Arts &  Culture BFF Grantees

The foundation is committed to celebrating cultural assets of Washington, DC and its surrounding areas. The portfolio includes support for museum activities, performing arts, art as a tool for literacy, and emerging artists who use visual arts, film or social media. Priority is given to projects that use art as a tool for public dialogue and education; public celebrations of art as a way to bring the community together; and that share community-building models that integrate different segments of society and awaken civic engagement. The foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals.

For more information about the foundation’s grant-making process, visit Grant Guidelines.

2020 Arts & Culture Grantees

Halcyon evolved from S&R Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports talented individuals with great potential and high aspirations in science, art and social entrepreneurship. Arising from the Foundation’s success and recognizing unique opportunities to advance the missions of different types of fellows, Halcyon began operating independently as a public 501(c)(3) organization in 2017. At the intersection of art and social impact, the nine-month Halcyon Arts fellowship supports emerging artists with bold ideas of how art and creativity can be forces for social impact.

Inner City-Inner Child (ICIC), based in our nation’s capital, was established in 1994 as the education program of Dumbarton Concerts. Our mission is to improve the quality of early childhood education for children ages birth to five living in Washington, DC’s most economically disadvantaged communities, using the transformative power of the arts.

ICIC creates an environment that promotes school readiness for young children in our nation’s capital through innovative programming that supports their social-emotional and cognitive development through music, movement, and visual arts.

We are proud to be a six-time recipient of the Mayor’s Award for Outstanding Work in Early Childhood Education, three-time featured organization in the Catalogue for Philanthropy and four-time finalist for the Mayor’s Arts Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Arts Education—all of which are testaments to the powerful way that our arts programming opens a new world of learning to children.

The Kennedy Center has long served as a national leader in arts learning, creativity, and accessibility, and continues to move toward a future in which every community feels at home in its halls. As the nation’s cultural center, the Kennedy Center has an artistic mandate to present a wide variety of performances and a mission to inspire and educate communities in the District of Columbia and around the world. The REACH offers new avenues to creatively connect with communities and instigate collaboration between local and national artistic leaders. The Center also aims to serve as an artistic home for the Washington, D.C. community, featuring local artists on its stages and welcoming local audiences.

The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) is the only major museum in the world solely dedicated to championing women through the arts.

With its collections, exhibitions, programs, and online content, the museum seeks to inspire dynamic exchanges about art and ideas. NMWA advocates for better representation of women artists and serves as a vital center for thought leadership, community engagement, and social change. NMWA addresses the gender imbalance in the presentation of art by bringing to light important women artists of the past while promoting great women artists working today.

Officially opened in October 2005, The Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC) is a $27 million, 110,000 square-foot campus located east of the Anacostia River in Washington, DC’s Ward 8. THEARC was built and is operated by Building Bridges Across the River (BBAR) a nonprofit 501-c-3 organization. Funding for building THEARC ($27 million) came entirely from charitable contributions by the Federal and District government, corporations, foundations and individuals. THEARC is a key part of a revitalization of the area known as East of the (Anacostia) River in Washington, DC.

THEARC is a home away from home for the many underserved children and adults of East of the River, enabling them to participate in dance classes, music instruction, fine arts, academics, continuing education, mentoring, tutoring, recreation, medical and dental care, and other services at a substantially reduced cost or no cost at all.

2019 Arts & Culture Grantees

Halcyon evolved from S&R Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports talented individuals with great potential and high aspirations in science, art and social entrepreneurship. Arising from the Foundation’s success and recognizing unique opportunities to advance the missions of different types of fellows, Halcyon began operating independently as a public 501(c)(3) organization in 2017. At the intersection of art and social impact, the nine-month Halcyon Arts fellowship supports emerging artists with bold ideas of how art and creativity can be forces for social impact.

Inner City-Inner Child (ICIC), based in our nation’s capital, was established in 1994 as the education program of Dumbarton Concerts. Our mission is to improve the quality of early childhood education for children ages birth to five living in Washington, DC’s most economically disadvantaged communities, using the transformative power of the arts.

