New Music Capacity Building Program
This program combines financial support with professional development opportunities to aid ten NYC-based organizations as they navigate their way through the next stages of COVID 19 and beyond. [Note: This program has expanded and now operates as New Music Inc]
New Music Capacity Building Program
This program combines financial support with professional development opportunities to aid ten NYC-based organizations as they navigate their way through the next stages of COVID 19 and beyond. [Note: This program has expanded and now operates as New Music Inc]
Partners
The New Music Capacity Building Program was funded and made possible by The New York Community Trust.
Thanks to support from New York Community Trust, New Music USA has led a two-year capacity-building program for a diverse cohort of small sized groups committed to presenting, performing, or promoting new music by living music creators on a regular basis. This program combined financial support with professional development opportunities to aid ten NYC-based organizations as they navigate their way through the next stages of COVID 19 and beyond.
[Note: This program has expanded and now operates as New Music Inc]
The program offered a flexible approach to the selected groups or organizations; each received $5,000 per year for two years, for a total of $10,000 each, in order to implement organizational plans that they will design in consultation with New Music USA staff and industry experts. Program content was dictated by the participating organizations, covering the following topics:
- audience development
- fundraising
- digital marketing and presentation
- equity and inclusion
- peer collaboration
- scenario planning
Our overarching goal is to create a supportive space through which a cohort of artist-led organizations can learn together, sharing the unique challenges and opportunities they face.
New Music Capacity Building Program Recipients
“This new program demonstrates our belief that – alongside financial help – connectivity, learning, and sharing of experience can be transformative for organizations within our community as they develop plans for uncertain times. I’m extremely grateful to the New York Community Trust for giving us this opportunity to focus exclusively on the grass roots of our ecosystem: small music collectives and organizations which enrich the city’s infrastructure through their imagination, flexibility, and vast network of associated artists.”
Vanessa Reed, President and CEO of New Music USA
"The Capacity Building program was hugely helpful to ShoutHouse, allowing us to organize our branding and promotional materials, grow our audience, and connect with a group of like-minded ensembles and musicians. After consulting with presenters from within and outside the cohort, we developed materials and strategies for reaching new presented performance opportunities. Thanks in part to New Music USA's program, we've been able to keep a solid foundation and grow as an organization during the challenging times of the pandemic."
Will Healy, Shouthouse
Being a New Music USA Capacity Building grantee has been key to the development of Die Jim Crow Records. In conjunction with the actual grant itself, the mentorship and consultation New Music USA provides is invaluable. It has helped us tremendously with building our infrastructure in a methodical way, setting and achieving attainable goals, and maximizing every resource in an effort to expand our bandwidth.
BL Shirelle, Die Jim Crow Records
Summary of Program Activities
Selected applicants will need to commit to:
- Three convenings of cohort members per year for two years to share progress and ideas, and to hear from guest speakers and experts in response to needs expressed by members of the cohort
- A spending plan for the $10,000 bursary towards the organization’s capacity building needs
- A clear set of goals and objectives
- Peer collaboration and sharing amongst the awarded grantees
Eligibility
Applicants deemed eligible for funding consideration must demonstrate the following:
- Be based in New York City, as defined by the five boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and Bronx. We will accept an organizational mailing address and evidence of NYC-based programming
- Have presented public programming in NYC in 2017, 2018, and 2019. We understand that programming may have been suspended or significantly altered in 2020
- Demonstrate cohesiveness as an organization or collective. Individual artists will not be eligible for funding through this program
- Be able to provide group financials for 2017, 2018, and 2019 with an annual budget under $250,000
- Demonstrate a commitment to the presentation, performance, or promotion of new music by living creators
- Have a dedicated organization bank account
- Commit fully to participate in the program for all two years, contributing to the cohort. The selected participants will demonstrate self-motivation and enthusiasm for partnering with others on this program’s challenges
- Be able to track and articulate outcomes
Partners
The New Music Capacity Building Program was funded and made possible by The New York Community Trust.