Many performing arts organizations are facing a familiar and exhausting pattern: stretched staff, constant burnout, stalled progress, and strategic plans that never quite get implemented. Leadership turnover, funding gaps, and unclear roles only make it harder to move forward. If your organization feels stuck in transition, overwhelmed by daily operations, or unclear on how to actually build capacity, you’re not alone—and you’re not the problem.

Nonprofit arts organizations across the country are reeling. In a stunning move, hundreds of previously awarded or pending grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) were abruptly terminated on Friday, May 2, 2025. These notices hit inboxes just hours after the Trump administration unveiled a new federal budget proposal calling for the elimination of the NEA entirely.

The arts and culture sector is increasingly called upon to reflect the breadth of the human experience. How can we, the arts and culture sector, remain bold and courageous in our DEI commitments while staying compliant with shifting policies?