The Kresge Foundation, located near Detroit, Michigan, has awarded the Bakehouse Art Complex (BAC) a $46,000 technical assistance grant through its 2010 Arts and Culture Program. Kresge funding is rare in the state of Florida and the foundation has only awarded a handful of grants locally over its 86-year history.
Kresge Foundation’s newly instituted national arts strategy recognizes that well-capitalized cultural organizations are better able to serve diverse populations with meaningful programming; that artists can more effectively engage audiences and contribute to community life if they have the skills and resources necessary for career success; and that integrating arts and culture into community building and revitalization efforts energizes localities both economically and culturally. The BAC is one of the first awardees in the program.
Harvey Oxenberg, President of the BAC Board of Directors, enthusiastically responded to the significance of the Kresge award by saying: “With the Kresge Foundation’s recent grant, the BAC has entered a new era as we begin our 25th year in Wynwood. Recognition by such a prestigious foundation is an acknowledgement of our importance to the South Florida art community as well as our commitment to fostering excellence among emerging and mid-career visual artists in Miami-Dade County.”
The $46,000 Kresge award will enable the BAC to retain the consulting services of Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), a nonprofit 501(c)(3) Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) founded in 1980 in New York City that works to create a strong, well-capitalized and durable nonprofit sector that connects money to mission effectively, supporting the highest aspirations and most generous impulses of people and communities.
Now through December 2010, NFF will engage BAC staff and board members in a rigorous planning process designed to use proven methods of financial analysis to create revenue projections that will allow for the creation of a strategic capitalization plan.
Chris Jenkins, Managing Director of Knowledge and Advocacy at NFF states: “We at NFF are delighted to have been selected to work with the Bakehouse Art Complex in a very important planning process. We applaud the decision to approach this ambitious project in a thoughtful and methodical way. Through the use of sound financial analysis and projections, our goal is to support the board and executive staff in their efforts to make future financial decisions and take the Bakehouse to the next level.”
For more information on the Bakehouse Art Complex and program offerings for visual artists, collectors and art enthusiasts, please visit www.bacfl.org, or call 305.576.2828.