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Mission and Background
Based in Austin, Texas, the Fund for Folk Culture (FFC) is a nonprofit
organization dedicated to the dynamic practice and conservation of folk
and traditional arts and culture throughout the United States. In partnership
with donors and colleagues, the FFC supports the work of folk and traditional
artists and strengthens local, regional and national organizations in
its field. We do so through the combined services of grantmaking, convening,
and research and publications. Since 1992, the FFC has awarded over 5
million dollars in over 530 grants to more than 335 organizations in 46
states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and several island areas
in the Pacific.
At the Fund for Folk Culture, we are guided by the simple belief that
diversity of cultural expression is central to the vibrancy and well-being
of any community. Diversity of expression is a central tenet of cultural
democracy. At the same time, we are also mindful that communities
and individual traditional artists often lack the political representation
or financial means necessary to compete in a democracy that is increasingly
dominated by mass media and a consolidated marketplace. Marian Godfrey
of The Pew Charitable Trusts recently noted that “the aspects of
our culture least likely to be sustained by the marketplace are often
those that add the most value in American society: creative innovations,
the preservation of cultural heritage and the enrichment of the lives
and capacities of children.” Our work lives at the intersection
of those contradictions—enabling communities to preserve and strengthen
the folk arts and traditional culture and heritage they value, and providing
resources where and when they are most needed.
Through grantmaking programs,
the FFC provides financial resources and technical assistance for individuals,
organizations and projects that make possible the presentation and preservation
of folk arts and traditional culture in community life.
Through convening
on selected topics of interest to the field, the FFC provides
networking resources and opportunities that connect traditional artists,
community practitioners, professionals and service providers to each other,
to allied fields, and to broad issues of public concern.
Through research and publications,
the FFC provides publicly accessible information resources, by directing
and sponsoring work in selected research areas that advance the knowledge,
practice and understanding of the field.