Washington, D.C. is no longer just a tourist city with iconic national monuments and fabled museums. Over the past decades, a distinguished cadre of small and medium-sized cultural institutions have been established. Often their mission is to bring a wide array of arts offerings to the year-round area residents.
Now there is great news to report for the continued growth of locally-based D.C. cultural institutions. Bloomberg Philanthropies has announced that 47 cultural organizations in Washington, D.C. have been selected to participate in the Arts Innovation and Management (AIM) program. A list of the Washington, D.C. organizations can be found here.
AIM is a nation-wide $43 million multi-year initiative. Under the arts initiative, Bloomberg Philanthropies will provide unrestricted general operating support as well as arts management training in areas that include fundraising, strategic planning, marketing and board development to the 47 selected D.C. cultural institutions.
“The arts inspire people, provide jobs, and strengthen communities,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies. “This program is aimed at helping some of the country’s most exciting cultural organizations reach new audiences and expand their impact.” The AIM program is part of Mike Bloomberg’s American Cities Initiative, an effort to help cities across the United States generate innovation.s,
The invitation-only AIM program mission is to strengthen the organizational capacity and programming of small and midsize cultural organizations within selected U.S. cities. There are seven cities in the expanded 2018 AIM program. Washington, D.C., along with Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Denver, New Orleans, and Pittsburgh.
The AIM program was first highlighted by DC Theater Arts in a May 2018 article. The program focuses on urban area organizations to add the cultural arts as a way to encourage and support the healthy creative infrastructure of cities. Arts non-profits clearly play a vital role in building communities, driving local economic development and supporting artists themselves.
In Washington, DC, Bloomberg Philanthropies will develop curricula and conduct seminars for the program in partnership with experts, including the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the University of Maryland led by Institute Chairman Michael M. Kaiser and President Brett Egan. The AIM organizations will engage in activities to strengthen their long-term health and goals. The 47 DC organizations will receive one-on-one consultations and implementation support for organization leaders and their boards.
The organizations invited to participate in the 2018 expansion of the AIM program are nonprofits that have been in existence for at least two years. Organizations will be required to secure 20% of their AIM grant in matching dollars; reach 100% board participation in fundraising; and maintain up-to-date information in DataArts, an online management tool that assists arts organizations across the country in collecting, learning from, and using data effectively.
Note: Video for an overview of the Arts Innovation and Management program:
