Flinn Foundation, Piper Trust Announce Strengthening Arts Initiative
Flinn Foundation, Piper Trust Announce Strengthening Arts Initiative
The Flinn Foundation and the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust have announced that they will redirect $1.25 million in grant funds from the Metro Phoenix Partnership for Arts and Culture (MPAC), which is winding down, to the Flinn-Piper Strengthening the Arts Initiative.
The arts initiative encompasses the Flinn Emergency Fund for Arts Organizations, which to date has awarded $500,000 in unrestricted grants to twenty-one organizations, and the Piper Arts Restructuring and Transformation Fund, which will award up to $750,000 in grants to help implement new nonprofit structures, processes, and collaborative ventures designed to increase arts organizations' revenues while reducing their costs. Grants awarded by the fund will range from $50,000 to $150,000 over two years and are not intended for short-term cash-flow needs or current core operating expenses.
As a rule, the Flinn Foundation does not provide general operating support, but, according to foundation president and CEO Jake Jewett, it made an exception due to the urgent needs of local arts organizations. "The arts and culture institutions that play such an important role in our community continue to face severe challenges in the midst of the 'Great Recession,'" said Jewett. "We hope these modest grants will provide at least temporary relief in meeting immediate operating needs."
For a list of Flinn Emergency Fund for Arts Organizations recipients, visit the Flinn Foundation Web site.
| 
