Our Fall 2019 Building Opportunity and Inclusivity through the Performing Arts Lightning Grant Round (LGR) kicked off with understanding community insights. The insights were recently gathered by our terrific Funder Ally and Financial Sponsor The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
“One thing we heard clearly in all six of the listening circles was the importance of the relationships between your artistic practices, your holistic and individual identities, and the places in which you live. For some, these connections were about your own community, its presence in a certain place, and your deep desire to be of service. For others, these connections were rooted in and inseparable from your people’s culture, stories, and practices. And for others it was about diaspora, or a distance from home that led to a feeling (and in most cases, a physical) displacement from a culture in which you felt visible and respected.” – Emiko Ono, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
The six incredible organizations who participated were:
- BAYCAT – ends racial, gender, and economic inequities by opening the media industry to underrepresented storytellers
- Leap Arts in Education – provides students the arts education required to develop the skills, determination, and creativity to reach beyond their potential
- Joe Goode Performance Group – promotes understanding, compassion and tolerance among people through the innovative use of dance and theater
- School of Arts and Culture at Mexican Heritage Plaza – catalyzes creativity and empowering community
- Women’s Audio Mission – advances women and girls in music production and the recording arts #changingthefaceofsound
- Zawaya – contributes to the multicultural discourse of the Bay Area with the Arab Arts
After a robust review and discussion process, SV2 Partners selected BAYCAT as our new Lightning Grantee. BAYCAT is doing amazing work in driving people to create inclusive and equitable communities and changing the stories that get shared with the world. We’re honored to be on the journey with BAYCAT.
We’re so grateful for all the feedback and got several great suggestions to improve our process moving forward – to make it a lighter lift and better experience for participating organizations, and to enrich the Partner learning experience.
Here is a quote from Joe Goode Performance Group about their experience with us:
“Joe Goode Performance Group was honored to be a part of this granting experience, and appreciative of SV2’s commitment to uplifting the work of local non-profits in the work they are already doing. The process was clear and considered, and we felt supported throughout. It’s refreshing to work with a funder that is building philanthropy in new and innovative ways, mindful of the resource and time constraints on the non-profit organizations in our region. Thank you!”
25 Partners participated in this LGR. Of the Partners who completed the feedback survey, 43% of Partners shared that as a result of participating in this LGR, their level of knowledge about local community needs and potential solutions has significantly increased. 86% of Partners found participating in this grant round useful.
Here is a quote from Grace Mah, SV2 Partner:
“This LGR has further exposed me to the performing arts activities in the Bay Area, and has given me a greater appreciation for their contributions to our communities. The significant social impact of the performing arts was eye-opening in the high quality organizations that we considered.”
A big thank you to Adam Fong, Program Officer in the Performing Arts Program with the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation (our gracious Funder Ally and Financial Sponsor). A huge shout out and appreciation to Ellen Lussier, JoAnne Tillemans, and Lisa Jones (our Partner Co-Leaders). These Leaders have truly ‘lived’ our mission through this role – from helping us empathize better with our local communities and performing arts organizations, to cultivating such rich learning, to innovating this LGR structure to encourage more participants to share and take ownership, to getting super-detailed with so many aspects of preparation, to being overall wonderful to collaborate with!
Special kudos and thanks to all who participated and shared in making this a wonderful and insightful experience.
