Dance/NYC Announces 2021 Dance Advancement Fund

Dance/NYC has announced the third iteration of the Dance Advancement Fund made possible by the generous support of the Ford Foundation and the Howard Gilman Foundation. The purpose of the funding initiative is to address the inequitable distribution of resources in the dance field and advance its resilience and thriving by supporting dance makers based in the metropolitan NYC area with operating budgets between $10,000 and $500,000 with two-year general operating support awards of $2,500-$15,000 annually, including ongoing professional development from January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2023.

Dance/NYC remains committed to delivering regranting programs that address disparities in the dance field by continuing to fill gaps in the availability of resources where they are most needed. It believes the dance ecology must itself be just, equitable, and inclusive to meaningfully contribute to social progress and envisions a dance ecology wherein power, funding, opportunities, conduct, and impacts are fair for all artists, cultural workers, and audiences. Dance/NYC's approach cuts across its public programs and all aspects of its operations and is intersectional- building upon multiple issue areas that together create a more just, equitable, and inclusive dance ecology.

The Dance Advancement Fund responds directly to Dance/NYC's research, 2016 State of NYC Dance and Workforce Demographics, which underscores that the smallest organizations demonstrate the greatest capacity to adapt and have workforces that better reflect the racial diversity and presence of disabled and immigrant people in New York City's population than the workforces of larger organizations. The research also revealed that dance makers with annual budgets of less than $1 million comprise the lion's share (84%) of total groups but have access to only 10% of the total revenue.

In 2020, Dance/NYC's research study, Defining "Small-Budget" Dance Makers in a Changing Dance Ecology, further revealed that nearly all "small-budget" dance makers need funding for salaries/wages (95%) and general operations (93%), with more than half (56%) indicating that the salaries/wages category was the most critical funding need. These needs have only deepened over the course of the past year as the sector responds to the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, as revealed through Dance/NYC's Coronavirus Dance Impact Informational Brief which found that individual dance workers and dance making organizations expressed an inability to cover basic needs, including housing, wages, food and rent.

The third iteration of the Dance Advancement Fund, its components, and continued evolution is a reflection of ongoing learning and dialogue with current and past grantees, field partners, Dance/NYC's task forces and committees, and ongoing field research and current events impacting the field. Dance/NYC is also working in collaboration with Ebony Noelle Golden of Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative, LLC who is an artist, scholar, and culture strategist conjuring at the intersection of vision, justice, and creativity with the NYC performing arts ecosystem for over 15 years. It is also inspired by The International Association of Blacks in Dance Comprehensive Organizational Health Initiative (COHI) | Managing Organizational Vitality and Endurance and the leadership of Denise Saunders Thompson.

"Since 2017, our Dance Advancement Fund has always championed a just and equitable dance community," said Alejandra Duque Cifuentes, Executive Director, Dance/NYC. "As the arts industry emerges from months of lockdown, we're excited to support dance makers with their bold new work. We believe the Fund will provide a meaningful foundation for the next generation of dance makers to move into a state of thriving."

"The Dance Advancement Fund is a tremendously important resource created to address equity for all members of our field. I am honored to be working in accountability with Dance/NYC to support the refinement of the program and its on-going work," said Ebony Noelle Golden, Founder and CEO, Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative, LLC.

Applications are now open for dance making organizations and groups based in the metropolitan NYC area with operating budgets of $10,000-$500,000 to apply for two-year general operating support awards for the period of January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2023. Grants will be awarded to up to fifty (50) dance makers to support their operations and advance their resilience and thriving.

Benefits of the program include general operating support grants of $2,500 to $15,000 per year; personal financial coaching provided in partnership with TrustPlus; professional development support in the form of online webinars and grantee cohort meetings; and goal-directed coaching and consulting provided in partnership with Pentacle, PURPOSE Productions, and Gibney's Digital Media Initiative in one of the following areas: visioning and strategic planning; fundraising and resource gathering; marketing, storytelling, and communications; fiscal management; general administration and operations; or digital media and technology.

A copy of the applicant's U.S. IRS Determination Letter, which proves the entity's 501(c)(3) designation or tax-exempt status under Internal Revenue Code Section 170(c)(1) is required, or proof of fiscal sponsorship. For details on how to become fiscally sponsored, please visit Dance.NYC. The program's goals are artistic, and applicants with a primary focus other than dance making will not be considered. Additional information about eligibility and application requirements are now available on Dance/NYC's website at Dance.NYC.

The deadline for application submission is October 4, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. EST.

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