Fundraising & Resource Development Partners

Call for Proposals

Fundraising & Resource Development Partners

Art.coop is helping to build the next generation of cultural infrastructure in the United States. We believe artists deserve more than charitable support; they deserve ownership, democratic workplaces, shared infrastructure, and access to capital that allows communities to build lasting wealth. To realize that vision, we are seeking fundraising and resource development partners who want to help shape one of the country’s leading organizations working at the intersection of arts, cooperative development, philanthropy, and systems change that allow artists and cultural workers to thrive.

About Art.coop
The arts and culture sector needs alternatives to business-as-usual. Across the country, more and more artists, cultural organizers, funders, and communities are exploring cooperative ownership, democratic governance, community wealth building, and new approaches to financing cultural infrastructure. Art.coop exists to help make those alternatives not just possible, but stronger and more connected. Born from the landmark Solidarity, Not Charity report commissioned by Grantmakers in the Arts, Art.coop helps move the cultural sector beyond charity toward the art world we want: owned by and for us.

Our work demonstrates that when worker cooperatives, community ownership models, integrated capital, and movement partnerships are intentionally connected, artists gain greater agency, stability, and collective power. Over the past five years, Art.coop has developed programming, partnerships, educational resources, and technical assistance that support artists, cultural workers, cooperative developers, grantmakers, and investors working toward a more equitable cultural economy. Over the next three years Art.coop expects to pursue a diversified funding strategy involving foundations, earned income, individual giving, integrated capital, strategic partnerships, and mission-aligned investments.

Key Areas of Focus: arts and culture, solidarity economy, cooperative development, economic democracy

The Opportunity
Art.coop is seeking partners to help design and implement a comprehensive fundraising and resource development strategy that supports both organizational sustainability and long-term systems change.

We welcome collaborators who bring experience with one or more of the following:

• Foundation fundraising
• Individual giving and major gifts
• Capital campaigns
• Integrated capital
• Donor Cultivation
• Institutional partnerships
• Corporate and philanthropic partnerships
• Strategic communications, including development marketing campaigns, media collaborations, targeted sponsorships, etc.
• Development operations

We are particularly interested in collaborators who:

• understand systems change
• are entrepreneurial
• enjoy working across sectors
• appreciate cooperative governance
• value racial and economic justice
• enjoy experimentation
• can think beyond grants

Project Goals

By the end of 2027, Art.coop aims to build a diversified fundraising program to support our existing national programming that resources artists and cultural organizers in the Solidarity Economy.

Potential areas of work include:

• Foundation Strategy
• Research aligned foundations
• Build relationships with program officers
• Identify funding opportunities
• Pursue unrestricted grant opportunities
• Prepare Letters of Inquiry (LOIs)
• Develop competitive grant proposals, in response to existing grant opportunities and through emergent strategy
• Build a grants calendar and pipeline

Individual Giving

Develop a sustainable individual giving strategy that may include:

• Annual giving
• Monthly donors
• Major gifts
• Planned giving
• Donor stewardship
• Prospect research
• Giving campaigns

Organizational Messaging
Develop core fundraising materials including:

• Organizational Case for Support
• Fundraising Case Statement
• Impact narrative, including analytics of past and present programs
• Organizational folklore
• Theory of Change
• Key messaging for funders and donors

Capital Strategy
Help Art.coop identify an appropriate mix of:

• Short term:
  • Philanthropic grants
  • Sponsorships
  • Earned revenue opportunities
• Long-term:
  • Mission-related investments
  • Program-related investments
  • Recoverable grants

Cooperative financing
Engagement Structure
Art.coop anticipates the work may occur in two key areas, although we welcome alternative approaches.

Area 1: Fundraising Feasibility & Integrated Resource Development Plan

Purpose:

• Identify funding opportunitie
• Recommend diversified revenue streams
• Develop a comprehensive fundraising roadmap
• Assess long-term sustainability and replication potential

Area 2: Implementation Support
Purpose:

• Execute the fundraising strategy
• Support proposal development
• Cultivate funding relationships
• Build internal fundraising systems
• Track progress and evaluate outcomes

Who Should Respond
We welcome letters of interest from:

• Independent fundraising consultants
• Development firms
• Grant writers
• Capital strategy consultants
• Experienced nonprofit fundraising professionals
• Collaborative teams with complementary expertise

Experience working with cooperative development, arts and culture, community wealth-building, Solidarity Economy organizations, racial and economic justice initiatives, land justice, reparations, environmental justice, or movement organizations is strongly encouraged.

Proposal Requirements
Please include:

• Brief introduction
• Relevant experience
• Your proposed approach
• Which project area(s) interest you
• Timeline and availability
• Compensation expectations
• Willingness to collaborate within a team-based environment
• Contact information
• References or sample work

Engagement Structure & Compensation
Art.coop is open to a range of engagement models, including:

• Fixed-fee consulting
• Hourly consulting
• Retainer arrangements
• Team-based proposals
• Pro bono contributions

We recognize that successful fundraising often requires diverse expertise and encourage collaborative proposals from individuals or firms with complementary strengths.

Submission Instructions
Please email your Letter of Interest to gabrielle@art.coop with the subject line:

Letter of Interest – Fundraising & Resource Development Partner

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position or partnership is filled.