22 Organizations Across the Heartland Receive Cultural Sustainability Awards
By M-AAA Staff
Twenty-two arts organizations across the Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA) six-state region have received grants of $50,000 through Cultural Sustainability: Operational Impact Grants for Small Arts Organizations, a pilot program supporting culturally driven arts organizations and arts-centric businesses with operating expenses under $500,000.
“The Cultural Sustainability grant program recognizes that community-focused arts organizations are more than just creative spaces—they are the beating heart of our neighborhoods,” says Todd Stein, president and CEO of Mid-America Arts Alliance. “These organizations weave together tradition and innovation, bringing people together to dream, create, and lift each other up. Through art, they become the glue that binds us and the light that lifts us.”
Strengthening Small Arts Organizations
Funded by The Wallace Foundation and administered by the US Regional Arts Organizations, Cultural Sustainability is designed to strengthen small arts organizations. The grants will help these 22 organizations sustain their work, expand their impact, and deliver meaningful cultural experiences to the communities they serve. Through a regional learning cohort with M-AAA, they’ll also address key organizational needs and strengthen long-term resilience.
“Arts organizations rooted in communities are often the cornerstones of the neighborhoods they serve, and as we work to create a more equitable and thriving arts sector having a deeper understanding of how funders can better support their work is vital,” said Bahia Ramos, vice president of arts at Wallace. “The Wallace Foundation is grateful to M-AAA and the other US Regional Arts Organizations for encouraging us to expand our work to support and better understand their practices.”
Grantees range from grassroots collectives preserving Native American traditions and organizations connecting refugee women through entrepreneurship, to contemporary art spaces that empower artists and initiatives that transform vacant lots into cultural hubs. They include theater companies amplifying unheard voices, music education programs for at-risk youth, and nonprofits using storytelling, fashion, and film to build community across diverse geographies.
Grantees are from the M-AAA six-state region of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Meet the Cultural Sustainability grantees:
Ra-Ve Cultural Foundation Inc. — Bentonville, AR
The Visionairi Foundation — Fayetteville, AR
Mulberry Arts Inc — Wichita, KS
Museum of Deaf History Arts and Culture, Inc. — Olathe, KS
Mosaic Arts Collective — Springfield, MO
No Divide KC — Kansas City, MO
St. Louis Art Place Initiative Inc. — Saint Louis, MO
Anastasis Theatre Co. — Omaha, NE
ECHO Collective — Lincoln, NE
Local Environmental Action Demanded, Inc. — Vinita, OK
Native Fashion Arts Collective, LLC — Tulsa, OK
The Black Actor’s League LLC — Tulsa, OK
With Love Project Foundation — Oklahoma City, OK
Decolonizing the Music Room — Fort Worth, TX
Diaz Music Institute — Houston, TX
East Lubbock Art House — Lubbock, TX
ENTRE Film Center LLC — Harlingen, TX
Great Promise for American Indians — Austin, TX
Islamic Arts Society — Houston, TX
Soul Rep Theatre Company — Dallas, TX
The Creative Movement, Inc. — Dallas, TX
Voces Unidas — Brownsville, TX
This opportunity is part of The Wallace Foundation’s Advancing Well-Being in the Arts initiative, which funds arts organizations rooted in communities to advance their well-being and enhance understanding of their contributions to community. Through this work, Wallace hopes to help to build a more equitable and sustainable arts ecosystem.
To learn more, visit www.maaa.org/for-organizations/cultural-sustainability.
About The Wallace Foundation
The Wallace Foundation is an independent, nonpartisan research foundation focused on the arts, school leadership, and youth development. The foundation collaborates with grantees and research partners to design and test innovative approaches to address pressing problems in the fields it serves. The evidence-based insights shared by the foundation support policymakers and practitioners in their efforts to improve outcomes, enhance community vitality, and help all people reach their full potential. www.WallaceFoundation.org