named programs · 2 · from sources
What they call their work
Gifted Works Program
Commissions new works by contemporary artists and gifts them to public museum collections across the United States to ensure permanent public access and strengthen institutional holdings
VIA Curatorial Fellowship
Annual $25,000 grant awarded to a contemporary art curator for professional development, research, and travel; selected by nomination to support visionary curatorial practice and inform VIA's grantmaking
activities · 4 groups
What they do
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Artist Support Grants 2 activities
- Funding artistic production and exhibition through grant programsSupports the creation, production, and exhibition of new contemporary artworks by individual artists and cultural institutions, including site-specific installations, public art commissions, and posthumous collaborations. Examples include funding for works by Diana Al-Hadid, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Auriea Harvey, and Lavar Munroe, as well as exhibitions at venues such as the Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU, Tinworks Art, and the Venice Biennale.
- Funding curatorial research and professional development via annual fellowshipAwards an annual Curatorial Fellowship that provides $25,000 in discretionary funding to support curatorial research, exhibition planning, travel, and professional development; also informs the organization’s broader grantmaking strategy.
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Art Museum Funding and Support 1 activity
- Facilitating museum acquisition and public access to contemporary artFunds the creation of new artworks specifically intended for acquisition into public museum collections and collaborates with artists and institutions to place commissioned works into suitable museums, ensuring long-term public access; has facilitated the gifting of over 50 works to U.S. museums since 2013.
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General Operating Support Grants 1 activity
- Providing unrestricted general operating support to small nonprofit arts organizationsRan the VIA | Wagner Incubator Grant Fund, which provided unrestricted general operating support to twenty-five small-scale nonprofit arts organizations across the United States; the five-year program concluded in 2023 after supporting emerging arts nonprofits from 2013 to 2018 with a focus on innovative, progressive, and risk-embracing initiatives.
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Historic Preservation Support Grants 1 activity
- Supporting long-term place-based artistic and community initiativesFunds multi-year, site-specific projects that integrate art, history, and community engagement, such as Rebirth in Action in Houston’s Freedmen’s Town—supporting brick preservation, public pavilion construction, and cultural programming—and a series of sculptural interventions in Boston tied to historical sites.
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financials · form 990 · fy2025
revenue
Total revenue$1.45M
Contributions & grants$1.34M93%
Program service revenue$20K1%
Investment income$79K5%
Other revenue$6K
expenses
Total expenses$1.50M
Program expenses78%
Admin / overhead11%
Fundraising11%
Salaries & benefits$517K
Grants paid out$770K
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$2.53M
Cash$2.41M
Investments$0
Liabilities$1.10M
Net assets$1.43M
Liquid reserves19.4 mo
6 years on record · 2020–2025 · YoY revenue -19.2%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2025
Who runs it
paid leadership · 2
| Name | Title | Hours/wk | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| BROOKE D ANDERSON | EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | 40 | $236K |
| SUSAN L THOMPSON | DIRECTOR OF GRANTMAKING AND CURATORIAL RESEARCH | 40 | $101K |
board members · 16
- ALISON FERRING — DIRECTOR
- ALLISON RAINE — FORMER CLERK/FORMER SECRETARY
- ARISTOTLE BURROWS — DIRECTOR
- BRIDGITT EVANS — DIRECTOR
- CATHERINE WALSH — PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR
- CHARLOTTE WAGNER — FORMER DIRECTOR
- CHRISTINE WACHTER CAMPBELL — DIRECTOR
- EMILY CAVANAGH — VICE-PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR
- GRETCHEN BURKE — TREASURER/DIRECTOR
- JERYL ORISTAGLIO — DIRECTOR
- JUNG CHAI — DIRECTOR
- KATIE ADAMS — DIRECTOR
- LESLIE RIEDEL — DIRECTOR
- MARY JAMES — DIRECTOR
- MOLLY EPSTEIN — CLERK/SECRETARY
- TRISTIN MANNION — DIRECTOR
relationships · 62
Who they work with
- Allison Raine Partner — Leadership Circle member
- Art Institute of Chicago Partner — Recipient of a gifted artwork by Amie Siegel funded and co-gifted by VIA Art Fund.
- Art Institute of Chicago Partner — Recipient of gifted artworks from VIA Art Fund.
- Baltimore Museum of Art Partner — Jessica Bell Brown, a VIA Curatorial Fellow, is affiliated with the Baltimore Museum of Art.
- Baltimore Museum of Art Partner — Recipient of a gifted artwork by Tiona Nekkia McClodden funded and co-gifted by VIA Art Fund.
