Cultural Alliance of York County

The Project

More about the vision, values, and method shaping how the Cultural Alliance supports arts and culture in our community

The Findings

You talked. We listened. Review the findings of our community listening project and see how your input helped cast a new vision for our next twenty years.

The Future

Learn about our action plan and focus areas as we continue to inspire and strengthen the community though our work.

We embarked on a year-long community listening process to understand how we can best support the creative life of residents today and for years to come.
Explore the stories and findings of the Cultural Alliance Listening Project above, or contribute to the dialogue below.

Findings

Large organizations differ from smaller organizations in what they value and in what they need. Large arts organizations value predictability & stability of Cultural Alliance funding. Small arts organizations value support/guidance and “seal of approval” that the Cultural Alliance offers.

Large Organizations

Donors highly respect the Cultural Alliance and its role in efficiently raising funds for the arts community. Donors trust in the Cultural Alliance to ensure that our cultural partners and grant recipients use their unrestricted operating support to positively impact our community through a transparent, equitable grant-making process

Donors

The Cultural Alliance should be broadening its operational support and including more organizations as partners that receive unrestricted operating dollars to support the overall sector. “A rising tide lifts all boats.”

Broadening

The current way the Cultural Alliance funds are allocated to our arts partners is outdated. Anchoring operational allocations to original corporate support funds raised in 1999 isn’t keeping pace with the needs of our partners, and our funded arts partners can’t significantly impact allocations in our current process.

Our Funding

Current Cultural Alliance professional development and promotion programs for the arts community are not generating desired impact. Arts organizations and artists have very different needs, and one-size-fits all training programs, conferences, and promotional events are not addressing their needs in a meaningful way.

Programs

The Cultural Alliance should play a role in helping new and challenged arts organizations thrive. It strengthens the sector when organizations within it are strong. Struggling organizations should get resources to help turn them around, and budding organizations should have access to resources to help them grow and become sustainable.

Play A Role

Supporting individual working artists “plant the seeds” to strengthen the arts sector in our community and could have significant economic development impact.

LISTENING AND LEARNING