Arts, Culture and Creative Enterprises in Georgia

The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta's Arts, Culture and Creative Enterprises Grants program aims to bolster nonprofit literary and performing arts organizations by facilitating access to performance venues and facilities. This initiative directly aligns with the Foundation's mission to support the cultural vibrancy of the Greater Atlanta area and foster artistic experiences for the public. By addressing the critical need for performance spaces, the program enables organizations to produce and present their work, thereby enriching the community's access to diverse artistic expressions. The primary beneficiaries of this grant are nonprofit professional arts organizations with a core mission in literary or performing arts disciplines such as Creative, Nonfiction, Dance, Fiction, Multidisciplinary, Music, Musical, Theater, Opera, and Poetry. The program specifically targets organizations based in Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, or Rockdale counties in Georgia, which conduct most of their local programs and services in metro Atlanta. The impact goal is to empower these organizations to overcome facility access barriers, leading to increased public engagement with performing arts. Priority consideration for 2024 support is given to organizations in alignment with the Foundation's TogetherATL strategy. This includes artistic or cultural activities led by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) leaders or organizations directly representing/serving BIPOC communities, as defined by criteria such as artistic or executive leadership, artistic theme, board/staff majority, or population served. Further priority is extended to organizations without their own primary performance space, new organizations that have not previously received an "A Place to Perform" grant, those that did not receive a Metropolitan Atlanta Arts grant in 2023, and organizations with operating budgets below $2 million. This focus highlights the Foundation's commitment to equity, access, and supporting emerging or underserved artistic groups. The expected outcomes include a greater number of performing arts presentations for the public, especially from organizations that traditionally face barriers to facility access. Measurable results will be tied to the utilization of grant funds (up to $5,000) to subsidize direct rental costs for engagements occurring between October 1, 2024, and September 30, 2025. The Foundation's strategic priorities, reflected in the TogetherATL strategy, emphasize fostering a more inclusive and accessible arts landscape. By supporting organizations that might otherwise struggle to secure performance venues, the grants contribute to a theory of change where equitable access to resources directly translates into a more vibrant, diverse, and publicly engaged arts community in Greater Atlanta.