This Fund is a part of our general grantmaking activities, and celebrates Betty’s affection for literary arts, theater, and photography. Because we are a small foundation, we see our role as supporting smaller organizations and companies, and in larger urban areas, alternate or secondary ones.

The characteristics we evaluate for these activities, performances, projects and programs include:

• celebrating the excellence of an individual artist
• promoting one of the arts disciplines listed above
• offering an artistic experience directed to the general public
• exhibiting professional quality
• including a public presentation of artistic work
• emphasizing innovation or excellence in presentation

The Fund does not expect to make grants for:

• physical improvements to performance or exhibition spaces
• fairs and festivals
• arts education
• activities directed to specialty audiences
• hobbies or personal enrichment activities
• commercial museums or galleries

Our Betty Kinsman Fund grants support theatre, literary and photographic arts grantees. Although all proposals will be considered, we do not anticipate awarding grants to new or previous grantees in other disciplines*.

For documentary films, we are unlikely to support an individual film unless it addresses one of our other interest areas or otherwise uniquely appeals to our Foundation. We will continue to consider events that showcase or acknowledge filmmaking or collections of films, such as festivals, awards or prizes.

The Betty Kinsman Fund is expected to distribute approximately 35% of our total grants. Applications for grants from The Betty Kinsman Fund must be completed by February 15 of each year to qualify. These grants are awarded in April for distribution after June.

*When this Fund was initiated in 2005, music, dance and fine arts grantees were included in this interest area. By the end of 2008, we realized we could not sustain support for those grantees, and 2009 was the last year our former grantees in these disciplines were offered grants.