Arts Capital | Atlanta (AC|A) is a coalition of arts leaders, funders, and community partners working together to strengthen the nonprofit arts sector across metro Atlanta. The coalition works on behalf of more than 200 organizations across the 11-county region, addressing shared challenges and building long-term solutions.

Rather than operating as a single grantmaker, AC|A focuses on coordinating investment, advancing public support, and developing shared tools that help organizations stay stable and grow over time. This includes a mix of public funding advocacy, pooled philanthropic funds, and new approaches like bridge financing.

The goal is simple: make sure Atlanta’s arts organizations have the resources they need not just to survive, but to continue serving their communities at scale.

Arts Capital | Atlanta is guided by a diverse steering committee of 30+ senior arts leaders and funders who have been working together since March 2023. The committee includes representatives from 22 nonprofit arts organizations across metro Atlanta and spans disciplines such as dance, music, design, visual arts, and film. Each member organization has signed a formal commitment to actively participate in and help shape the initiative.

This collaborative effort also includes funders such as the Zeist Foundation, the Imlay Foundation, and the Molly Blank Fund. Public partners like the Georgia Council for the Arts, Fulton County Arts Council, and the City of Atlanta’s Office of Cultural Affairs participate regularly, and statewide advocacy partners like Georgians for the Arts join monthly.

Since 2024, Laura Hennighausen, Director of Strategic Philanthropy at Purpose Possible, has facilitated this project.

You can learn more about the committee here.

In the wake of the Lyric Theatre’s closing, in March 2023 a diverse group of Atlanta arts leaders banded together to write an open letter that discussed the challenges of surviving the pandemic, which has proven to be “the biggest disruption to the American Arts sector in history, and the most destructive since the Great Depression.”

These organizations were just a few of the many that regularly gathered every Friday morning to strategize and support each other and their organizations since the beginning of the pandemic. The Lyric’s closing after 42 seasons served to galvanize these leaders to sound the alarm about the precariousness of arts organizations within the 11-county metro region and call for increased support from philanthropic partners, government agencies, and the public.

This effort quickly became a collaborative which has met every Wednesday for over a year and a half to imagine and create improved infrastructure for the arts ecosystem. Together, we have conducted research to get an honest picture of what organizations are experiencing and what they need to flourish.

Arts Capital | Atlanta is working to increase and better coordinate funding for the nonprofit arts sector across metro Atlanta. The goal is to build a more stable, sustainable system of support rather than rely on one-time infusions of funding.

This includes a mix of strategies: growing public investment at the state, county, and city levels; raising and distributing pooled philanthropic funds; and piloting new tools like bridge financing to help organizations manage cash flow and timing gaps.

In parallel, Arts Capital is building the foundation for a long-term intermediary that can support the sector through shared services, advocacy, leadership development, and ongoing coordination of resources.

The focus is not just on how much funding is raised, but on creating a structure that can support arts organizations year after year.

The goal of this campaign is to stabilize as many eligible nonprofit arts organizations as possible—and we had to start somewhere.

Early on, the steering committee adopted the 11-county metro Atlanta region, as defined by the Atlanta Regional Commission, as our focus area. This regional overlay gives us a shared, data-driven framework to understand needs, track impact, and ensure broad representation across the metro.

We also recognize that many public arts funding sources, like the City of Atlanta and Fulton County, are only available to organizations based within those jurisdictions. That often leaves nonprofits headquartered in other counties at a disadvantage. By focusing on the 11-county metro, we aim to help close that gap and bring more equitable resources to arts groups throughout the region and encourage other locales to create their own arts legacies.

Additionally, our metro focus complements the work of partners like Georgians for the Arts, who are advocating for increased statewide arts funding. A stronger metro arts ecosystem can bolster the case for more investment across Georgia.

Arts Capital | Atlanta is a community-led effort shaped by the people who run and sustain nonprofit arts organizations every day. That perspective shows up in how the work is designed and where the focus sits.

Most traditional funding programs are limited by geography, discipline, or grant structure. They are often competitive, restricted, and not always aligned with how organizations actually operate. Arts Capital is taking a broader approach, working across the full metro region and coordinating multiple funding strategies to better match real needs.

