Grantee Database
WHIPPOORWILL ARTS INC
Grant Year
2025-26
Grant Program
General Operating Support
Award Amount
$12,750.00
Project Description
Whippoorwill Arts appreciates the CAC’s consideration of a $30,000 general operating support grant for your continued support of two critical part-time staff positions: Tiara Amar, Team Co-Director of Advocacy and Fellows, and Gabriel Block, Team Co-Director of Music aLIVE.
Tiara leads our Fair Play Initiative—a diverse, artist-led coalition advancing fair pay, professional protections, and equitable hiring practices for musicians—and manages our Fellows Program, which provides $25,000 fellowships to a talented and diverse cohort of artists. Gabriel directs artist engagement and production for Music aLIVE, which brings free live music to underserved schools, elder care centers, and community partners.
With CAC’s renewed partnership, Whippoorwill Arts will continue to support an outstanding cohort of musicians, foster more inclusive audiences, and bring the joy of live music directly to communities where it is needed most.
Organization Summary
In response to the needs identified by roots musicians through our national survey, Whippoorwill Arts developed four interconnected program areas that support them and advance a more equitable music ecosystem in local communities:
Advocacy: Through Advocacy and our Fair Play Initiative (FPI), we collaborate with municipalities, arts organizations, businesses, and philanthropists to better support local musicians. FPI priorities are identified collectively by a diverse coalition of musicians across ages, cultures, musical genres, and union membership statuses. Current priorities include establishing local wage standards, expanding job opportunities, and advancing equitable hiring practices.
Music aLIVE: Through Music aLIVE, we organize free community concerts and create guaranteed paid performance opportunities for musicians. Concerts are curated for underserved communities in non-traditional settings through partner agencies such as senior centers, prisons, rehabilitation centers, veterans’ homes, and K–12 public schools. We intentionally uplift musicians of color, LGBTQIA+ musicians, and disabled musicians, and provide ethical pay of $200/hour for performances that are free to partner agencies and communities. To date, Music aLIVE has produced 965 concerts, created opportunities for 485 musicians, and brought live music to 48,000 audience members.
Fellowships: We recognize and support under-the-radar musicians who have demonstrated sustained accomplishment, commitment, and artistic excellence. Fellows receive $25,000 over two years, undertake a professional music project, and join the Whippoorwill Fellows community for professional development, retreats, and performance opportunities. