Partners
Operating support for arts and cultural organizations in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties.
A partnership between The Kresge Foundation, Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation, and Hudson-Webber Foundation.
For over 10 years, the Detroit Arts Support (DAS) initiative has provided unrestricted operating funding to arts and cultural organizations in the metro Detroit region. The program aims to strengthen the sector broadly through consistent support for a diverse set of organizations that contribute to the quality of life in metropolitan Detroit, and provide opportunities for creative expression to people of all backgrounds.
Learn more about eligibility, the application process, and funding.
Announcements
For the 2022 cycle of the Detroit Arts Support program, 86 applications for general operating funding were submitted.
After a summer of focus group dialogues about applications with arts patrons and advocates and explorations of applicant organizations’ financial health by TDC, the funding partners of Detroit Arts Support Art making announcements.
Individual Foundation Grants
Again, a key characteristic of DAS is the shared applications process. Partner foundations, though, make individual funding decisions based on their foundation’s geographic and other funding parameters.
Beginning Monday, September 26, partner foundations will begin sharing details of their applications they have funded.
Full Detroit Arts Support Grants
On November 15, 2022, the FULL list of DAS grantees will be posted to the DetroitArtsSupport.org website, along with data about the full scope of the program and insights gleaned from the collaborative application process.
Please note: Throughout the announcement process, the “Grant Contact” and the “Organization Lead” email addresses on organizations’ applications will be pushed notifications via emails from the address grants@culturesource.org.
Reporting
Detroit Arts Support represents an opportunity for the partner foundations—The Kresge
Foundation, Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation, and Hudson-Webber
Foundation—to learn alongside the cultural sector and to share those learnings broadly. To
that end, grantees should annually submit a report via the Detroit Arts Support website (link coming soon).
Report Submission Timeline
- First Interim Report Due – 6/30/2023
- Second Interim Report Due – 6/30/2024
- Final Report Due – 9/30/2025
Report Questionnaire Elements
Requested Information
- A brief organizational description: history, mission, vision, values, etc.
- An overview of last year’ s programming and operations. Use this as an opportunity to celebrate your success and share your challenges.
- Anticipated changes for the coming year. You may address programming, internal capacity, partnerships, etc.
- A story about something you learned in the previous year. What did you learn, how did you learn it, and how did it change your organization? [Note: we find qualitative insights gleaned through interacting with constituents or debriefing with colleagues to be equally as valuable as quantitative data.]
- Describe your organization’ s commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion. How does it manifest in the work of your organization?
- Describe significant leadership changes your organization has experienced, if any
Requested Attachments
- Your organization’s budget to actual figures for the most recently completed fiscal year and current fiscal year and a projected budget for the next fiscal year.
- A brief narrative accompanying the attached financials describing major drivers of the organization’s budget, budget trends over the three fiscal years presented, and any significant challenges and your actions to meet these challenges.
- Your organization’s most recently completed fiscal year audit. If you cannot obtain an audit, submit a Form 990 or qualified financial review from your most recently completed fiscal year.
Contact
CultureSource is helping DAS partners administer this initiative. CultureSource is not making funding recommendations or making funding decisions.
For questions regarding the application, please email grants@culturesource.org.
For additional questions about funding geographies and priorities, please explore the funding partner’s details and contact information below.
Eligibility
Process
Step 1 | Application Submission
Eligible organizations should submit one application. Applications are due Thursday, July 28th at 5:00pm EST.
Step 2 | Foundation Eligibility Review
Applications are shared with program staff of the Detroit Arts Support funding partners (The Kresge Foundation, Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation, and Hudson-Webber Foundation), who will each individually review applications for eligibility aligned with their foundation’s specific funding criteria.
Step 3 | Focus Groups
Four groups of community members (“focus groups”) each receive 20-25 applications to read. Focus group participants are connected to the regional arts and culture sector as supporters, advocates, or practitioners.
Focus group participants will not score applications or provide funding recommendations—again, each foundation will have their own process for reviewing applications against their own funding priorities. Instead, focus groups will surface characteristics and qualities they notice about applying organizations, highlighting points of perceived strength, fascination, and curiosity. The focus group dialogue is meant to provide helpful insights about the state of cultural organizations and reflect a useful range of perceptions about organizations as they present themselves in application materials. Applicants will be able to listen to the focus group discussion of their application. Scheduling details will be announced following the application deadline: Thursday, July 28th at 5:00pm EST.
Apart from focus group participants and DAS funding partners, your application information will be kept confidential.
Focus Group Participants:
- Louis Aguilar
- Racheal Allen
- Rachel Bendit
- Annmarie Borucki
- Sandy Burnley
- Cézanne Charles
- Mark Clague
- Shamyle Maya Dobbs
- Khalilah Burt Gaston
- Mia Khim
- Dustin McClellan
- Peter Robinson
- Buzz Thomas
Step 4: Financial Health Assessment
Susan Nelson of the nonprofit consulting group TDC performs a financial health assessment of applying organizations and shares findings with the DAS funding partners. TDC will also be available to review results with organizations on an individual basis (an amazing and valuable opportunity for all applicants to gain insights about their organization). Scheduling details will be announced following the application deadline: Thursday, July 28th at 5:00pm EST.
Step 5: Decisions and Notification
Each DAS funding partner works with their internal staff and board to finalize their funding decisions. Individual grant sizes will range from $5,000 to $100,000 per year. All grants will be made in three-year commitments. Foundations will collaboratively announce these decisions in the fall of 2022. Applicants will be notified by email and CultureSource will post funding plans on this website.
Note: Not all organizations will be selected for funding by each funding partner, and selection is not merit based.
Get Started Here
Applications Due By Thursday, July 28th at 5:00pm EST
Please watch the recording of the Detroit Arts Support Info Session below
Contact
CultureSource is helping DAS partners administer this initiative. CultureSource is not making funding recommendations or making funding decisions.
For questions regarding the application, please email grants@culturesource.org.
For additional questions about funding geographies and priorities, please explore the funding partner’s details and contact information below.
