The Regional Arts & Culture Council launched the Make|Learn|Build grant opportunity for artists, arts organizations, and arts businesses in Winter 2021, seeking to support the local arts community while we remained in the pandemic lockdown. Throughout the last 16 months of shifting public health guidelines, new variants, social unrest, and climate events, RACC was able to offer two rounds of the grants each fiscal year, totaling four grant cycles open to the community, with Round 4 grant awards most recently announced at the end of March 2022.

The Make|Learn|Build grant was set up to prioritize breadth, reach and access. We worked to expand our technical support with Instagram live events and recorded Info Sessions with ASL interpretation, along with team member grant writing guidance through panel feedback and draft reviews.  It touched a lot of people and achieved significant impact during an uncertain time.

It allowed RACC to move away from past grantmaking standards (i.e. matching dollars, in-kind support, limits on eligible expenses, required in-person events) and put the emphasis on supporting community values and voices.

In total since January 2021, we experienced the following:

• 1,661 applications
• 1,364 unique applicants
• 30 Community Reviewers
• 85% BIPOC* representation in Community Review Panels
• 48 Zoom panels
• 806 grant awards
• $2,310,500 awarded to artists, arts organizations, and arts businesses
• 755 unique grantees
• Average 52% BIPOC* artist support across 4 rounds
• Over 457 technical assistance sessions for draft reviews and panel process feedback

*not including responses in “I describe my ethnicity/race as”

RACC launched the Make|Learn|Build grant program with the goal of supporting 50% of the applicants, which was a higher percentage than past funding rates (typically between 30% to 43%). This funding rate was possible with the smaller award amounts (average of $3,000 grant, rather than an average award of $5,000 in Project Grants.) This goal became harder as the number of applications began to skyrocket, but through the four rounds of the program, RACC was able to support the entire process at 48.4%.

Some other highlights of this program have been the following:

• The pandemic hasn’t slowed creative folks down. People are making art!
• A simple, accessible application welcomed in new and first-time applicants. This has allowed for more risk-taking. It also resulted in explosive growth in the applicant pool.
• The need in the artist and creative community is huge. By making smaller awards to a wider number of grantees, the support was able to reach more people. However, great ideas and projects were still left on the table, as always.
• Paying artists for their professional role as Community Reviewers is important. Reviewing applications and making decisions is WORK. By paying artists for their time to evaluate, they could step away from being applicants and their own artmaking and have comparable compensation.
•  Reviewers are responding to what they want to see in their community – clear impact on community and value-based investment.
• Making the full grant award up front puts trust in the work of the artist or organization.

As we move forward into the next vision of RACC grant programs, we know that we will be opening back up to arts projects proposed by all types of entities, including other nonprofits, businesses, institutions, schools, and community groups beyond those rooted in the arts. We will also be working to support individual artists in the many ways that they are creating and sharing art and culture. However, public presentations and a plan to share work with an audience will be important as a way to show community impact. One benefit of the new normal is acknowledging that virtual presentations and digital distribution are an accessible way to share your work.

Based on the recent RACC Planning Survey from Winter 2022, we know that Grants are the number one way that the community engages with our organization (79% of respondents). The majority of the survey respondents find RACC services and programs to be moderately or very accessible (78.4%) but feedback also shows there is ongoing work to do. Grants Team members are working to incorporate all our most recent lessons learned into the next phase of RACC grant support. Stay tuned!

FY2022 Make|Learn|Build Community Reviewers

Sarah Brahim

RaShaunda Brooks

May Maylisa Cat

Melina Coumas

Kapu Dancel

Jay Flewelling

Celina Flores

Elizabeth Higgins

Shobha Jetmalani

Laura Martinez

Megan McGeorge

Christine Miller

Sushmita Poddar

Logan Ridenour-Starnes

Paul Susi

garima thakur

Jennifer Viviano

Sample Quotes from grantees:

RACC’s Make|Learn|Build Grant Program was designed to address the ways the arts community in the tri-county region needed support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Artists, creatives, organizations, and businesses were awarded $1,500, $3,000 or $5,000 to make work, gain skills, or build up their arts business. The following 214 Make|Learn|Build Grants were awarded in March 2022 in Round 4 for a total of $644,000.

2021-22 Make|Learn|Build Grant awards (Round 4):

RACC’s Make|Learn|Build Grant Program was designed to address the ways the arts community in the tri-county region needed support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Artists, creatives, organizations, and businesses were awarded $1,500, $3,000 or $5,000 to make work, gain skills, or build up their arts business. The following 174 Make|Learn|Build Grants were awarded in November 2021 in Round 3 for a total of $506,500.

2021-22 Make|Learn|Build Grant awards (Round 3):

Learn more about RACC’s General Operating Support program.

General Operating Support Partner Base Awards

Cycle 1 – Reports received in February 2021.

• Artists Repertory Theatre – $60,000
• Blue Sky Gallery – $15,000
• Corrib Theatre – $15,000
• Friends of Chamber Music – $30,000
• Literary Arts – $60,000
• Metropolitan Youth Symphony – $30,000
• Northwest Children’s Theater and School – $60,000
• Oregon Ballet Theatre – $100,000
• Outside the Frame – $15,000
• Portland Art Museum/Northwest Film Center – $175,000
• Portland Center Stage – $100,000
• Portland Columbia Symphony – $20,000
• Portland Opera Association – $85,000
• Portland Playhouse – $45,000
• Portland Youth Philharmonic – $30,000
• Profile Theatre – $30,000
• The Portland Ballet – $30,000
• Third Angle New Music – $15,000
• White Bird – $45,000
• Young Audiences of Oregon – $45,000

