Arts First Launches to Bridge Chicago's $50M Arts Funding Gap

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The nonprofit, founded by artist Meg Leary, will mobilize resources through a collective funding model.

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Launching on Flag Day (June 14), Arts First is a new nonprofit with a mission of mobilizing resources for the creative community through a collective funding model. Founded by artists, to support artists, Arts First brings together a broad group of stakeholders and philanthropic experts, to embrace artists as instrumental changemakers in building and enacting a flourishing, just, and interconnected society. The organization is founded and led by Humboldt Park resident Meg Leary, an artist, teacher, and consultant who formerly led grantmaking at several local and national foundations and arts nonprofits.

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Over the last several decades, support for the arts has declined sharply in Chicago and beyond. All of this is despite the city's status as a globally recognized artistic and cultural hub, with celebrated artists and thriving cultural assets in every neighborhood. “Through our examination of public tax information, since 2015, Chicago's arts community has lost over $50 million in philanthropic, corporate, individual, and government support,” says Leary.

According to findings from SMU DataArts, a national center for arts research, Chicago is losing creative workers at much higher rates than peer cities like Houston, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. The average salary of creative workers in Illinois is below a living wage, and Chicago barely ranks in the top 40 cities nationwide as a recipient of contributed revenue to nonprofit arts and cultural organizations.

Arts First was created to narrow the gap between what Chicago's arts community contributes to the economy — around $3.2 billion annually — and the resources, investment, and recognition the community receives in return.

Arts First is raising its preliminary funding through artists and their champions, a group of founding contributors called “The 312.” These foundational donations will inspire additional philanthropic support and create a truly community-driven and artist-led fund. This groundbreaking new model reimagines arts philanthropy as a collective ecosystem with a shared power structure for donors at various levels of giving.

Arts First's unique collective model allows artists and creative entrepreneurs to lead on the issues that most impact them. With guidance and expertise from philanthropic mentors, artists will be in charge of directing what, where, and how funding is distributed. Grantmaking will be guided by a democratic decision-making process designated by the community. In this way, artists won't just have a seat at the table; they will set the table — defining the priorities, strategy, and path forward.

In addition to funding through grants, scholarships, awards, and more, Arts First plans to provide advocacy and services to the broader arts community. By building the collective power of artists, the organization will work to increase the creative sector's economic, political, and social standing as well as address artists' material needs.

The seed for Arts First was planted during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Leary met Erin Harkey, Chief Executive Officer at Americans for the Arts, and former Commissioner of Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE). Leary and Harkey worked together within a collaborative of grantmakers and arts leaders that funded emergency grants to artists, organizations, and venues. Harkey will serve as the Chair of Arts First's Board of Directors.

Leary notes, “We started Arts First because the COVID-19 pandemic taught us that Chicago's arts and cultural funding infrastructure lacked the capacity to react in times of profound crisis. We saw an opportunity for a new organization, built intentionally, to serve as the space for this type of grantmaking.”

Harkey adds, "The unique way that Arts First is structured can show how to do this kind of work differently — and, ideally, it can be a national model."

The organization will launch its first program, “The Commons,” this summer. These community-led gatherings will take place in partnership with local organizations to provide ongoing spaces for artists to frame the conversation around the needs of creative workers. This new program will be a platform for artists interested in community organizing, democracy building, and civic participation. Gatherings will shed light on the current state of the arts and cultural landscape; provide workshops, learning, and networking opportunities; and offer space and time to meet with local community leaders, political representatives, and candidates.

Arts First is celebrating its launch with a “coming out party” on Sunday, June 14, at the South Shore Cultural Center. Attendance of over 300 people from the local arts and creative communities is expected. Leary says that launching on Flag Day, in the midst of Pride celebrations, will “raise a red flag,” signaling a change in how artists and the arts are considered, and supported, in Chicago and beyond.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/chicago/article/Arts-First-a-New-Collective-Arts-Fund-to-Launch-in-Chicago-20260604)._