Capital Grants for Culture
3 Legged Dog at 80 Greenwich Street, recipients of a 2005 Capital Grant
The Capital Grants for Culture program was designed to provide matching grants of up to $225,000 to organizations based in Lower Manhattan to secure long-term space or to renovate and expand existing space as well as planning grants of up to $50,000 to cultural organizations seriously evaluating relocation to Lower Manhattan.
In the program’s first year, the Alliance for Downtown New York committed $200,000 in additional grant funds for the program.
In tandem with our grantmaking, we sought ways to provide technical assistance to grantees to help them anticipate and address the operational impact of facility ownership or expansion. Working with Nonprofit Finance Fund in 2007 and 2008, we offered one-day workshops for grantees on nonprofit finance essentials, and facilities planning, financing, and fundraising. In 2008, we offered two-day intensive financial clinics that included a five-year financial analysis of participating organizations.
Over three grant cycles, the program awarded a total of 19 capital and renovation grants and eight planning grants totaling $1,659,000, accompanied by a $74,000 investment in technical assistance.
For more information on the Downtown Cultural Grants Initiative, including grantees and program highlights, please read our report, Recovery and Growth in the Downtown Cultural Sector.
