Our Arts and Culture Path focus on strengthening cultural organizations and the sector as a whole has, we believe, an enduring value but has proven especially timely in the current economy.

By offering risk capital to small, nimble arts organizations and providing consultant services to mid-size organizations with growing pains and expanding visions, BCF helps sustain these groups at critical moments in their development and helps them extend the reach of their art. Working with and through partners such as the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance, BCF identifies and addresses needs of the entire sector, like software that helps organizations know their audiences and market themselves better.

Having benefited from BCF staff support for more than 20 years, and seeing the strength of BCF’s Arts and Culture Path, the William G. Baker Jr. Memorial Fund, a private foundation,  decided in 2007 to focus its resources on the arts in order to achieve greater impact in the community. That focus inspired creation of the Baker Artist Awards, shepherded by BCF staff through a 2008 launch which attracted national and international attention to our region’s rich and varied community of artists.

Helping cultural organizations of all sizes build their audiences and make Baltimore a place with a vibrant arts sector is directly connected to our vision of Baltimore as a region with a growing economy, where all have the opportunity to thrive. Our cultural sector does more than provide weekend diversions—it is an integral factor in our region’s economy and a key ingredient in Baltimore’s identity.

Download the 2009 Arts and Culture Path Report 
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BCFs Arts and Culture Path focuses grants on:

• Extending cultural experiences to all who live, work, study in or visit Baltimore;
• Supporting cultural districts within Baltimore;
• Encouraging the cultural sector to work together to meet collective needs;
• Helping arts organizations become stronger, smarter and more efficient.

BCF invites all who share our vision for this region to join us and Invest in Baltimore. We believe that no one path leads to our common goal, but that by investing strategically in many paths we can create a Baltimore with a growing economy in which all have the opportunity to thrive. BCFs grantmaking is built around these nine paths, one of which is Arts and Culture.