ICIC creates an environment that promotes school readiness for young children in our nation’s capital through innovative programming that supports their social-emotional and cognitive development through music, movement, and visual arts.

We are proud to be a six-time recipient of the Mayor’s Award for Outstanding Work in Early Childhood Education, three-time featured organization in the Catalogue for Philanthropy and four-time finalist for the Mayor’s Arts Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Arts Education—all of which are testaments to the powerful way that our arts programming opens a new world of learning to children.

The Kennedy Center has long served as a national leader in arts learning, creativity, and accessibility, and continues to move toward a future in which every community feels at home in its halls. As the nation’s cultural center, the Kennedy Center has an artistic mandate to present a wide variety of performances and a mission to inspire and educate communities in the District of Columbia and around the world. The REACH offers new avenues to creatively connect with communities and instigate collaboration between local and national artistic leaders. The Center also aims to serve as an artistic home for the Washington, D.C. community, featuring local artists on its stages and welcoming local audiences.

The National Gallery of Art was founded in 1937 through an agreement between Andrew W. Mellon and President Franklin D. Roosevelt to establish a national art museum in Washington, DC. Since its opening in 1941, the Gallery has fulfilled its mission of service to the American people by acquiring, exhibiting, conserving, and interpreting great works of art at the highest possible museum and scholarly standards. Approximately five million people of all ages and backgrounds visit the Gallery each year and millions more benefit from the museum’s online resources. 

On March 11, 2019, the Gallery welcomed Kaywin Feldman as its fifth director. More information about the museum’s goals for the coming years is available below in the organizational leadership section.

The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) is the only major museum in the world solely dedicated to championing women through the arts.

With its collections, exhibitions, programs, and online content, the museum seeks to inspire dynamic exchanges about art and ideas. NMWA advocates for better representation of women artists and serves as a vital center for thought leadership, community engagement, and social change. NMWA addresses the gender imbalance in the presentation of art by bringing to light important women artists of the past while promoting great women artists working today.

2018 Arts & Culture Grantees

image of a ballerina jumping in the air in a split
Founded in 1996, CityDance is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization recognized as an arts and education leader throughout the DC metropolitan area. With its mission to transform lives and communities through dance, CityDance produces and presents world-class dance; trains young dancers for professional careers; and uses dance to prepare youth for academic, professional, and personal success
Halcyon evolved from S&R Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports talented individuals with great potential and high aspirations in science, art and social entrepreneurship. Arising from the Foundation’s success and recognizing unique opportunities to advance the missions of different types of fellows, Halcyon began operating independently as a public 501(c)(3) organization in 2017. At the intersection of art and social impact, the nine-month Halcyon Arts fellowship supports emerging artists with bold ideas of how art and creativity can be forces for social impact.
Now entering its fifth decade, the Hirshhorn Museum is a leading voice for contemporary art and culture and provides a national platform for the art and artists of our time. Located in the heart of Washington, DC, on the National Mall, the Hirshorn Museum is free to all, and open 364 days a year. As one of the most visited modern art museums in the U.S., the museum shares the transformative power of modern and contemporary art by creating meaningful, personal experiences in which art, artists, audiences and ideas converge. Through groundbreaking exhibitions, events, research and acquisitions, the Hirshorn Museum creates the space where people encounter the most important artists of the 21st century.
The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) is the only major museum in the world solely dedicated to championing women through the arts.

With its collections, exhibitions, programs, and online content, the museum seeks to inspire dynamic exchanges about art and ideas. NMWA advocates for better representation of women artists and serves as a vital center for thought leadership, community engagement, and social change. NMWA addresses the gender imbalance in the presentation of art by bringing to light important women artists of the past while promoting great women artists working today.

Officially opened in October 2005, The Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC) is a $27 million, 110,000 square-foot campus located east of the Anacostia River in Washington, DC’s Ward 8. THEARC was built and is operated by Building Bridges Across the River (BBAR) a nonprofit 501-c-3 organization. Funding for building THEARC ($27 million) came entirely from charitable contributions by the Federal and District government, corporations, foundations and individuals. THEARC is a key part of a revitalization of the area known as East of the (Anacostia) River in Washington, DC.

