Regional Reports: San Francisco

In a past report on challenges facing San Francisco Bay Area arts nonprofits (Reader, Vol. 11, No. 2), I wrote at length about space. Many nonprofits had been forced to seek new office, rehearsal, and storage space due to a steep rise in Bay Area real estate costs fueled by demand from a dot-com economy for start-up locations. The situation seems to have eased somewhat, in part due to funder- and municipally-driven programs as well as to a general downturn in the economy. Currently, anecdotes abound suggesting that high-rent spaces left behind by jobless dot-comers are now available at lower market rates. With this comes a significant development: landlords are willing to negotiate with existing and future renters. While in the Bay Area affordable space is still (and no doubt always will be) a concern, more hope exists among arts nonprofits. Indeed, groups have united in a variety of collaboratives to share spaces and resources. Some arts nonprofits have begun serious efforts to develop new spaces or devise plans that deal with current and future space needs. Thanks also to intensive press notice and to the direct experience of many individuals, concern about space also has been placed in the forefront of the public mind.

Ironically, while arts nonprofits were being accosted by technology firms on the space front, they were also finding that their current technical capacity (computers, printers, equipment, etc.) was woefully inadequate, outdated, or continually in need of repair. What three years ago was considered a luxury or even on the cutting edge, today is often a necessity for conducting business and for reaching and relating to Bay Area audiences. In today's business world, access to the Internet, email expertise, scanners, Web sites, and so on are increasingly the norm. Yet, many arts nonprofits are still operating with older, perhaps donated or hand-me-down equipment. They often lack the technology needed to use the Net and benefit from the activities there.

To identify what resources are needed to help nonprofits improve their technical capacity, Grants for the Arts (GFTA), Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Theatre Bay Area (a local nonprofit theater service organization), and the Management Center funded and formulated a forty-nine-question survey of arts nonprofits' technology. The survey, disseminated to 213 organizations in San Francisco, revealed that nearly all respondents have access to the Internet and over 83 percent have a Web site. However, more than half of all responding organizations felt a need to improve their current state of technology (additional computers, updated equipment, etc.) Almost a third of respondents considered their technological capability "barely adequate." Nearly 10 percent reported operating in a "crisis mode." Training and maintenance were reported as the most critical need. Technology experts recommend that at least one person be designated in charge of maintaining an organization's technology (either a staff person or a consultant) and that an amount of money, perhaps 5 percent of a total budget, be allocated each year for acquisition and maintenance of computer equipment. Few organizations do so, and most maintain their computers, software, and networks by relying on a volunteer or appointing the most computer-savvy person on staff by default. In response to these findings, GFTA (the principal funder of this study) has already made changes in its funding criteria and makes up to 15 percent of its annual grants available to meet technology needs. GFTA is also exploring the establishment of an ongoing technology assistance program to provide planning and training opportunities followed by small one-time grants for purchasing or upgrading equipment.

An integral part of this study included a series of educational forums provided free of charge to arts groups. Panels featured experts in technical fields and covered topics such as planning for technology, software and hardware needs, Web sites, online marketing, and even art on the Web.

During these sessions it became apparent that it is absolutely necessary for each organization to think ahead and develop a technology plan to match its individual needs and goals. Each plan would address necessities such as linking computers in a network, acquisition of the essential hardware that a network would entail, acquisition of software, and, most importantly, careful provision for maintenance needs and costs. Interestingly, during one of these sessions a representative from a mid-size visual arts organization told of acquiring an expensive piece of software recently just because it had been recommended as the top-of-the-line program for data management. Once acquired, however, little use was found for it, and the representative confessed that they did not know what to do with it. Apparently, it proved to be difficult to understand, operate, and implement fully. Careful planning may have avoided what seemed to be an unfortunate expenditure.

