The National Black Arts Festival Recognized by Doris Duke Foundation

The National Black Arts Festival (NBAF) has been selected to take part in Leading for the Future: Innovative Support for Artistic Excellence, a groundbreaking new arts initiative created by Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) and funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. As part of the pilot program, the National Black Arts Festival and nine other performing arts organizations across the country will receive grants to fund innovative projects that address sector-wide challenges such as shifting audiences, decreased funding sources, and new technologies.

 At the very core, NBAF's plan is about connectivity and broader access to the arts.  NBAF will further engage existing audiences and supporters while utilizing technology to expand programmatic reach, opportunity, new audiences and institutional capacity.  The support from the NFF and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation will lead to the creation of a new paradigm for the presentation and exhibition of arts and culture for the National Black Arts Festival as well as the arts presenting field across the country.

 "The greatest challenge the National Black Arts Festival faces in 2008 is sustainability," said Stephanie Hughley, NBAF Executive Producer.  "Leading for the Future will ultimately enable NBAF to develop, distribute and monetize arts-based content that becomes a lifestyle choice for a global audience.  We will broaden the definition and functionality of art and culture and develop a model that can be maintained indefinitely."

Funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Leading for the Future is a 5-year, $15.125 million dollar initiative. The program will provide NBAF with significant capital resources and technical assistance from Nonprofit Finance Fund. The goal of this national initiative is to enable a group of artistically outstanding organizations to strengthen their business in a changing environment, while providing instructive examples and models for other arts organizations to learn from and possibly replicate.

"Leading for the Future will help trailblazing arts organizations continue to thrive in a society that is changing at lightning speed," said Ben Cameron, director for the arts for the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. "Together with Nonprofit Finance Fund, we hope to learn valuable lessons about how arts organizations can innovate, even when faced with the challenges of a slumping economy, shifting generational interests, and emerging technologies."

Other Leading for the Future grant recipients include: Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, Center Theatre Group, Cunningham Dance Foundation, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Misnomer Dance Theater, Ping Chong & Company, Saratoga International Theater Institute (SITI), Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and The Wooster Group .

"Leading for the Future participants have already proven themselves adept at artistic innovation; now, they will lead the way for arts organizations to reinvent their business platforms so the artistic side will be reliably supported," said Clara Miller, president and CEO of NFF. "At a time when restricted gifts and carefully predicted outcomes are the status quo, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation is offering these organizations the latitude and support that is required for true experimentation and change."

 
ABOUT NATIONAL BLACK ARTS FESTIVAL

The National Black Arts Festival (NBAF) is one of the premier national and international celebrations of the art, music and culture of people of African descent. The mission of the NBAF is to engage, cultivate and educate diverse audiences about the arts and culture of the African Diaspora and provide opportunities for artistic and creative expression.

Major funding for this organization is provided by the Fulton County Commission under the guidance of the Fulton County Arts Council, Georgia Black United Fund, Georgia Council for the Arts, The Kendeda Fund, The Nonprofit Finance Fund/Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and the Woodruff Arts Center: ALLIANCE THEATRE, Young Audiences, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, High Museum of Art, 14th Street Playhouse.

 
ABOUT NONPROFIT FINANCE FUND
Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) is a national leader in nonprofit, philanthropic and social enterprise finance. Founded in 1980, NFF (http://www.nonprofitfinancefund.org ) provides loan financing, access to capital and direct advisory services that build the capacity and the financial health of nonprofits. A leading community development financial institution with over $80 million in assets, NFF has provided over $175 million in loans and access to additional financing via grants, tax credits and capital in support of over $1 billion in projects for thousands of nonprofit clients nationwide. NFF has a staff of more than 75 serving nonprofits nationally from offices in Philadelphia, New York City, Newark, New Jersey, Boston, Detroit, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco.

ABOUT THE DORIS DUKE CHARITABLE FOUNDATION

The mission of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (www.ddcf.org) is to improve the quality of people's lives through grants supporting the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research and the prevention of child maltreatment, and through preservation of the cultural and environmental legacy of Doris Duke's properties.