Yerba Buena Gardens Festival Will Receive Part of $30 Million Investment to Strengthen Programming and Organizational Capacity
San Francisco, CA — SEPTEMBER 16, 2015 — Yerba Buena Gardens Festival today announced that it is a grantee recipient of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Arts Innovation and Management (AIM) program. Through the two-year initiative, Bloomberg Philanthropies is providing $30 million across 262 small and mid-sized nonprofit cultural organizations around the country to help strengthen their operational and programming efforts, including training in fundraising, audience development and board member engagement.
“Bloomberg AIM is an amazing and unique program that will strengthen San Francisco’s arts organizations at a time when the cultural landscape is shifting dramatically,” says Linda Lucero, Yerba Buena Gardens Festival Artistic and Executive Director. “The Festival is elated to be included in this two-year journey with so many of our colleagues, a journey that will provide access to some of the top nonprofit arts consultants in this country.”
The invitation-only program supports nonprofit cultural organizations based in six cities: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles and San Francisco. All organizations are locally or internationally recognized nonprofits that have been in existence for at least two years. The grantees are required to participate in a management training program; secure matching funds; ensure 100% board participation in fundraising; and maintain up-to-date information in the Cultural Data Project, an online financial & data collection platform that assists arts organizations across the country to collect, learn from, and use data effectively. The grants are unrestricted so that recipients can use them to address their greatest needs.
Yerba Buena Gardens Festival will use this grant to further focus its marketing and branding efforts and to expand and complement the ongoing educational outreach programs. Bloomberg Philanthropies is partnering with the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the University of Maryland to develop curricula and conduct trainings for the AIM program in each city. The comprehensive workshops engage organizations around activities that strengthen their long-term health and goals and include consultations and implementation support for arts managers and their boards.
First piloted in New York City, Bloomberg Philanthropies supported 245 grantees through AIM from 2011-2013. Participating organizations reported improvements in audience development, board engagement and fundraising over the two-year program.
The Yerba Buena Gardens Festival celebrated its 15th Anniversary in 2015 by presenting over 100 free music, theater, circus, dance, poetry, and children’s programs with artists from around the Bay Area and the world. Named one of the Best Urban Green Spaces in North America by USA Today, Yerba Buena Gardens is a world-renowned cultural destination for Bay Area residents, families, workers, and tourists alike. Yerba Buena Gardens is located between Mission Street and Howard Street and 3rd and 4th Streets in downtown San Francisco.
About Bloomberg Philanthropies
Bloomberg Philanthropies works to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. We focus on five key areas for creating lasting change: arts, education, the environment, government innovation, and public health. The arts are a valuable way to engage citizens and enhance communities. Through innovative partnerships and bold approaches, the Bloomberg Philanthropies arts program works to increase access to culture using new technologies, empower artists and strengthen cultural organizations to reach broader audiences. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org or follow us Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @BloombergDotOrg.
About the DeVos Institute of Arts Management
The DeVos Institute has served more than 1,000 organizations from over 80 countries since Michael M. Kaiser founded it during his tenure as President of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The Institute has designed its services to assist a wide range of institutions, from traditional performing and presenting organizations, museums and galleries, arts schools and libraries, to botanical gardens, glass-making studios, public art trusts, and non-profit cinemas, to name a few. The DeVos Institute transferred its activities and offices from the Kennedy Center to the University of Maryland in September 2014. The move enables the Institute to expand its global training and consulting programs, enhance its fellowships for North American and international arts managers within the context of a major educational institution, and create a Master’s program that leverages both University and Institute resources.
Contact: Marshall Lamm, marshalllamm@earthlink.net, 510-928-1410.