The Regional Grants Program provides grants to youth-based arts and mentoring programs at nonprofits based in Lumpkin member communities. A committee comprised of Lumpkin family members conducts site visits and makes all the grant decisions.

The Committee has chosen to focus on youth arts and mentoring programs as they demonstrate the ability to give children a voice, which contributes to self-esteem and enables young people to make important connections to their community. We know, based on available data and research, that academic achievement is positively linked to development of arts-related skills and self esteem.

The Regional Grants Program is comprised of:

• Member Community Grants: Supporting projects in the arts and/or mentoring in Lumpkin member communities.
• Member Community Focus Grant: One half of the Program budget will be directed at a single community. The Committee will spend time during the early part of the year studying the history, culture and nonprofit landscape of the community before focusing on arts and mentoring programs. The Committee will invite a small number of organizations to submit an application and plan to complete site visits on finalist (or serious) candidates before making its decision. The 2012 Focus Community is Philadelphia, PA.

Examples of past grantees that fit current guidelines:

• Albuquerque Youth Symphony Program, Albuquerque, NM, $5,000, to support the Tuition Financial Aid and Private Lesson Assistance Programs which allow every eligible child to participate despite financial hardship.
• Latinos Progresando, Chicago, IL, $2,500 for the community and youth theatre group Teatro Americano. Funds support the production, rehearsal and performance of three original plays.
• Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT, $5,000 for an advanced Student Docent Program.
• Philadelphia Education Fund, Philadelphia, PA, $3,333 for the ArtsRising program, which integrates arts into the education of all youth in Philadelphia.
• Bread and Roses, San Francisco, CA, $4,333 to support the Youth Outreach program of 1,400 volunteer performers who bring the healing and socially enriching power of live music and other live performance to the facilities in which the children they serve reside: low-income daycares and after-school programs, special needs schools, homeless shelters, drug and alcohol rehabilitation homes, youth detention facilities and pediatric hospitals.

Defining Arts & Mentoring
The arts are defined broadly to include all visual and performing arts. We are particularly interested in programs that target disadvantaged young people between grades eight and ten because we understand this to be a critical period in formulating a positive life view and establishing good decision-making patterns.

In addition to taking our quick Eligibility Quiz, please note that the Regional Grants Program makes grants only to arts and/or mentoring programs located in the following communities:

• Albuquerque, NM
• Chicago, IL (Oak Park and Pilsen neighborhoods)
• Fairfield Area, CT
• Marin County, CA
• Philadelphia, PA
• San Francisco, CA

Cultural Data Project
Beginning in 2011, The Lumpkin Family Foundation’s Regional Grant Committee is engaging in a new partnership with the Cultural Data Project (CDP) in California, Illinois, Pennsylvania and New York. The CDP is a collaborative effort of public and private funders throughout the United States and consists of an online system for collecting and standardizing historical financial and organizational data. The Lumpkin Family Foundation, along with other participating funders, is giving applicants the option to complete a Data Profile annually through the CDP website http://www.culturaldata.org/  You will use the information you enter into the Data Profile in your application to The Lumpkin Family Foundation, as well as other participating funders throughout your state.

The CDP will provide the cultural community with consistent, reliable, comprehensive data on arts and culture, and enable organizations to view trends in their data, benchmark themselves against peer organizations, and enhance their financial management capacity.

For more information about the Cultural Data Project please click here or visit http://www.culturaldata.org/

Who Should Apply
We have a preference for:

• Small- to medium-size organizations (annual budgets under $1 million) where relatively small grants (under $5,000) may have greater affect. We will, however, consider projects from larger organizations that can demonstrate a very specific short-term need.
• Opportunities to seed new ideas or support smooth transitions between funding sources that can typically be achieved through short-term grant commitments (i.e. one year). We will, however, consider a multi-year commitment or extension of a one-year grant in special circumstances.

Program Timetable

The 2012 timetable for inquiries to the Regional Grants Program is as follows:

Letters of Inquiry due May 4 (not before April 1); Invited Applications due June 25; Grant decisions made by mid-July.  Lumpkin Family Fund program deadlines are also noted in our calendar.

Please direct inquiries on the Regional Grants Program to:

Annie Hernandez
Annie@lumpkinfoundation.org
217-234-5702