United States: Frankenthaler Climate Initiative Program

Deadline: 15-Mar-2024

The Helen Frankenthaler Foundation in collaboration with RMI and Environment & Culture Partners has launched the Frankenthaler Climate Initiative (FCI), a pioneering grantmaking Program.

Since its inception in 2021, the FCI has distinguished itself as the foremost private national initiative in the United States dedicated to combating climate change specifically within the visual arts sector.

The FCI provides visual arts institutions with the funding and guidance required to undertake ambitious sustainability and energy efficiency initiatives that directly address carbon reduction and energy efficiency. The scope of its support is broad, encompassing everything from modest, rapid-response projects to comprehensive efficiency audits and feasibility studies, and extending to financial contributions for significant infrastructural renovations and strategic planning for new buildings and major initiatives.

Building on the core values of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, the initiative aligns a commitment to environmental stewardship with a belief in the vital importance of the visual arts and arts education. Through strategic funding and partnerships focused on tangible infrastructure, the FCI aims to catalyze a sector-wide shift toward zero carbon operations, promoting a future where the visual arts thrive—while contributing to a more sustainable and ecologically conscious world.

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Grant Categories

• The Frankenthaler Climate Initiative funds energy efficiency and clean energy generation projects in the following categories:
  • Catalyst Grants ($15,000 maximum) support stand-alone projects with a quick turnaround and are perfect for small spaces or first actions at any site or institution—and can include an additional award of up to 5 hours of in-project coaching.
  • Scoping Grants ($25,000 maximum) help institutions to understand energy mitigation and sustainability-related opportunities at their facilities. By supporting assessments, including those led by independent and appropriate consultants, Scoping grants benefit institutions that are beginning to reduce their emissions footprint.
  • Technical Assistance Grants ($50,000 maximum) support projects where initial inquiries are complete, and where an identified efficiency project requires procurement and financing support.This may include providing designs and specifications, or connections to energy services companies who provide project support. These grants also support more complex studies or analysis required for pursuing major implementation projects.
  • Implementation Grants ($100,000 maximum) support ambitious, innovative, and transformative projects that directly address institutional climate impact. Implementation Grants are highly competitive and involve multiple stakeholders and collaborators. As seed funding for fully specified projects, Implementation Grants often lead to matches for larger capital and strategic campaigns.

Eligible Projects

• The FCI’s primary focus includes a range of strategies intended to promote clean energy generation, energy efficiency, and sustainable practices. Through baseline reporting, benchmarking, and ongoing tracking through the EPA’s Energy Star® Portfolio Manager®, FCI projects employ recognized industry standards, reduce environmental impact, and lower operational costs. Examples of successful projects include:
  • clean energy generation and reducing carbon emissions (solar panel Installation, transitioning away from fossil fuel-based heating);
  • energy efficiency improvements and building envelope upgrades (installing LED lighting systems, replacing windows, adding insulation);
  • innovative building redesigns that lower energy demand (redesigning spaces to minimize energy requirements, incorporating efficient design principles);
  • feasibility assessments and energy efficiency audits to identify opportunities for improvement; and
  • sustainability measures related to collections management.

Eligibility Criteria

• Eligible Organizations
  • Museums, Nonprofit Galleries, Archives, and Institutions whose primary mission and focus involves visual art
    • art museums; collecting and non-collecting institutions focused on visual art
    • nonprofit art galleries
    • archives whose primary area of collection or preservation involves art or art-related fields
  • Arts Education, Higher Education, and the Study of Art
    • Independent Art Schools
    • art schools, departments, or divisions within an accredit college, university, or other non-profit institution of higher education whose focus entails art or the study of art
    • museums or galleries within a college or university
    • centers for the study of visual art (independent or housed within nonprofit entities)
    • artist residency programs
    • art education center where the visual arts are the primary focus and activity
  • Community and cultural organizations whose mission and focus includes an emphasis on visual art
    • Cultural centers and museums that display the arts of their community
    • Community art centers
  • Artist-Endowed Foundations
    • Arts Events, including biennials, multi-institutional collaborations, temporary exhibitions, large-scale public art exhibitions, and traveling exhibition structures who can monitor and track their energy consumption/energy generation. (New to 2024)
• Ineligible Organization
  • For-profit organizations, including commercial galleries
  • Performing arts organizations (e.g., theaters, ballet, opera houses, symphonies, or other performing arts centers whose primary focus is not visual art)
  • Organizations that have received a grant for all three previous grant cycles, 2021-2023.
  • Organizations without the visual arts as a primary focus and/or whose collection and preservation does not include visual art: Aquaria, Arboretums, Botanical gardens, Children’s museums, Craft Organizations, Nature Centers, Libraries, Maritime Museums, Natural History Museums, Science Museums, Transportation Museums, Zoos and Zoological Societies.

For more information, visit Helen Frankenthaler Foundation.