The Frankenthaler Climate Initiative is set to launch the third cycle of its $10 million grant programme to support energy efficiency and clean energy projects at cultural institutions across the US.
To date, the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation has awarded $8.1 million to 128 cultural institutions through the Frankenthaler Climate Initiative (FCI).
Launched in 2021, the climate initiative is addressing climate change through cultural institutions. It was created in partnership with the RMI and Environment & Culture Partners non-profits.
“As the first grant program of its kind, the Frankenthaler Climate Initiative sets a precedent for the cultural sector and establishes the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation as a leading proponent of climate action within the field,” said Lise Motherwell, the foundation’s board chair.
“We decided to do FCI because it filled a key gap – a museum board couldn’t raise money to do the carbon reduction work it wanted to do on its building because there was no financial constituency to back that,” said Fred Iseman, the foundation’s president.
“Yet we saw there was and is a massive social and scientific need to do so. So, we spoke to various museum professionals to draw a precise bead on the problem.
“And then as a group we decided to step in – nationally. With the goal of being catalysts for museums, art schools, and other arts institutions.”
Eligible cultural institutions include collecting and non-collecting museums, and visual art schools. Previous grantees are allowed to submit applications for a different type of grant or new initiative.
Application period starts on 20 February
Recipients in the programme’s previous rounds of grants include the Museum of Modern Art and Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art in New York, the Cleveland Museum of Art in Ohio, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.
“Large-scale, sustained energy transformation isn’t a simple undertaking,” said Jon Creyts, CEO of RMI.
“As we all face the highly complex challenge of climate change, it is crucial that we all work across sector lines and combine funding and knowledge resources,” added Sarah Sutton, CEO of Environment & Culture Partners.
The application period begins on 20 February and closes on 31 March. An information webinar will take place on March 1.
Images: Helen Frankenthaler Foundation
