How Partnership Propelled Our Arts Funding; A Case Study and Reflection
Geri Auriemma, Grants Manager, The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation
Through our annual Social Impact Theatre grant making program, The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation has a history of supporting theatres making a positive impact in their communities not only by the stories they choose to bring to the stage, but even more so, by how they utilize partnerships to deepen audience engagement around the issues the plays bring to light.
With partnerships at the very core of the Foundation’s theatre funding, it was only fitting that when the Foundation wanted to play a role in advancing equitable change in the theatre sector, we were quickly spurred to action by recognizing the potential to increase our impact through partnership.
Case study: Thrive! Uplifting Theatres of Color – a partnership between the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Theatre Communications Group, and The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation.
Performers in a dress rehearsal for a new musical entitled The Day The Sky Turned Orange as part of SFBATCO's annual New Roots Theater Festival, which provides a platform for works in development by BIPOC artists and organizations. Photo by Bekah Lynn Photography.
In the middle of 2022, while on a call with longtime grantee Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the Foundation first learned of their partnership with Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) to provide unrestricted funds for Black theatres, Indigenous theatres, and Theatres of Color through a program they named Thrive! Uplifting Theatres of Color. At the time, it was one update among many that TCG shared representing the comprehensive work they do to lead for a just and thriving theatre ecology. Due to our trusted and close relationship with TCG and our admiration for DDCF’s work, we thought this could be a fantastic way to advance equitable change within our mission and were thrilled when TCG and DDCF accepted our proposal of joining the partnership and adding our funding to the total amount of support.
By the time the Foundation expressed interest in joining the partnership, the Thrive! program was well underway, in the grant review phase. The Foundation’s ability to move quickly and join the partnership in its late stages can be credited to the different strengths both DDCF and TCG brought to the project. The Foundation has long admired the work of DDCF and knew its breadth, history, and capacity would ensure a thoughtfully designed program with the advancement of racial equity at its core. We also knew that TCG’s established trust in the theatre sector ran deep and as such, the grant program would lift up the necessary voices and reflect current sector needs.
We wanted to share our reflections below in hopes of inspiring other smaller family foundations to consider utilizing partnerships with larger foundations to help broaden the scope of their arts funding.
Reflection #1 – Different Partners Bring Different Strengths
As a family foundation with few staff, involved trustees, and an active board, we are often able to be more nimble, more responsive, and more flexible than larger foundations. For example, when TCG sent us a grant docket, they asked us to turn it around in two weeks; thanks to our size and structure, we were able to do it in a few days (which felt especially important to us, as we did not want to enter the process and slow things down). Similarly, our voting process to approve grants requires a short turnaround. While this alacrity to act when we see an opportunity to increase impact is embedded into our organizational culture, we also strive to be the kind of partner who supports our grantees and organizational counterparts through our commitment to trust-based philanthropy. These strengths, combined with the incredible strengths of DDCF and TCG as mentioned above, contributed to a partnership that was much stronger had we each acted on our own.
Reflection #2 – The Right Fit Might Take Some Adjustment
While Thrive! grants were going to be awarded by TCG to theatres across the United States (including Tribal Nations and U.S. Territories), the Foundation’s geographic focus encompasses western states (currently Alaska, Washington State, Oregon, California, Arizona, and Colorado). This discrepancy in geographic focus could have represented a challenge for the Foundation to join the partnership, yet from the onset, TCG and DDCF were willing to let the Foundation target our funding to support grant awardees in our existing geographic reach. We were grateful for the flexibility to make this work for each other and most importantly, the grantees.
Reflection #3 – The Benefits of Partnership Have a Ripple Effect
Because of the Foundation’s regional focus, a huge benefit of this partnership was the level of national visibility the Foundation was able to achieve, and even more importantly, this national visibility was a boon for all the regional theatres receiving grants as well. The Foundation could not be celebrating these benefits without the incredible thought work, funding, and capacity of DDCF and TCG. While we know that our support was on a smaller scale comparatively, the main benefit of this partnership, to be shared by all stakeholder groups, was ultimately a larger pool of funds to be dispersed to a larger number of grantees. Our message to other small foundations is that while you may feel limited in the amount of funding you’re able to contribute, you will make more of a beneficial difference than you think.
(L to R) Ryun Yu as Mr. Kim and Julanne Chidi Hill as Veralynn in The Great Jheri Curl Debate at East West Players. Photo by Steven Lam.
Ultimately, this partnership provided a very meaningful path for the Foundation to push beyond our traditional funding methods, to help us broaden the scope of our arts funding, and to expand our mission of advancing equity. It was an important and significant step for our Foundation, and we hope that by sharing our case study and reflections, we can inspire other smaller foundations to take similar steps to forge new relationships, deepen your learning, and expand the reach of your funding.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Geri Auriemma joined The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation team in 2019, bringing with her several years of experience in the nonprofit and public sectors. Previously, Geri served as a legislative aide to two Seattle City Council members and prior to her work at City Hall, Geri was a nonprofit arts fundraiser. Geri currently serves as the Foundation's Grants Manager.
