RACC’s Project Grant Program provides financial support to individual artists and not-for-profit organizations in Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas Counties, for project based arts programming. Grants are awarded up to $7,000 and are available in three categories: Artistic Focus, Arts Equity & Access, and Arts Services.  The following 105 Project Grants were approved on May 29, 2019 and total $565,410.

2018-19 Project Grant awards (Cycle 3):

RACC’s Project Grant Program provides financial support to individual artists and not-for-profit organizations in Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas Counties, for project based arts programming. Grants are awarded up to $7,000 and are available in three categories: Artistic Focus, Arts Equity & Access, and Arts Services.  The following 65 Project Grants were approved on February 18, 2019 and total $370,150.

2018-19 Project Grant awards (Cycle 2):

The Equity Investments program provides additional funding for General Operating Support partner organizations to support initiatives which advance their commitment to equity in the arts, with a priority placed on racial equity A total of $239,550 was awarded to nine organizations in this cycle. Additional funds will be awarded in a second cycle in June 2019. The RACC Board of Directors approved these awards on March 20, 2019.

• Artists Repertory Theatre, $25,000 to support a two-day equity workshop for staff, resident artists, and staff of resident companies.
• Independent Publishing Resource Center, $31,050 over three years to support a paid residency program for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.
• Oregon Children’s Theatre, $10,000 to continue work with consultants to advance the organization’s work on diversity, equity, inclusion and access.
• PHAME, $20,000 to support partnership programming with other arts organizations.
• Portland Center Stage, $52,500 over three years to support PCS’s  commitment that at least half of the partners hired in community engagement programs will be people of color and/or culturally specific organizations.
• Portland Gay Men’s Chorus, $9,000 to fund an equity assessment with consultants.
• Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, $40,000 over two years to support SPACE program events in 2019–2021.
• Portland Playhouse, $40,000 over two years for the creation of a staff position.
• Portland Youth Philharmonic Association, $12,000 to fund an equity assessment with consultants.

Nine Portland arts organizations receive additional support from RACC to advance equity work

The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) has awarded nine Equity Investment grants to arts organizations in Portland. These grants, totaling $239,550, are made possible through funding from the City of Portland’s Arts Education and Access Fund, or Arts Tax.

“Portland taxpayers voted in 2012 to expand arts education and access in Portland,” said RACC’s executive director, Madison Cario. “We appreciate this important funding source, which helps RACC help organizations that are working to make their programs more equitable and accessible.”

RACC Equity Investments grants, established in 2017, provide additional funding to RACC’s General Operating Support partners for initiatives that are expanding access for Portland residents. Organizations may apply for support to build internal capacity to address issues of equity, to engage new audiences, or develop new programming models.

“Collaboration and learning are key when it comes to equity work, and we are excited to be supporting organizations that are doing rich learning with their staff and board related to diversity, equity, inclusion and access work,” said Ozzie Gonzalez, vice chair of the RACC board and chair of RACC’s Grants Review Committee. “We are also eager to support organizations that are expanding their programming and collaborating with community partners to expand Portlanders’ access to the arts.”

Following a panel review process and approval by the board, RACC will invest in the following organizations and projects:

• Artists Repertory Theatre, $25,000 to support a two-day equity workshop for staff, resident artists, and staff of resident companies.
• Independent Publishing Resource Center, $31,050 over three years to support a paid residency program for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.
• Oregon Children’s Theatre, $10,000 to continue work with consultants to advance the organization’s work on diversity, equity, inclusion and access.
• PHAME, $20,000 to support partnership programming with other arts organizations.
• Portland Center Stage, $52,500 over three years to support PCS’s  commitment that at least half of the partners hired in community engagement programs will be people of color and/or culturally specific organizations.
• Portland Gay Men’s Chorus, $9,000 to fund an equity assessment with consultants.
• Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, $40,000 over two years to support SPACE program events in 2019–2021.
• Portland Playhouse, $40,000 over two years for the creation of a staff position.
• Portland Youth Philharmonic Association, $12,000 to fund an equity assessment with consultants.

These grants are consistent with RACC’s ongoing commitment to more equitable distribution of resources. Other changes announced by RACC over the last two years include a new structure for project grants with more frequent deadlines; a plan to increase the number of arts organizations that receive general operating support; a capacity building program for organizations that are led by and serving historically underrepresented communities; and a new progressive funding model designed to increase the amount of general operating support provided to small to midsize arts organizations.

RACC will offer a second cycle of Equity Investments in May.  Application materials will be distributed to GOS partners the first week of April and will be due by 5pm on Wednesday, May 8. Funding decisions approved in late June.

Changes to General Operating Support

This post has been updated to reflect the final changes to the GOS program adopted by the RACC Board of Directors on February 6. All current GOS partner organizations have received an email communication from RACC updating them on these changes and indicating Base Award and Investment Award information for FY19-20. If you have questions about how these changes will impact your organization, or if you did not receive an email notification, please contact your Grants Officer. RACC’s Press Release regarding these changes in available here.

