Our Beloved Community

Collaborative grantmaking

Wednesday, October 16, 8:00am – 9:00am

Organized and facilitated by DéLana R.A. Dameron, founder, Black Art Futures Fund.

Presented by Jessica Lynne, founder, Arts.Black; and Toya Lillard, executive director, viBe Theater Experience.

Black Art Futures Fund (BAFF) is a new national philanthropic initiative that invites regular folks to invest in and participate in the field of arts funding. BAFF emerges from a clear history of collective fundraising when disenfranchised and disinvested populations were denied access to resources. We affirm the model that individuals have the capacity to make an impact in their cultural community and that individual dollars – working collectively like a foundation – are imperative to dynamic cultural production. In this roundtable discussion, we’ll talk about how BAFF members (who are themselves artists, arts workers, and emerging philanthropists), volunteers, and donors continue the legacy of "passing the collection plate" and invite those also in the room to contribute to a generative discussion about a vibrant and thriving Black arts future.