Charles E. Culpeper Arts and Culture Grants Impact Assessment Published

In 2003, the board of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund approved the addition of the Charles E. Culpeper Arts and Culture Grants to the Pivotal Place: New York City program, to foster an environment in which artists and the creative process could flourish, and to sustain and advance small and midsize cultural organizations, particularly those that are community based and/or culturally specific.

Earlier this year, the Fund contracted with AKA|Strategy, working in conjunction with its partner, NEXT: Transition Advisors, to conduct a review of the Culpeper Arts and Culture Grants from 2003 to 2013. The impact assessment was done by a senior consulting team composed of Anthony Knerr, Alberta Arthurs, and Vishaka Desai.

The review of grantmaking is intended to provide an understanding of the Fund’s place in the field, the evolution of the program over the past decade, the strengths and weaknesses of the Culpeper’s strategies and grantmaking, an assessment of the contribution of Fund grantees (and the Fund) to progress in the field, and possible approaches going forward. The review and recommendations are based on document reviews and interviews with RBF staff and stakeholders or staff of other foundations and organizations that work in the arts in New York City.

Download the report, Charles E. Culpeper Arts and Culture Grants Impact Assessment