ArtsU Intensive: Moving from a Closed Membership to an Equitable Community Arts Funder

Recorded On: 11/16/2020

Overview
Speaker(s)

About this Intensive

November 16, 2020 at 1:00 - 5:00 PM EST

In this half-day workshop, attendees will hear from a UAF leader on their transition from a traditional UAF model to drastically changing re-allocations, diversifying grantees, deepening community partnerships, building trust, and engaging with their business community in new ways. Attendees will also learn from a non-UAF grantmaker on how they have shift their grantmaking practices to be more equitable. This workshop will include presentation, activities, individual and group work time, breaks and networking time.

Learning Objectives:

Hear detailed case studies of two organizations that have transformed their allocation and grantmaking processes to fund their community more equitably.
Discuss with peers the nuances and challenges of shifting from a traditional closed United Arts Fund model to a becoming an equitable community arts funder.
Learn about strategies to engage previously un- or under-funded communities and organizations, shift fundraising and donor engagement, and manage public relations during this process.

Christen Boone

President & Chief Strategy Officer

The Boone Group

Christen Boone is the President & Chief Strategy Officer with the Boone Group and is deeply committed to building stronger and more vibrant communities. She is a community connector, social entrepreneur and a leader in nonprofit development and strategic philanthropy.

Christen served in leadership roles for some of the country’s most treasured cultural institutions and served for 7 years as the President & CEO for Fund for the Arts. She led the strategic evolution to a more inclusive and equitable organization, driving access and opportunity, and serving as a community catalyst. The Fund for the Arts is one of the country’s oldest and most successful local arts agencies driving collective impact, collaborative action and is the largest funder of the arts in Kentucky, providing more than 700 grants to local educational initiatives, arts institutions and community projects. Under her leadership, the Fund developed the Imagine 2020 cultural plan creating a shared vision and priorities for the arts and culture sector and its cross-sector partners in government, corporate and philanthropy.

As a fundraiser, Christen has raised nearly $350 million for regional nonprofit organizations including Actors Theatre of Louisville, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and Cincinnati’s Fine Arts Fund. As a community She served as Director of the Greater Louisville Project and founded the Boone Group, coaching and consulting in nonprofit and community development. Christen led the efforts to raise more than $120 million to build The Parklands of Floyds Fork, one of the nation’s largest new urban parks.
She serves as Chair of the Center for Nonprofit Excellence, and on the Boards of Downtown Development Corporation and the Governors Scholars Program and Foundation.

She received the Michael Newton Award for Arts Leadership by Americans for the Arts and the Nonprofit Leader Award by Center for Nonprofit Excellence. She was recognized as a Distinguished Alumni from Bellarmine University, Top 100 Most Influential People by Insider Louisville, 40 Under 40 leader by Business First, Volunteer of the Year by SafePlace Services, and with the Dream Maker Award by Amped.

Rishard Allen

Director of Grant Services, Arts Council of Indianapolis

Rishard Allen is the Director of Grant Services at the Arts Council of Indianapolis, working with artists and arts organizations to maintain the financial viability of the arts and culture sector in Indianapolis and to promote and elevate Indianapolis as a thriving cultural destination in the Midwest. His portfolio includes $1.8M in organizational grants and individual artist fellowships and over $10M in COVID-19 relief funding. As a grantmaker, Rishard values the opportunity to make deep financial investments in individuals and organizations with strong commitments toward innovation, creativity, and community impact.

Rishard is an Indianapolis-native who graduated from Indiana University Bloomington in 2017 with a B.S. in Arts Management and a minor in Psychology. Since graduating, Rishard has served as a Program Director at Arts for Learning Indiana and has assisted WolfBrown, a national nonprofit research consulting firm, with an evaluation of The Kennedy Center’s Ensuring the Arts for Any Given Child program. Rishard is also a Board Member of the IndyHub Foundation and recently served on the inaugural Americans for the Art’s Arts & Culture Leaders of Color Steering Committee.