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Posted On: October 9th 2026, 04:33 am
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Two years ago today, I launched Road Openers, LLC at Grantmakers in the Arts Annual Conference in #Chicago during #artsandhumanities month. What an exciting 2 years it's been!
One of the first partners to place their confidence in us & our vision to bring holistic, integrated support to artists & cultural organizations was the City of Seattle Office of Arts & Culture. OAC engaged us to research, design & deliver a pilot program to support arts & culture organizations through major transformations as they pursue sustainability -- not only financial, but human sustainability. Pathways to Innovation, Vitality, & Organizational Transformation (#PIVOT) is unusual among most support programs I've seen because it:
1) Combines 3 facets of support (whereas I typically see only the first 2 of the following):
--unrestricted, multi-year grants (in this case, large grants of $100-250K *per year* for 2 years
--a cohort experience designed to facilitate peer learning & mentorship for both organizational-level & ecosystem-level transformation
--*wrap-around support* for each organization tailored to them & their particular transformation & that evolves with them over the course of the program
2) Supports organizations of across types, ages, & sizes--small, grassroots orgs, midsized anchors, & large institutions--incl. theatre, dance, literary, film, cultural heritage, & multidisciplinary orgs, throughout Seattle
3) Welcomes the uncertainty inherent in transformations & aims to collaboratively navigate & adapt with the PIVOT cohort members
Nearly 1.5 years into this work, & about 6 months into the 2-year cohort program, I'm so impressed by the vision, dedication, artistry, leadership & partnership exhibited by these organizations!
I'm grateful for our partners at OAC, esp. Alex Rose, Cristina Cano-Calhoun, Ele Watts, Kathy Hsieh; our developmental evaluator partner Yve Susskind of Praxis Associates; & my Road Openers teammates who have been on the PIVOT journey: Stacey Breakall, Hillary Hittner, PCC, CarlosAlexis Cruz, Usha Srinivasan, Eric Oberstein of Eric Oberstein Productions, & Lord Cultural Resources
Link to the press release is in the bio!
One of the first partners to place their confidence in us & our vision to bring holistic, integrated support to artists & cultural organizations was the City of Seattle Office of Arts & Culture. OAC engaged us to research, design & deliver a pilot program to support arts & culture organizations through major transformations as they pursue sustainability -- not only financial, but human sustainability. Pathways to Innovation, Vitality, & Organizational Transformation (#PIVOT) is unusual among most support programs I've seen because it:
1) Combines 3 facets of support (whereas I typically see only the first 2 of the following):
--unrestricted, multi-year grants (in this case, large grants of $100-250K *per year* for 2 years
--a cohort experience designed to facilitate peer learning & mentorship for both organizational-level & ecosystem-level transformation
--*wrap-around support* for each organization tailored to them & their particular transformation & that evolves with them over the course of the program
2) Supports organizations of across types, ages, & sizes--small, grassroots orgs, midsized anchors, & large institutions--incl. theatre, dance, literary, film, cultural heritage, & multidisciplinary orgs, throughout Seattle
3) Welcomes the uncertainty inherent in transformations & aims to collaboratively navigate & adapt with the PIVOT cohort members
Nearly 1.5 years into this work, & about 6 months into the 2-year cohort program, I'm so impressed by the vision, dedication, artistry, leadership & partnership exhibited by these organizations!
I'm grateful for our partners at OAC, esp. Alex Rose, Cristina Cano-Calhoun, Ele Watts, Kathy Hsieh; our developmental evaluator partner Yve Susskind of Praxis Associates; & my Road Openers teammates who have been on the PIVOT journey: Stacey Breakall, Hillary Hittner, PCC, CarlosAlexis Cruz, Usha Srinivasan, Eric Oberstein of Eric Oberstein Productions, & Lord Cultural Resources
Link to the press release is in the bio!
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