- Thoughtfully reading all one-page “letters of inquiry” and full funding proposals (most likely 5-15 projects per committee)
- Joining committee conference calls;
- Evaluating at least two projects, including at least one site visit
- Making group funding decisions by consensus (including a process developed at Threshold Foundation called “attunement” which is a meditative moment of tuning into one’s higher wisdom before making an important decision)
Circle members are also invited (but not required) to join in outreach and fund raising activities, described more below.
Size of Funding Circle – Outreach plans
As of 9/13/07, the Circle has 12 participants, $80,000 pledged. The funds raised include pledges from about 18 others plus some money from Threshold's endowment.
Our goal for this first year is to have at least 12 active participants – and ideally 18 – and to raise at least $65,000 more. We will actively solicit contributions from people who support the project but aren’t Circle participants.
We intend to do outreach and fundraising by:
- Personal networking and notices through about a dozen donor networks where we have relationships (which can get the word to 1,000+ potential donors)
- Holding 2-4 small outreach and fundraising events this fall (most likely, in NYC, SF, and Minneapolis)
- Contacting participants of the newly-formed working group on arts for social justice (about 20 institutional funders) and participants of the focus groups Zing held last fall on arts and social change (about 40 artists, donors, and directors of arts organizations)
- Conversations with 4-6 long-time experts in the community development arts field, and notices in the Animating Democracy and Community Arts Network e-newsletters.
- Creating a website where prospective Circle members can learn about the field and the Circle’s plans.
In addition, we are investigating the possibility of creating a website where artists can sell their art, with a significant portion of the proceeds going to the Funding Circle.
The funding process
August – October
- Outreach and fundraising efforts build up the number of participants and the funding pool.
- Circle members learn about the field through readings, websites, conference calls and experiences.
- Each Circle member sponsors 1-3 projects for group consideration.
- The projects sponsored will submit a one-page letter of inquiry by October 21, using the standard Threshold Foundation format.
- Each committee may also recruit outside advisors who have 10+ years of expertise in that funding area. Advisors may submit one project, as well as recommend projects for committee members to sponsor. Advisors are available for at least two phone consultations through the year. They advise the committee on how to think as strategic funders in this area, as well as give input about specific projects.
- All projects submitted will be invited to post a promotional description and photo on the Funding Circle website, which we hope will be seen by many beyond the Circle participants.
November
- Committee members read all Letters of Inquiry in the funding committee(s) they are part of.
- The face-to-face meeting in NYC will include:
- Community-building activities to get to know each other, including through participatory arts.
- Learning about the field.
- Experiencing social change arts.
- Committee meetings where the group decides which projects are invited to submit full proposals.
- To go on to the next stage, each project must have at least one committee member willing to be the primary evaluator, including a site visit, and at least one committee member willing to be the secondary evaluator, including having at least two phone conversations with people outside of the project. Committee members may not evaluate the projects they sponsored.
Nov – Jan
- Projects are invited on Nov 21 to submit full proposals, due by Jan 7. They may use a proposal they already wrote for another funder, or the Threshold Foundation proposal form.
Jan – Feb
- Committee members receive dockets Jan 21
- Mid-term report and optional fundraising (by Threshold members able to go) at Threshold’s winter conference Feb 22-28
Feb-April/May
- Committee members read all full proposals and evaluations.
- The April or May face-to-face meeting in SF/NYC will include:
- Community-building activities to get to know each other, including through participatory arts.
- Learning about the field.
- Experiencing social change arts.
- Committee meetings where the group makes final funding decisions.
- After the pooled funding decisions, and before the end of the meeting, Circle members and Circle contributors will be invited optionally to make additional, individual contributions to specific projects funded by the Circle. These contributions will be counted as part of the Funding Circle’s support.
June
- Perhaps hold a celebratory event, featuring some of the projects funded
- Poll all Circle participants on whether they’d like to continue next year and if so, what they might pledge.
- Present the Circle at the June Threshold meeting and, if sufficient interest, apply for re-authorization.
- All projects funded will be named in the Threshold Foundation annual report and described on their website.
July
- Groups receive their granted funds
Funding Circle Governance
- The funding circle was initiated by Threshold members Anne and Christopher Ellinger who will continue to be point people representing the Funding Circle to Threshold. One of them will be part of a steering committee, including one representative from each of the three funding committees. The steering committee will hold monthly conference calls to make decisions about Circle policy and operations, and to resolve issues that arise.
- All Circle members will be notified about steering committee calls at least 5 days ahead, including items to be discussed, and they are welcome to give input to pending decisions via email or phone. All Circle members are welcome to listen in on calls.
- After steering committee meetings, notes will be sent to all Circle members. Any major decisions will be highlighted.
- Each funding committee will have a facilitator, who may or may not be the same as the steering committee member. Funding committees may develop other governance/decision-making structures as needed.