Panel Topic: Grantwriters & Grantmakers in the Arts

This panel takes a closer look at both sides of the arts funding process. We’ve invited prominent DC grant writers and makers to come together to discuss strategies and best practices for writing, reviewing, and funding the arts. This conversation will illuminate the goals and challenges on both sides of the funding fence as we explore how both grant givers and seekers work together to cultivate a vibrant arts culture within their community.

If you haven’t done so already, be sure to register for EALS on Sunday, March 23.This panel will be during our second breakout session, from 2:00-3:15pm.

We are happy to announce our esteemed panelists and moderator:

Michael Bigley is the Program Officer for the Arts and Humanities with The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation – the largest private foundation specifically focusing on the DC region. He has an Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute, and also has varied experience with the fields of elementary education, childhood literacy and arts education. Prior to working at the Foundation, Michael was the head of education with Washington Performing Arts Society (WPAS) and helped earn the education programs their first DC Mayor’s Arts Award nomination in 10 years.  He sat on programming and professional development committees of the DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative, and was the founding chair of Emerging Arts Leaders DC. He had a graduate fellowship in arts education at St. Bonaventure University, where he was the first staff person focused on creating K-12 programming for the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, which included a newly expanded museum wing. Currently, Michael chairs the Arts and Humanities Working Group of the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers, sits on the Grantmakers in the Arts board nominating committee and The Washington Post Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management selection committee, and reviews proposals for the Catalogue for Philanthropy.  In 2012, Michael’s funding docket at The Cafritz Foundation expanded to include the HIV/AIDS sector, and he now sits on the Washington AIDS Partnership’s Executive and Steering Committees.  He is also an actor, singer, stage director and conductor.

Zachary Clark is a community-based educator and administrator whose work focuses on youth advocacy via arts learning. Zachary currently serves as Grants Manager for Sitar Arts Center, which provides arts-based programming to children and youth throughout the District, and Program Consultant at Homeless Children’s Playtime Project. Zachary is also a co-founder of the Makers Assembly Project, a DC-based public education initiative that brings artists and practitioners into conversation with one another. Prior to his work in DC, Zachary collaborated with New Urban Arts, Freedom School Partners (an affiliate of Children’s Defense Fund), and Community School of the Arts. Zachary holds a B.A. from Brown University and an Ed.M. in arts education from Harvard University.

Lisa Richards Toney, a native Washingtonian, is the Deputy Director of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.  She was previously an arts management consultant specializing in strategic planning and production and event management. Prior to consulting, Toney served with the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities for four years as Arts Program Manager and Interim Deputy Director. She earned her master’s in educational theater from New York University with coursework in arts administration and her bachelor’s degree as a presidential scholar from Spelman College in drama and English. Richards Toney was awarded a Vilar Institute for Arts Management Fellowship with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as well as a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship to study the management structure of Black British dance companies in the United Kingdom.  Richards Toney enjoys contributing her professional expertise to a number of local and national affiliates, including serving on the American University Advisory Board for the Graduate Program in Arts Management.

Katie Adams currently serves as the Director of Annual Giving Programs at the Barnes Foundation. Her professional experience includes work with both “small shop” fundraising and large development operations. Prior to her work at the Barnes, Katie served as Senior Major Gifts Officer University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Director of Development at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, and Director of Development of Project Transformation in Dallas. Katie received her Masters in Arts Management from American University in 2006 and her BA is in Art Education and Painting & Printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2002.

See you Sunday, March 23 for the Emerging Arts Leaders Symposium!