League of American Orchestras Launches AMERICAN ORCHESTRAS' FUTURE FUND

The League of American Orchestras has launched the American Orchestras' Future Fund, a new grantmaking program funded by the Ann & Gordon Getty Foundation.

The $4.5 million grants program will offer two-year organizational grants as well as short-term technical assistance grants. Three million dollars in grants will be available in the first cycle. U.S.-based adult and youth orchestras that are members of the League are eligible to apply.

The new program will build on and replace earlier Getty-funded and League-sponsored programs. The focus of the new, larger Futures Fund will be to support orchestras that are making significant investments in learning and innovation, and that also demonstrate potential to influence and ensure a positive future for American orchestras.

"We are grateful to the Ann & Gordon Getty Foundation for their expanded support as the Foundation partners with us to invest in the future of America's orchestras, prioritizing innovation and helping our member organizations to advance the art form," said League of American Orchestras President and CEO Jesse Rosen. "Their generosity will help us navigate through this era of great change, giving us valuable opportunities to reach new audiences and build the resources we need to connect with our communities both inside and out of the concert hall."

"The Ann & Gordon Getty Foundation is excited to partner with the League of American Orchestras in facilitating pathways to ensure and expand the future of orchestral music in America," said the Foundation's Director Lisa Delan. "We are poised at a moment of great cultural change in this country and the Foundation embraces the opportunity to explore the ways in which classical music can adapt to the shifting landscape and broaden its reach and relevance."

Grantees will document and share their approaches, practices, and results to foster the learning capacity of the entire orchestra field. The League will help document and synthesize grant-supported activities in order to identify promising practices and themes in the work, and will disseminate these findings.

The Futures Fund will award two-year organizational grants to orchestras engaged in areas including:

• Experimenting with multi-media and new technologies inside the concert hall or outside the concert hall in order to engage with audiences in virtual and digital realms;
• Addressing new organizational models that explore alternatives to traditional operating models, offer new leadership structures, and redefine relationships among organizational stakeholders;
• Crafting programs on or off the stage that are responsive to and reflective of their communities and the key issues they face;
• Engaging neighborhoods and populations beyond the concert hall;
• Increasing participation and engagement in music by racially, ethnically, and economically diverse individuals and communities;
• Researching the reasons people attend, or don't attend, concerts and tailor offerings to support multiple and distinct audience segments;
• Pursuing new strands of community service, such as health and wellness programming, lifelong learning activities, and cross-cultural creative partnerships;
• Developing new ways to advance classical music as an art form such as new forms of performance, new concert experiences, and new artistic partnerships;
• Pursuing other initiatives that result in organizational learning and innovation.

Technical assistance grants will help orchestras develop the processes, tools, and information or research needed to successfully develop learning and innovation capabilities.

Timing for the Two-Year Organizational Grants
Larger budget League member orchestras may apply now for support to the League for the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons. In the summer of 2017, smaller budget orchestras and youth orchestras may apply for support for the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons.

Timing for the Technical Assistance Grants
In the summer of 2017, larger budget League member orchestras may apply for technical assistance grants for the 2017/18 season. In the summer of 2018, smaller budget orchestras and youth orchestras may apply for support for the 2018/19 season.

Judging and Eligibility
Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis by independent, arms-length panels.

For more details, and for information on how to apply, go to http://americanorchestras.org/futures.

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