Work for Art is now the Arts Impact Fund of the Regional Arts & Culture Council

In 2017, we began a deep evaluation of our 12-year-old workplace giving program. Our goal was to streamline our work, while increasing capacity to provide greater value to our partner companies, donors, and arts organizations. As our program evolves, the work we are doing falls under three main categories:

 

Technology

We are using technology to enhance our communications and develop new tools, including a new online pledge site that replaces paper pledge forms, an online artist directory to facilitate arts experiences in the workplace, and a digital Arts Card. 

Collaboration

We are collaborating with local umbrella funds that represent other sectors to address technological advancements and generational shifts that are changing the landscape of workplace giving.

Strategy

We are harnessing the diverse capabilities and resources of RACC to provide more meaningful experiences in the community and deliver better outcomes for those we serve.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened to the Work for Art brand?
On August 31, 2018, we retired the Work for Art brand, and we continue our fundraising and advocacy in workplaces as the Regional Arts & Culture Council. This step empowers our Workplace Giving, Grants, Community Engagement, and Communications teams to unite and strengthen RACC’s partnership building, storytelling, and advocacy.
Is my donation still matched?

Donations received prior to June 30, 2018 triggered a dollar-for-dollar match from Work for Art’s Matching Challenge Fund. We distributed that match to arts and culture organizations through our grant funding. As a part of the City of Portland Council’s approval of 5% reductions across all bureaus, RACC will no longer receive $200,000 in donor match incentive from the City.

RACC administers and distributes $3.5 million annually in public funding (primarily from the City of Portland and Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties) as grant awards to individual artists and arts organizations. We are excited to begin talking about RACC’s public-private funding model in a more meaningful way. We know that a thriving arts and culture sector depends on both public funding and charitable giving to fill in the gaps where public dollars fall short.

Several of our partner companies match their employee donations. Company match always follows the employee donation – whether it is directed to our grants fund or designated to a specific organization.

What does the Arts Impact Fund support?

Donations to the Arts Impact Fund are an essential component of RACC’s public-private grantmaking to arts and culture organizations based in the Portland tri-county region. Annually, more than 130 organizations receive RACC grant funding, encompassing arts education, cultural arts, dance, film, literary arts, media arts, music, and theater. To qualify for RACC funding, organizations must be based in Clacakamas, Multnomah, or Washington County; however, many of them serve communities across Oregon and SW Washington.

RACC grants provide many different types of support, including General Operating Support, Projects, Capacity Building, and Professional Development. RACC grants are administered by a team of experienced staff, and funding is awarded through competitive processes that involve dozens of community volunteers serving on peer panels to evaluate applications. See who we fund. 

Why did the Arts Education Fund go away?
Donations to the Arts Impact Fund continue to support the subset of organizations that benefitted from the Arts Education Fund. The dollars we raised for our Arts Education Fund made up a small percentage of our annual campaign totals. We elected to direct donations into one fund that supports the broad array of services that arts organizations provide – including arts education, community outreach, and performances and events.
Can I still designate to my favorite organization?
Yes. You may designate all or part of your gift to any nonprofit arts organization based in Clackamas, Multnomah, or Washington County.
Will I still get The Arts Card?
Yes. When you pledge $60+ we’ll send you The Arts Card, which gets you 2-for-1 tickets, for a full year, at more than 80 participating organizations.

If you have additional questions about these changes to our workplace giving program, please reach out to us at 503-823-2969 or artsimpactfund@racc.org.