THEARC is a home away from home for the many underserved children and adults of East of the River, enabling them to participate in dance classes, music instruction, fine arts, academics, continuing education, mentoring, tutoring, recreation, medical and dental care, and other services at a substantially reduced cost or no cost at all.

Turnaround Arts is a program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education, the National Endowment for the Arts, local partners and several private foundations. It is based on the premise that high-quality and integrated arts education can strengthen school reform efforts, boost academic achievement, and increase student engagement in schools facing some of the toughest educational challenges in the country.
The Phillips Collection’s new campus at Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC) provides arts-infused services promoting wellness to deepen the museum’s commitment to the community in Southeast Washington, DC.

2017 Arts & Culture Grantees

image of a ballerina jumping in the air in a split
Founded in 1996, CityDance is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization recognized as an arts and education leader throughout the DC metropolitan area. With its mission to transform lives and communities through dance, CityDance produces and presents world-class dance; trains young dancers for professional careers; and uses dance to prepare youth for academic, professional, and personal success
Turnaround Arts is a program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education, the National Endowment for the Arts, local partners and several private foundations. It is based on the premise that high-quality and integrated arts education can strengthen school reform efforts, boost academic achievement, and increase student engagement in schools facing some of the toughest educational challenges in the country.
The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) is the only major museum in the world solely dedicated to championing women through the arts.

With its collections, exhibitions, programs, and online content, the museum seeks to inspire dynamic exchanges about art and ideas. NMWA advocates for better representation of women artists and serves as a vital center for thought leadership, community engagement, and social change. NMWA addresses the gender imbalance in the presentation of art by bringing to light important women artists of the past while promoting great women artists working today.

Halcyon evolved from S&R Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports talented individuals with great potential and high aspirations in science, art and social entrepreneurship. Arising from the Foundation’s success and recognizing unique opportunities to advance the missions of different types of fellows, Halcyon began operating independently as a public 501(c)(3) organization in 2017. At the intersection of art and social impact, the nine-month Halcyon Arts fellowship supports emerging artists with bold ideas of how art and creativity can be forces for social impact.
Officially opened in October 2005, The Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC) is a $27 million, 110,000 square-foot campus located east of the Anacostia River in Washington, DC’s Ward 8. THEARC was built and is operated by Building Bridges Across the River (BBAR) a nonprofit 501-c-3 organization. Funding for building THEARC ($27 million) came entirely from charitable contributions by the Federal and District government, corporations, foundations and individuals. THEARC is a key part of a revitalization of the area known as East of the (Anacostia) River in Washington, DC.

THEARC is a home away from home for the many underserved children and adults of East of the River, enabling them to participate in dance classes, music instruction, fine arts, academics, continuing education, mentoring, tutoring, recreation, medical and dental care, and other services at a substantially reduced cost or no cost at all.

2016 American Democracy Grantees

image of a ballerina jumping in the air in a split
Founded in 1996, CityDance is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization recognized as an arts and education leader throughout the DC metropolitan area. With its mission to transform lives and communities through dance, CityDance produces and presents world-class dance; trains young dancers for professional careers; and uses dance to prepare youth for academic, professional, and personal success
The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) is the only major museum in the world solely dedicated to championing women through the arts.

With its collections, exhibitions, programs, and online content, the museum seeks to inspire dynamic exchanges about art and ideas. NMWA advocates for better representation of women artists and serves as a vital center for thought leadership, community engagement, and social change. NMWA addresses the gender imbalance in the presentation of art by bringing to light important women artists of the past while promoting great women artists working today.

President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities logo
Created in 1982 under President Reagan, the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) is an advisory committee to the White House on cultural issues. PCAH works directly with the three primary cultural agencies—National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and Institute of Museum and Library Services—as well as other federal partners and the private sector, to address policy questions in the arts and humanities, to initiate and support key programs in those disciplines, and to recognize excellence in the field. Its core areas of focus are arts and humanities education and cultural exchange.
S and R Foundation logo
S&R Foundation supports talented individuals in the arts, sciences, and social entrepreneurship, especially those who are furthering international cultural collaboration.