There is also a strong focus on small and mid-sized organizations, which make up the majority of the sector but are often the least resourced. Alongside direct funding, the work includes advocacy for increased public investment, pooled philanthropic support, and tools like bridge financing to address gaps that grants alone do not solve.

This is not a one-time program. The goal is to build a more reliable system of support so organizations can plan, grow, and serve their communities over time.

No. Arts Capital | Atlanta is focused on growing the overall pool of funding for the arts, not redirecting existing resources. Contributions to AC|A are positioned as new or increased support, meant to sit alongside, not replace, current giving.

The approach is designed to complement existing public funding as well. AC|A does not draw from core grant programs managed by agencies like the Georgia Council for the Arts, Fulton County Arts & Culture, or the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs. Those programs remain essential sources of support for local organizations.

Instead, AC|A works to bring in additional funding and align it more effectively across the region, so the entire sector benefits.

Arts Capital | Atlanta established a fund at the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia in June 2025. Fundraising is ongoing, and funds will be distributed once sufficient capital has been secured.

Rather than committing to a fixed date, distributions will be timed to ensure they are meaningful and sustainable. The goal is to deploy funds in a way that reflects real need and aligns with the broader mix of public and private investment coming into the sector.

Arts Capital will continue to share updates with the community as fundraising progresses and timelines become clearer.

Arts Capital | Atlanta’s steering committee selected the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia (CFNEG) to host our pooled fund after a thoughtful RFP and interview process. Located in Gwinnett County, CFNEG brings a valuable presence in a part of the 11-county region where we’re intentionally working to expand relationships and deepen engagement. Their location and leadership help extend the geographic reach of this effort and ensure broader regional representation.

CFNEG stood out for their responsiveness, creativity, and genuine enthusiasm for building something new. This is an emerging area of work for them, and we’re excited to co-create an approach that’s community-centered, flexible, and grounded in the real needs of arts organizations.

When this campaign succeeds, CFNEG has also committed to helping small and mid-sized organizations manage their gifts and think long-term, offering investment guidance and support for those seeking financial stability beyond the immediate moment.

Their strong reputation and collaborative spirit make them a natural fit. And we hope this partnership will spark even broader collaboration, inviting other private, corporate, and community foundations across the region to join us in supporting a thriving, interconnected arts ecosystem.

No. Funding will be open to eligible nonprofit arts organizations across the region, regardless of participation in the steering committee.

Steering committee members are not guaranteed funding and will not receive priority in the process. The group has served as a volunteer leadership body, and participating organizations have not received funding from Arts Capital during that time.

The goal is to ensure a fair and transparent process that is accessible to the broader sector.

Funding will be available to nonprofit arts organizations located in the 11-county Atlanta metro area. Full eligibility criteria will be shared in a public Request for Qualifications (RFQ) once funds are ready to be distributed.

Not at this time. Arts Capital | Atlanta is currently focused on supporting nonprofit arts organizations across the region.

These organizations play a central role in the broader arts ecosystem. They employ artists, commission work, produce programming, and create access points for communities. Strengthening them helps stabilize the systems that many artists rely on for income and opportunity.

As organizations become more financially stable, they are better positioned to pay artists, expand programming, and create more consistent opportunities across the sector.

Individual artists and for-profit spaces are an important part of Atlanta’s cultural landscape. While they are not the focus of this effort, future strategies may explore ways to support the ecosystem more broadly.

Funding decisions will be made by a community-led committee composed of local arts administrators and funders. This collaborative group will review applications and recommend awards based on the established criteria.

There are a few ways to engage with Arts Capital | Atlanta, depending on your role and capacity.

Nonprofit arts leaders can join the mailing list and participate in the Friday Community of Practice, which offers a space for connection, information sharing, and peer learning across the sector.

As the work continues to grow, there will be additional opportunities to get involved through working groups, advocacy efforts, and other initiatives.

If you are a funder, public sector partner, or community supporter, you can also engage by learning more about the work, helping expand resources for the sector, or connecting AC|A to others who should be part of the conversation. Please email Laura at any time to learn more.

Please feel free to reach out to Laura Hennighausen at LauraH@ArtMattersAtlanta.org 

Yes, please watch this website and sign up for our newsletter to learn more about upcoming info sessions.

The steering committee will give an update to the community no later than December 2025 on the progress of the campaign and timeline for redistribution.