Memphis Music Iniative’s (MMI) newest fundraising campaign not only aims to support Black-led nonprofits, but it aims to dismantle elitism involved in arts funding.
The youth development organization is known for engaging with Black and brown youth through music and art, and recently announced their 25 x 25: Creating Change for the Culture fundraising campaign, with hopes of raising $25 million to support “local, Black-led and-serving arts organizations by the end of 2025.”
“25 x 25: Creating Change for the Culture establishes a groundbreaking funding model in which Black-and brown-led and -serving youth arts organizations are funded to support sustainability and institution building,” MMI said in a statement. “17 partner organizations in the MMI network will receive $1 million each; $3 million will support incubation and responsive grantmaking, $2 million will fund centralized operations, and $3 million will be invested in capacity-building efforts.
Some of the partners in MMI’s network include AngelStreet Memphis, Memphis Black Arts Alliance, Young Actors Guild and more.
The organization said funds will be “housed in a Black-led community chest,” and dispersed throughout the arts community in Memphis.’’
Amber Hamilton, president and CEO of MMI, said their mission to raise millions is rooted in having a goal as “audacious as our young people.”
“We want for them to be able to continue this work for years to come, and we want them to have a sound financial investment and sound footing at the base of that work,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton added that this initiative is not solely about funding, but about helping local organizations “scale” the work they’re doing. Hamilton added that most of these organizations have been doing “grassroot community work without proper investment, for years.”
“Fundamentally, in order for Memphis to stay Memphis, we need young people to be engaged with music and carry on that tradition,” said Hamilton. “What we have found is that a lot of organizations –particularly Black and brown folks who are investing in our young people, teaching them art, music those sorts of things – have been chronically underfunded to do this work.”
Hamilton said “bigger legacy institutions” often have more resources that allows them to have more funding and support, leaving some grassroot organizations to be an afterthought. She said this new campaign will not only showcase the work that these groups are doing, but will also bring attention to some of the disparities faced by art and music organizations.
A case study by The Bridgespan Group showed that groups led by people of color have received less funding than those led by white people.
“Despite their impact, Black-led organizations face significant race-based barriers to funding, whether from philanthropy, federal funding, or corporate funding,” the study read. “The average revenues of Black-led organizations were 24 percent smaller than their white-led counterparts, and the unrestricted assets of Black-led organizations were 76 percent smaller.”
According to Hamilton, it is crucial that MMI not replicate any of the “paternalism and racism” that is apparent in other fundraising and philanthropy work. Hamilton said they don’t require a lot of the reporting, application writing, and bureaucracy that is usually evident in this type of work.
“We don’t want them to become better report writers,” Hamilton said. “We want them to be out doing the work.”
By minimizing these things, Hamilton said they are able to focus on what MMI can do to help these organizations continue in their work. She added their support is tailored based on where they are and where they want to go as an organization.
“We try to take a very different approach, but it’s also important for us to prove that philanthropy can be done differently and better,” Hamilton said. “We can set a new standard and also have accountability knowing those groups have been excellent stewards of those funds.”
Those interested in learning more about the 17 partner organizations and the project can visit the 25 x 25 website.