In a related arena, many nonprofit arts organizations frequently mention — in public forums, letters, and other communication vehicles — that their programs are often produced using antiquated equipment, whether lighting, sound, etc. GFTA issued an RFP seeking proposals to meet the needs of presenters and arts service organizations for state-of-the-art production technology and equipment. Several key collaborations and enabling groups (groups that serve a wider community or range of artists) were awarded large grants to acquire state-of-the-art equipment such as digital projection systems, advanced lighting and video equipment, and digital recording and multimedia computers. In all, eleven grants totaling $250,000 were awarded. Because GFTA has a by-reimbursement grantmaking policy, the actual acquisition of these big ticket items was facilitated by loans from the Arts Loan Fund, a local funder-initiative that provides low-interest loans to arts organizations using grant awards as collateral.

Finally, San Francisco is more of a “theater town” than many believe, evidenced by the existence of several commercial houses presenting big-name shows, cabaret, and comedy, as well as by the presence of large award-winning regional theaters and significant mid-size independent houses. More recently, these larger venues have been augmented by an exciting proliferation of small, experimental and emerging theater ensembles. While the large and mid-size nonprofits generally have access to nonprofit dollars, this is not true for newer venue-less theaters — called by some “nomadic theaters.” Several ideas have emerged to promote small, nascent groups, independent artists, and other emerging arts organizations that do not meet standard criteria established by most institutional funders.

One such program is entitled CA$H (Creative Assistance for the $mall [company] and Hungry [artist]) which was originally made possible by grants from the William and Flora Hewlett and the David and Lucile Packard foundations and is now funded by other Bay Area funders as well. CA$H was designed to deal with the funding challenges faced by individual theater and dance artists as well as by the adventuresome organizations that the artists formed to help them produce and present work. Believing that a little bit of money goes a long way in the hands of creative and resourceful people, small grants ranging from $1,500 (for individual artists) to $2,500 (for organizations) are awarded in several rounds. Organizations need not have formal nonprofit standing, but must demonstrate a successful track record of productions in a designated period. Already several rounds have awarded forty-one grants totaling slightly over $80,000.

Operated by Theater Bay Area in agreement with the funders, CA$H fills several needs. For one thing, it taps into the first-hand knowledge of a local arts service organization (in this case Theater Bay Area), a group that has day-to-day contact with these artists/groups and is familiar with their needs and strengths. Based on TBA's expertise, CA$H awards grants at a size that makes a significant contribution to the artists/groups. Most importantly, the program gives them support from funders who may not normally fund small, unincorporated organizations or individual artists and who may not be aware of this work. Although originally aimed at the many nomadic theaters, CA$H also reaches deserving dance productions and individual artists.

Another funder initiative is the Creative Work Fund. Although not technically new (it has been operating since 1994), it operates in much the same spirit as the other initiatives mentioned here and reaches out to independent artists and emerging groups that typically do not fit regular funding categories. The Creative Work Fund supports the creation of new works by artists through grants to arts and other community organizations for collaborative projects. By pooling grantmaker resources, it has awarded over forty-seven grants to projects in the visual, performing, literary, and media arts. Among the innovative projects are a new orchestra work involving an all-male a cappella ensemble, an all-women's classical orchestra, and a Chinese dance and music ensemble; an unusual collaboration between the City and County of San Francisco's police department and a photographer to promote violence prevention; and a new theater project that serves former women prison inmates.

Bay Area Funders, in spite of their varying interests and divergent requirements have often joined together to offer solutions to problems faced by nonprofits in the San Francisco Bay Area. Some programs and grant cycles have been devised to deal directly with problems identified by the artists themselves. In other instances, funders have gone to trusted organizations who then channel funds to artists and promising but nascent organizations that lack the know-how or requirements to obtain institutional support. Finally, some funders have pooled their resources to fund new works that take place outside traditional arts milieus.

While these strategies have been useful in addressing many problems, new challenges are always ahead for nonprofits. The latest black cloud is the energy crisis currently affecting California. Already proposals speak of spiraling energy rates and the impact these added costs have on budgets and the bottom line. Ironically, this new steeply-rising cost will affect even groups that were insulated from the space crisis — organizations that own or have long-term control of their spaces. Once again, Bay Area arts grantmakers will need to act creatively to protect the arts.

Juan A. Domínguez is program manager, Grants for the Arts/SF Hotel Tax Fund