The first in-depth examination of the well-being of the area’s performing arts organizations in 20 years was undertaken by the Cleveland Foundation in 1996. The Cleveland Foundation Civic Study Commission on the Performing Arts issued two major recommendations: If the excellence of the region’s orchestral and chamber ensembles, opera companies, theaters, and dance presenters and troupes was to be maintained, a substantial renewable source of public funding of the arts must be secured, and the leadership, business acumen and operational effectiveness of lively arts organizations must be dramatically improved.

The Cleveland Foundation’s grantmaking in arts and culture traditionally had focused on nurturing artistic aspirations and organizational growth. In 1999, the foundation revised its strategy, unveiling the first of a continuing series of initiatives aimed at maintaining the excellence and stability of the region’s leading arts organizations. The first initiative, dubbed BASICs (“Building the Arts’ Strength in Cleveland”), was a $10 million commitment to foster the professionalism of 14 participating organizations. The grantees received operating support for the duration of the five-year initiative and one-time grants to strengthen financial management, strategic planning or information technology.

To continue the progress generated by BASICs, in 2004 the foundation committed $5 million to implement an Arts Advancement Program. The three-year initiative sought to encourage operating efficiencies, develop highly skilled leaders and improve the financial positions of six mid-sized arts organizations. Deemed ready for additional capacity-building by nationally recognized experts in arts management, Apollo’s Fire (Cleveland Baroque Orchestra), the Cleveland Film Society, Cleveland Public Art, Great Lakes Theater Festival, MOCA (the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland) and Young Audiences of Greater Cleveland received technical assistance, working capital and grants to underwrite needed staffing, planning and feasibility studies, and marketing.

Sustaining Excellence, an invitation-only program of special support, was launched in 2008 to counter the effects of the economic downtown. This initiative extended a safety net of $6.6 million in grants to continue the movement of a spectrum of arts organizations toward self-sufficiency. In 2011, the foundation kicked off Engaging the Future, a three-year initiative that enlisted 11 established arts and cultural organizations of varying sizes—from the Cleveland Orchestra to GroundWorks DanceTheater—in an all-out effort to adapt to rapidly shifting demographics, technologies and tastes. The goal of this initiative, which provided $1.44 million in first-year grants, is to give the participating organizations the time and means to attract the younger, more diverse, more tech-oriented audiences they will need to survive for generations to come.

Over the last quarter century, the Cleveland Foundation has awarded grants totaling almost $200 million to sustain the vibrancy and viability of the region’s arts and cultural amenities. The foundation led its peers in deciding at the turn of the 21st century to redirect significant resources to building the management capacities of local arts organizations. It remains at the cutting edge in recognizing the cultural and economic imperative of providing long-term support for arts professionalization and new-audience development.