- Baltimore Museum of Art Partner — Recipient of gifted artworks from VIA Art Fund.
- Brooklyn Museum Partner — Kimberli Gant, a VIA Curatorial Fellow, is affiliated with the Brooklyn Museum.
- Buffalo Bayou Partnership Partner — Collaborates on the commission and exhibition of Rafael Lozano-Hemmer's installation Undercurrents.
- Candid Network — Profiled on Candid, indicating participation in a national nonprofit data network.
- Carnegie Museum of Art Partner — Recipient of a partial gift of a work by Tavares Strachan funded and co-gifted by VIA Art Fund.
- Catherine Walsh Partner — Leadership Circle member
- Christine Wächter-Campbell Partner — Board member and Leadership Circle member
- Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis Partner — Wassan Al-Khudhairi, a VIA Curatorial Fellow, is affiliated with the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis.
- Contemporary Arts Museum Houston Partner — Collaborates with VIA Art Fund on the Rebirth in Action initiative to support the Freedmen's Town Pavilion project.
- Dia Art Foundation Partner — Recipient of a partial gift of a work by Charlotte Posenenske funded and co-gifted by VIA Art Fund.
- Dia Art Foundation, New York Partner — Recipient of gifted artworks from VIA Art Fund.
- El Museo del Barrio Partner — Recipient of a gifted artwork by Reynier Leyva Novo funded and co-gifted by VIA Art Fund.
- El Museo del Barrio Partner — Recipient of gifted artworks from VIA Art Fund.
- Emily Cavanagh Partner — Co-President of VIA Art Fund board and member of Leadership Circle
- Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Partner — Recipient of a gifted artwork by Lynn Hershman Leeson funded and co-gifted by VIA Art Fund.
- Gretchen Burke Partner — Co-President of VIA Art Fund board
- Hammer Museum Partner — Aram Moshayedi, a VIA Curatorial Fellow, is affiliated with the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles.
- Harwood Museum of Art Partner — Partner organization that commissioned the LIMINAL installation funded by VIA Art Fund.
- High Desert Test Sites Partner — Recipient of a gifted artwork by Andrea Zittel funded and co-gifted by VIA Art Fund.
- High Museum of Art Partner — Anni Pullagura, a VIA Curatorial Fellow, is affiliated with the High Museum of Art.
- Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy Partner — Collaborates with VIA Art Fund on the Rebirth in Action initiative to preserve and promote Freedmen's Town heritage.
- Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University Partner — Collaborates on the commission and exhibition of public art through the _Broad Signals_ series.
- Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston Partner — Recipient of a gifted artwork by Wu Tsang funded and co-gifted by VIA Art Fund.
- Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles Partner — Jamillah James, a VIA Curatorial Fellow, is affiliated with the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.
- Kiyan Williams Partner — Artist recipient of a VIA Art Fund grant for the creation of site-specific sculptural installations in Boston.
+ 32 more
strategies · 5
How they approach the work
Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.
- Commission-to-Collect Pipelinemethodology: commission-to-collectBy funding the creation of new artworks with the explicit intention of placing them in public museum collections, VIA Art Fund ensures long-term public access and institutional recognition of contemporary art because the commission-to-collect model bridges temporary production with permanent cultural legacy.
- Curator-Informed Strategic Grantmakingmethodology: curator-informed_grantmakingBy providing unrestricted funding to visionary curators and incorporating their insights into its own strategy, VIA Art Fund enhances the depth and direction of its grantmaking because curatorial expertise surfaces emerging themes and underrecognized talent in the contemporary art landscape.
- Democratic Patronage Modelmethodology: democratic_patronage_modelBy operating as a collective, democratic initiative that connects art patrons directly with cultural producers, VIA Art Fund increases the equity and responsiveness of art funding decisions, ensuring that support flows to innovative and underrepresented voices because shared decision-making aligns patronage with community-driven artistic value.
- Innovation-Focused Incubation of Artistic Practicesmethodology: innovation-focused-incubationBy funding emerging nonprofit organizations and artistic projects that prioritize innovation, risk-taking, and material or conceptual experimentation, VIA Art Fund advances the evolution of contemporary art because early-stage support enables transformative practices that might not survive under traditional funding models.
- Public Art as Conceptual and Place-Based Engagementmethodology: public_art_as_conceptual_engagementBy commissioning large-scale public and site-specific artworks—especially those rooted in Indigenous practices and ecological histories—VIA Art Fund fosters deep public engagement and collective reflection on belonging and continuity because such art transforms physical spaces into sites of conceptual and cultural resonance.