For more information about the new organization, Halcyon – home of Halcyon Incubator, Halcyon Arts Lab, Halcyon Dialogue and Halcyon Stage – please visit halcyonhouse.org.

Stone Soup Films logo
Stone Soup Films was founded in 2008 as a nonprofit production company that builds the capacity of worthy organizations by developing a probono communications strategy represented in a professional promotional film.
The Kennedy Center logo

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally called the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is a performing arts center located on the Potomac River, adjacent to the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. The center, which opened September 8, 1971, is a multi-dimensional facility, and as memorial to John F. Kennedy and a cultural center, it produces a wide array of performances encompassing the genres of theater, dance, ballet, and orchestral, chamber, jazz, popular, and folk music, offers multi-media performances for adults and children, and is a nexus of arts education.

In addition to the approximately 2,000 performances held annually for audiences totaling nearly two million, the center hosts touring productions and television and radio broadcasts that, collectively, are seen by 20 million more. Now in its 45th season, the center presents music, dance and theater and supports artists in the creation of new work. With its artistic affiliate, the National Symphony Orchestra, the center’s achievements as a commissioner, producer, and nurturer of developing artists have resulted in over 200 theatrical productions, dozens of new ballets, operas, and musical works.

2015 Arts & Culture Grantees

three ballerinas standing near a bar
Founded in 1996, CityDance is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization recognized as an arts and education leader throughout the DC metropolitan area. With its mission to transform lives and communities through dance, CityDance produces and presents world-class dance; trains young dancers for professional careers; and uses dance to prepare youth for academic, professional, and personal success
The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) is the only major museum in the world solely dedicated to championing women through the arts.

With its collections, exhibitions, programs, and online content, the museum seeks to inspire dynamic exchanges about art and ideas. NMWA advocates for better representation of women artists and serves as a vital center for thought leadership, community engagement, and social change. NMWA addresses the gender imbalance in the presentation of art by bringing to light important women artists of the past while promoting great women artists working today.

President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities logo
Created in 1982 under President Reagan, the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) is an advisory committee to the White House on cultural issues. PCAH works directly with the three primary cultural agencies—National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and Institute of Museum and Library Services—as well as other federal partners and the private sector, to address policy questions in the arts and humanities, to initiate and support key programs in those disciplines, and to recognize excellence in the field. Its core areas of focus are arts and humanities education and cultural exchange.
S and R Foundation logo
S&R Foundation supports talented individuals in the arts, sciences, and social entrepreneurship, especially those who are furthering international cultural collaboration.

For more information about the new organization, Halcyon – home of Halcyon Incubator, Halcyon Arts Lab, Halcyon Dialogue and Halcyon Stage – please visit halcyonhouse.org.

The Creative Coalition logo
The Creative Coalition (TCC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity organized by the creative community to learn about pressing issues so they can better inform the public and nation.

The Creative Coalition is the premier nonprofit, nonpartisan social and political advocacy organization of the entertainment industry. Founded in 1989 by prominent figures in the creative community, including actors Alec Baldwin, Ron Silver, Christopher Reeve, Susan Sarandon and Blair Brown, TCC educates and mobilizes leaders in the arts community on issues of public importance, specifically in the areas of First Amendment rights, arts advocacy and public education.

The Kennedy Center logo
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally called the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is a performing arts center located on the Potomac River, adjacent to the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. The center, which opened September 8, 1971, is a multi-dimensional facility, and as memorial to John F. Kennedy and a cultural center, it produces a wide array of performances encompassing the genres of theater, dance, ballet, and orchestral, chamber, jazz, popular, and folk music, offers multi-media performances for adults and children, and is a nexus of arts education.

In addition to the approximately 2,000 performances held annually for audiences totaling nearly two million, the center hosts touring productions and television and radio broadcasts that, collectively, are seen by 20 million more. Now in its 45th season, the center presents music, dance and theater and supports artists in the creation of new work. With its artistic affiliate, the National Symphony Orchestra, the center’s achievements as a commissioner, producer, and nurturer of developing artists have resulted in over 200 theatrical productions, dozens of new ballets, operas, and musical works.