Callahan Consulting for the ArtsCallahan Consulting for the ArtsHelping funders and arts organizations realize their vision since 1996.
The questions below are provided for your information. They must be answered at this link.
Introduction
Thank you for your interest in joining Fair Funding Access (FFA). Fair Funding Access (FFA) is a project to develop and test a system for measuring the fairness of its grantmaking by participating arts funders. The goals of FFA are for funders to:
1. Move from general impressions of progress to concrete data about the degree to which our grant portfolios are making progress in advancing fair access to funding.
2. Augment our grants data with an agreed-upon set of measures of fair funding access, as developed by peers.
3. Take ownership of our data and our story of addressing fair funding access.
4. Eventually, consider setting goals related to fair funding access to which we can hold ourselves and our field accountable.
Over several years, Doris Duke Foundation developed the FFA Framework by working with a larger cohort of funders, mostly foundations, to measure the fairness and effectiveness of their arts grants in meeting their stated goals. Originally, racial disparities were the main source of content for the framework, but the flexible design can be adapted to other funder priorities or interest areas.
FFA will provide a discussion space about encouraging fair funding access as well as technical assistance to do so in dialogue with our peers.
We are collecting the information in this form to better understand your organization’s interest in FFA as well as your capacity to participate. Using this information, a group of 30-60 funders to be invited to participate. FFA has two Tiers. GIA members can participate in one or both tiers.
For more information, including descriptions of each tier, please see below, or visit the Intake Overview page, GIA FFA page or email fair@ForTheArts.org.
Please complete the form by September 10. Participants will be selected by September 18 and begin work in October 2025.
Both Tiers
About Your Organization
The following information helps GIA understand how, and how much, your organization gives. It allows us to better prepare you, in advance, for what FFA requires.
Organization Name *
Organization City and State*
Type of Organization*
Check all that apply.
Annual Arts Program Grant Budget*
If it varies, provide a range and any explanation. Please give the number for a typical year, assuming that pandemic years may have been different than usual and that your current priorities may be changing.
Average Number of Arts Grants Given Per Year
If it varies, provide a range and any explanation. Please give the number for a typical year, assuming that pandemic years may have been different than usual.
Arts Grant Range and/or Average Size
Discretion and Confidentiality
Participants will need to sign a confidentiality agreement to hold all information shared during meetings in confidence. Tier 2 members are also required to also hold the FFA measurement framework in confidence. Confidentiality is required so as to protect your and your organization’s privacy as well as that of the other FFA participants, and ensure the integrity of the coding process, as it was designed and intended.
Can you and your organization agree to do that? *
If you do anticipate a problem with the project’s confidentiality requirements, please explain why.
Does your organization have confidentiality standards that may inhibit you from sharing any data with this project, such as occasionally describing a grant or sharing a grant record onscreen?
Your Interests and Past Experiences with Measuring the Impact of Your Funding
Please share brief responses to these final questions. There are no wrong answers; funders with all experience levels are welcome. This information will be useful to GIA in shaping FFA.
Tier 1 Involvement
In Tier 1 members are expected to convene monthly for the remainder of the year to discuss their desires and strategies for distributing their funding according to their values and aims and to share what they are experiencing during the current environment—federal, local or otherwise. During these forums, we will introduce a framework for funders to measure their progress.
Staff Leadership. Please enter the staff member who would be responsible for participating in the Tier 1 Forums your organization. GIA and DDF encourage arts leadership to participate in this project.*
Last Name, First Name*
Title:*
Email:*
Identify the role of this person, if any, in managing the arts program’s grant data.
Additional Staff. Please enter other staff member(s) who would be responsible for attending meetings (if different from the above). If possible, GIA and DDF encourage grants management staff to be involved.
Last Name, First Name
Title(s):
Email(s):
Identify this person(s)’ role, if any, in managing the arts program’s grant data.
Are you interested in learning about, and possibly participating in Tier 2?*
Tier 2 Involvement
The questions below identify your capacity and interest in coding your grant records, as is required in Tier 2. Participating in Tier 2 FFA requires your organization to code your grants data, as well as attend meetings.
The general steps are as follows:
Benefits to participating funders are:
How doable does this sound?
Please comment on your choice.
What, if anything, concerns you about meeting FFA’s expectations?
Data Availability
The following is for our information. Participating funders need not store their data in any particular format.
Does your organization provide its grants data to Candid?
If yes, do you complete Philanthropic Classification System (PCS) codes, such as for population, subject, grant type, etc.?
Do you have grants data for a consistent set of fields including:
Do you currently code your grants (outside of PCS) for population(s) that are served or that benefit through the project? Note that we are only asking if you have or gather that information. We are not asking if or how you use that information.
Do you code or notate your grants data in other ways (outside of using PCS) for areas that reflect your aims, whether income level, race, LBGTQ, disability, or other areas? Note that we are only asking if you have or gather that information. We are not asking if or how you use that information.
