Community Organizing Application - DCLA

NYC Cultural Affairs


Community Organizing 101

Affordable Real Estate for Artists (AREA)
Building Community Capacity
Creative Aging
CreateNYC
CUNY Cultural Corps
Disability Forward Fund
Diversity & Equity
Energy
Language Access
Mayor's Grant for Cultural Impact
Professional Development
SU-CASA

Affordable Real Estate for Artists (AREA)

Building Community Capacity

Creative Aging

CreateNYC

CUNY Cultural Corps

Disability Forward Fund

Diversity & Equity

Energy

Language Access

Mayor's Grant for Cultural Impact

Professional Development

SU-CASA


Community Organizing 101 Pilot Program

In 2019, the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) launched Community Organizing 101: Engagement Tactics for Cultural Organizations, a pilot course that trains staff from cultural organizations around the city in strategies for sustained community building. Following an open call for applicants, representatives from 30 DCLA-funded organizations from all five boroughs participated in this free pilot course, and were provided an opportunity to establish new peer networks and learn how to integrate the tools of community organizing into their work in the cultural sector.

This program grew out of CreateNYC’s commitments to build the capacity of cultural organizations and to improve access to culture for historically marginalized groups. Throughout the cultural plan’s public engagement process, organizations asked for support in connecting with new audiences, neighbors, supporters, and advocates, as a way of deepening their relationships in their communities. The field of community organizing has a long history of tapping into grassroots networks and resources to bring about significant and positive change. This course demonstrated how tactics of community organizing often used by neighborhood groups or in social advocacy movements may also be applied by arts organizations.

The workshops were designed and developed by community organizing experts Community Change Inc., in partnership with DCLA. Community Change Inc., a NYC-certified Minority Business Enterprise, is a capacity-building consulting firm that supports schools, school districts, government agencies, not-for-profits, and institutions of higher education in strengthening their services and connections to youth, families and communities.

The following groups participated in the Community Organizing 101 pilot course.

apexart Curatorial Program

Art Start

Ascension Music Chorus Orchestra

Bronx River Art Center

Chocolate Factory Theater

Dance/NYC

Dances for a Variable Population

Dancewave

The Latin American Workshop

ETHEL’s Foundation for the Arts

Goddard Riverside Community Center

Historic Districts Council

Hook Arts Media

ID Studio Theater Performance and Research Center

Keen Theater Company

Kundiman

Los Pleneros de la 21

Maysles Documentary Center

Mount Vernon Hotel Museum and Garden

The Noble Maritime Collection

On Site Opera Inc

Opus 118 Harlem School of Music

Staten Island Arts

Target Margin Theater

UnionDocs

viBe Theater Experience

Waterwell

Working Theater

The Writers Room

Wyckoff House Association

STRUCTURE

Community Organizing 101: Engagement Tactics for Cultural Organizations pilot program was structured as a 4 session course for 3 cohorts of 10 organizations. To encourage peer learning, cohorts were formed based on a variety of criteria including organization size, audiences served, geographic location, experience and availability.

COST

This program was fully funded by DCLA. There was no cost to apply or participate.

RESOURCES

Read the press release announcing Community Organizing 101.

View the complete Community Organizing Application Guidelines.

Download a blank Application form. For reference only. Applications not currently being accepted.