Starting in Fiscal Year 19-20, RACC will be adopting a new structure for its General Operating Support (GOS) program. This structure revises the allocation strategy for distribution of GOS funds, and makes us more nimble, inclusive, and strategic. These changes will mean our workplace giving and grants teams work closer together to increase the impact of RACC’s support for GOS organizations. Please see the details below on what is changing, why it is changing, and get your questions answered.

What’s changing?

• Beginning in FY19-20 RACC will be adopting a new structure for the General Operating Support grant program. Grant awards will be split into two parts – the Base Award and Investment Awards.
• The Base Award is a stable, predictable allocation for which organizations can budget and plan. Base Awards are set in tiers based on the size of an organization’s budget. As long as organizations continue to meet eligibility requirements and submit annual reports, they can count on receiving a Base Award. In Fy19-20, RACC expects to award approximately $2 million in Base Awards.
• Investment Awards will be granted through a competitive process in three categories –Community Impact, Operations, and Artistic Work. Each organization will have the opportunity to receive Investment Award funds in addition to their Base Award, depending on how they score in the review process. You can learn more about how the Investment categories will be evaluated here. In FY19-20, RACC expects to award approximately $1 million in Investment Awards.

What’s staying the same?

Eligibility requirements for GOS will not be changing. The membership structure of the program will also continue, but be re-framed as partnership rather than membership.

Why is it changing?

These structure changes make us more flexible, inclusive, representative, and strategic in our funding. Over the last six years, the revenue generated from the Arts Education and Access Fund (commonly known as the Arts Tax) has varied widely. While collections have improved significantly over the years, it remains challenging to predict the amount of funding RACC will receive and when it will arrive. In summer 2017, RACC’s Grants Review Committee began a process to revise the GOS program to be flexible and allow us to more quickly and easily invest this fluctuating revenue in the community.

In addition to addressing the instability of arts tax revenue, the new structure will allow RACC to both provide stability through Base Awards, while also offering additional support for organizations based on their operational health, artistic programming, and community benefit.

Finally, as part of our equity work, RACC is committed to acknowledging the historic disparity of our funding model and the changing demographics of our region. The proposed changes to the GOS program will allow RACC to more clearly and effectively encourage equity work in all our partner organizations, and also pave the way for additional organizations led by historically underserved communities to become GOS partners.

When is it changing?

These changes will take effect starting in FY2019-20, which begins July 1, 2019. Current GOS partners will continue to report annually at one of the three reporting deadlines, and as previously communicated, they will receive the same allocation in FY2018-19 as in the past two years. Reports will continue to be accepted in three cycles with deadlines in November, February, and May.

FAQs

When will my organization receive our Base Award? What about our Investment Award?
GOS Partner Reports will continue to be accepted at three deadlines each year in November, February, and May. Base Awards will be distributed as soon as the review of your report is complete – typically 8-12 weeks after the report is due. Investment Awards will be distributed one-time annually at the end of RACC’s fiscal year in June.

Why was my organization placed in this tier?
RACC has placed organizations in tiers based on your average eligible income over your last three fiscal years. Eligible income is your total unrestricted revenue less: revenue for programs outside RACC’s service region, revenue from programs provided in spaces that are not ADA accessible, non-arts earned income, and in-kind revenue. A table of base award amounts by tier is available here.

How much revenue from RACC should I include in my budget?
We strongly recommend that Partner Organizations budget to receive their Base Award each year. The Base Award is specifically designed to be consistent and reliable, and is a good conservative figure to use when creating your organization’s budget. Investment Awards may vary significantly between years and we don’t recommend that organizations budget around them.

How will Investment Awards be determined?
Investment Awards will be determined based on an organization’s score in our three investment areas. You can read more about how we evaluate these areas in the Investment Award Framework. We currently expect Investment Awards to range in size from $5,000 to $40,000. These award amounts will be set entirely based on score and are not related to the budget size of the organization. We will provide more detail and reporting guidelines to partner organizations when updated Partner Report forms are released in summer 2019. If you have questions about Investment Awards, please contact your RACC grants officer for more information.

How will RACC evaluate equity work in GOS partners?
Rather than having a separate Investment Award or category for equity work, RACC will be evaluating equity work in all three Investment Award categories – Community Impact, Operations, and Artistic Work. For example, the diversity of an organization’s staff and board is one indicator of operational health. The GOS report will continue to include demographic questions.

What happened to Work for Art funding?
Work for Art has evolved to become RACC’s Arts Impact Fund. Funds raised through their campaigns will be awarded as part of each organizations annual Investment Award.