Cycle 2 – Reports received in May 2021

• BodyVox –  $45,000
• Boom Arts –  $15,000
• Cappella Romana –  $30,000
• Chamber Music Northwest –  $45,000
• Children’s Healing Art Project –  $20,000
• CoHo Productions –  $20,000
• Disjecta Contemporary Art Center –  $15,000
• Echo Theater Company –  $20,000
• Ethos Inc. –  $30,000
• Film Action Oregon dba Hollywood Theatre –  $60,000
• Hand2Mouth –  $15,000
• Imago Theatre –  $15,000
• Independent Publishing Resource Center –  $15,000
• Live Wire Radio –  $20,000
• Miracle Theatre Group –  $30,000
• My Voice Music –  $20,000
• New Expressive Works –  $15,000
• NW Dance Project –  $45,000
• NW Documentary Arts & Media –  $15,000
• Oregon BRAVO Youth Orchestras –  $30,000
• Oregon Children’s Theatre –  $60,000
• Oregon Symphony Association –  $175,000
• Pacific Youth Choir –  $20,000
• PDX Jazz –  $30,000
• PETE (Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble) –  $15,000
• PHAME –  $30,000
• PlayWrite, Inc –  $15,000
• Polaris Dance Theatre –  $20,000
• Portland Baroque Orchestra –  $30,000
• Portland Gay Men’s Chorus –  $30,000
• Portland Institute for Contemporary Art –  $45,000
• Portland Piano International –  $30,000
• Portland Taiko –  $15,000
• Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls –  $15,000
• Shaking the Tree Theatre –  $15,000
• The Circus Project –  $30,000
• The Red Door Project –  $30,000
• Third Rail Repertory Theatre –  $30,000
• Triangle Productions –  $20,000
• Write Around Portland –  $20,000

Clackamas & Washington County Awards –  Reports received in July 2020 and May 2021.

• Bag & Baggage Productions – $10,000
• Broadway Rose Theatre Company – $23,000
• Lakewood Center for the Arts – $21,000

GOS Investment Awards for FY20-21 – Awarded in June 2021.

• Artist Repertory Theatre – $12,500
• Blue Sky – $6,000
• BodyVox – $10,000
• Boom Arts – $11,500
• Cappella Romana – $6,750
• Chamber Music Northwest – $11,750
• Children’s Healing Art Project – $2,500
• Coho Productions – $7,750
• Disjecta Contemporary Art Center/Oregon Center for Contemporary Arts – $3,750
• Echo Theater Company – $10,000
• Ethos – $13,500
• Friends of Chamber Music – $3,500
• Hand2Mouth – $7,750
• Hollywood Theatre – $4,000
• Imago Theatre – $7,750
• Independent Publishing Resource Center – $21,500
• Literary Arts – $10,500
• Live Wire Radio – $7,500
• Metropolitan Youth Symphony – $3,750
• My Voice Music – $19,000
• New Expressive Works – $12,500
• Northwest Children’s Theater & School – $11,750
• NW Documentary – $2,500
• Oregon BRAVO Youth Orchestra – $12,000
• Oregon Children’s Theatre – $12,750
• Outside the Frame – $11,750
• PDX Jazz – $8,700
• PETE (Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble) – $3,750
• PHAME – $19,000
• Polaris Dance Theatre – $4,750
• Portland Art Museum/Northwest Film Center – $17,500
• Portland Baroque Orchestra – $8,750
• Portland Center Stage – $22,000
• Portland Columbia Symphony – $2,500
• Portland Gay Men’s Chorus – $6,500
• Portland Institute for Contemporary Art – $24,500
• Portland Playhouse – $22,500
• Portland Taiko – $6,750
• Portland Youth Philharmonic – $6,000
• Profile Theatre – $20,500
• Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls – $8,750
• Shaking the Tree Theatre – $11,550
• The Circus Project – $14,500
• The Portland Ballet – $4,750
• The Red Door Project – $22,500
• Third Angle New Music – $13,000
• Third Rail Repertory Theatre 0 $3,750
• Triangle Productions – $2,500
• Write Around Portland – $19,000
• Young Audiences of Oregon & SW Washington – $10,000

New General Operating Support Organizations awarded Spring 2021

• PassinArt: A Theatre Company – $15,000
• Portland Street Art Alliance – $15,000
• World Stage Theatre – $15,000

Capacity Building Organizations for FY20-21 – Awarded in July 2020.

• Cymaspace – $25,000
• Disability Arts & Culture Project – $25,000
• Instituto de Cultura e Arte – $25,000
• MediaRites – $25,000
• Morpheus Youth Project – $25,000
• PassinArt – $25,000
• Vanport Mosiac – $25,000
• World Stage Theatre – $25,000

New Capacity Building Organizations Spring 2021

• ArtMax Academy – $25,000
• Rejoice Diaspora Dance Theater- $25,000
• Theatre Diaspora- $25,000
• Takohashi- $25,000
• En Taiko- $25,000
• World Arts Foundation- $25,000

RACC’s Make|Learn|Build Grant Program was designed to address the ways the arts community in the tri-county region needed support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Artists, creatives, organizations, and businesses were awarded either $1,500 or $3,000 to make work, gain skills, or build up their arts business. The following 226 Make|Learn|Build Grants were awarded in June 2021 in Round 2 for a total of $619,500.

2020-21 Make|Learn|Build Grant awards (Round 2):

RACC’s Make|Learn|Build Grant Program was designed to address the ways the arts community in the tri-county region needed support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Artists, creatives, organizations, and businesses were awarded either $1,500 or $3,000 to make work, gain skills, or build up their arts business. The following 190 Make|Learn|Build Grants were awarded in May 2021 in Round 1 for a total of $535,500.

2020-21 Make|Learn|Build Grant awards (Round 1):