One-third of the funders are working increasingly with funding intermediaries to provide grants or services to smaller arts groups. Grantmakers are mixing types of support. Nearly one-half of grantmakers reported using at least one new type of support in the latest three years. Grants are beginning to reflect a mix of types of support that reinforce one another, such as funding for operations, programs, and capacity building. Funders are making more grants for organizational development and capacity-building programs, and for research and policy activities.
Technical assistance is a growing form of non-grant support.
Two out of three funders predicted an increase in the size of their arts budget. The most frequently cited reason was the booming stock market. Several corporate funders expected the amount of funding to rise, although expectations were more qualified than for private foundations, which derive most of their income from investments. Despite the rise in dollar amount, only one out of three grantmakers expected that the arts would capture a larger share of their overall budget. Three of those respondents were community foundations who cited new arts initiatives.