How will these changes impact organizations based in Washington or Clackamas Counties?
Organizations based in Washington and Clackamas counties do not receive funding from Portland’s Arts Education & Access Fund and will not be impacted by most of these changes. These organizations will see changes to the GOS report forms, but will continue to receive county funding as a Base Award. They will not be eligible to receive Investment Awards.

Who to contact with more questions:

Ingrid Carlson, Grants Officer | icarlson@racc.org | 503.823.5417

The Professional Development Grant program assists artists or arts administrators with opportunities that specifically improve their business management development skills and/or brings the artist or the arts organization to another level artistically. The RACC Board approved these 34 Professional Development Grants totaling $45,400 on December 12, 2018. (*First time grant recipients)

2018-19 Professional Development Grant awards (Cycle 2):

*Alexandra Czyzewicz – Attend NafME NW Division Choral Conference in Portland and ACDA National Choral Conference in Kansas City, MO – $900

*Alison Thomas – Study circus skills in private instruction with Jack Stocklynn – $1,000

*Bonnie Ratner – Study contemporary dramatic writing with playwright and consultant E.M. Lewis – $1,500

*Charles Purvis – Study bookbinding with artist and bookmaker Rory Sparks in Portland – $630

Darrell Grant – Study with composer Gabriel Lena Frank in two intensive workshops at Creative Music Academy in Boonville, CA – $1,920

*Ellen Lesperance – Present work in “Still I Rise” group exhibition at Nottingham Contemporary and give artist’s talk in Nottingham – $960

*Heather Binns – Attend 4-day Photolucida Portfolio Reviews in Portland first time – $900

*Jade Novarino – Attend 1-month at 2727 California Street art residency in Berkeley, CA – $1,200

*Jake Simonds – Study clown performance in workshop intensive with Phillippe Gaulier at Ecole Internationale de Theatre Philippe Gaulier in Paris – $1,750

*Jenelle Steele – Study French bow making with bow maker Tom Goering in 2-week intensive workshop in Topeka, Kansas – $1,740

*Jody Ake – Attend 4-day Photolucida Portfolio Reviews in Portland first time – $900

Julie Perini – Hire graphic designer for brand development and artist coach – $820

*Kim Taylor Blakemore – Attend 3-day Historical Novel Society North America Conference in National Harbor, MD – $1,700

*Kristen Miller – Attend 3-month Kemijarvi Artist Residency in Iceland – $2,000

*Lacey Monroe – Attend 4-day Photolucida Portfolio Reviews in Portland first time – $900

*Lauren Hare – Attend 4-day Photolucida Portfolio Reviews in Portland first time – $900

*Lauren Sinner – Attend 1-week Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts Pentaculum residency in Gatlinburg, TN – $900

Lisa Chang – Hire web designer to create mobile-friendly website for Tahitian and hula dance – $1,700

Marlana Hayes – Representation, documentation, and shipping of paintings to AIR Gallery in NYC – $1,500

*Maya Vivas – Present work and perform at 4-day The National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts Conference in Minneapolis, MN – $2,000

*Melinda McKinley – Attend 2-week residency at Red Lodge Clay Center in Red Lodge, MT – $1,300

*Mia Ferm – Present curated film series “Not Sorry: Feminist Experimental Film from the 1970s to Today” at Anthology Film Archives in NYC – $1,000

*Michael Galen – Study of Tama drumming and Sabar dance with Griot Massamba Diop and Alima Dion in Dakar, Senegal – $1,950

*Michael Sanchez – Attend 52-hour Train Jam from Chicago to SF – $810

*Pamela Chipman – Attend 4-day Photolucida Portfolio Reviews in Portland first time – $900

*Rodolfo Ortega – Present composition & sound design work at 10-day Prague Quadrennial – $1,700

*Sage Brown – Attend 4-day Photolucida Portfolio Reviews in Portland first time – $900

*Sarah Brahim – Study choreography with mentor Tracey Durbin in Durham, NC – $1,650

*Stephanie Adams-Santos – Attend one-month writing residency at Vermont Studio Center – $1,370

*Yoonhee Choi – Hire photographer and videographer to document artistic process and installed work – $1,200

*Yuan-Chen Li – Present new composition at the Grande Luxe Hall in Vancouver BC – $800

*Yukiyo Kawano – Attend 2-month residency at Santa Fe Art Institute – $2,000

CymaSpace – Hire web developer to upgrade website and filmmaker to produce marketing/development campaign for nonprofit serving DHH community – $2,000

*Urban Art Network – Hire consultant to upgrade website for mobile compatibility for nonprofit independent artist directory – $2,000

Three arts organizations were selected to become Partner Organizations in RACC’s General Operating Support program. These awards were approved by the RACC Board of Directors on December 12, 2018.

• Boom Arts – $10,500
• PETE (Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble) – $8,000
• Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls – $10,500