Frankenthaler Climate Initiative- Implementation Grants

Grants for Clean, Efficient Energy in Visual Arts Museums

As climate change has emerged as a defining issue of our day, museums and cultural institutions can take a leadership position in demonstrating that climate action is within reach. The cost of energy is the second-largest component of museum budgets. Energy efficiency improvements are the best opportunity for museums to reduce emissions and save money. 

The Frankenthaler Climate Initiative is an energy and climate granting program launched by Helen Frankenthaler Foundation in partnership with RMI and Environment and Culture Partners. It is the first program of its kind in the U.S. for the visual arts and is the largest private national grant-making program to address climate change through cultural institutions.

The Frankenthaler Climate Initiative funds energy efficiency and clean energy generation projects in the following categories:

• Scoping grants help museums understand the climate and energy mitigation opportunities at their facilities.
• Technical assistance grants support the specification and budgeting of an identified efficiency project to allow for procurement and financing. 
• Implementation grants provide partial seed funding for fully specified projects.

Institutions of all sizes that have visual arts as a key part of their mission and programming are encouraged to apply. This includes collecting and non-collecting institutions as well as visual arts schools. 

Implementation Grants ( page 6 )

An Implementation Grant directly addresses your institution’s climate impact, such as supporting lower cost, higher payback items. Implementation Grants are ideal for organizations who have achieved wide-scale “buy-in” support for sustainable measures, and help to realize ambitious, innovative, and transformative projects that directly address institutional climate impact. They are highly competitive, involve multiple stakeholders and collaborators, and may include matches for larger capital projects and strategic campaigns.

Award Amount: These grants typically range from $50,000 to $100,000 and cannot exceed $100.000. Matching funds are encouraged,but not required.