Let’s Be Intentional About Supporting Black & Brown Arts Institutions

We’ve come to that moment: It’s Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving here in the States, and it kicks off the holiday shopping season. We’ll all find our inboxes flooded with “deals”. We’ll see even more in TV ads and pre-roll videos on YouTube.

But there are two days I’m going to suggest are more important: Small Business Saturday and Giving Tuesday. Both offer opportunities for us to be more intentional with our spending. The reality is this: Unless you’re buying something for a friend or family member, you can probably just ignore all those fancy sales pitches. Ask yourself: Don’t I already have everything I need? If so, let’s talk about how you can help others.

First, Small Business Saturday is a great opportunity to shop local and help the mom-and-pop stores in your area. This coronavirus pandemic has devastated a lot of businesses, and those that are still standing could use your support. It’s true you probably won’t be able to take advantage of your Amazon Prime membership’s free shipping, but you will be helping a local business that’s run and staffed by people who live in your community. For example, if you’re buying books, find a local bookstore. I use Bookshop, which lets you find an indie bookstore nearby, order your book, and a portion of the proceeds go to that bookstore. Simple, right?

More important to me is Giving Tuesday on December 1. It’s a great time to think through not only which non-profits you’re going to support, but also a time to consider committing to a monthly giving strategy. This is particularly important when we talk about the arts & culture sector. I’ll admit right now that this post picks up on something I posted three years ago, but it’s an evergreen conversation.

Arts & Culture has been devastated by the pandemic. It was reported that one-third of US museums–12,000 institutions–may never reopen, according to a survey from the American Alliance of Museums. And the old adage is true: When White America gets a cold, Black America gets the flu.

Which is to say that Black and Brown arts & cultural institutions have been particularly hammered by this pandemic. First, there are the widely reported funding disparities that plague the sector. And, though there have been admirable efforts that begin to address these disparities (here, here), significant gaps remain. Add to that the disproportionate toll the pandemic has taken on Black communities across the country, and our cultural institutions have faced a double-whammy.

On the other hand, whether White or Black or Brown, culture never really closed. As best they could, organizations pivoted to digital programming in order to maintain community and provide intellectual, emotional and spiritual engagement for their audiences. Some even offered up their physical spaces for food and PPE distribution, or to be a COVID testing site. But they’re not back to business as usual, which means any revenue from ticket sales, space rentals or gift shop purchases is pretty much non-existent.

So, what’s your plan to support the Black & Brown arts & culture organizations in your area?

Here are a few suggestions:

• Pick an organization (or two or five).
• Decide how much you can give and stick to that budget. Pick an amount you really won’t miss. For example, $50 can be divided among up to five organizations.
• Better yet, decide how much you can give monthly. Could you commit to $50 per month? Boom! You’re now giving $120 a year to five deserving organizations.
• Get your friends and family to join you. Share that list you created and get them to commit to the organizations, as well. If you get five family members to commit to $50 per month, you’ve now gotten each of those organizations $600 per year they weren’t getting. Math, y’all!

The beauty is really when you think about it in terms of big numbers. Imagine there were X-hundred or X-thousand people giving $50 per month. It all starts to add up. And that money could fund a staff position. Or enable the organization to open its doors to the public an extra day each week.

The last point that I make in the video: No donation is too small. No arts leader I know will turn away $5. Believe me, you’re not insulting anyone, so give what you can, especially if you can make it recurring.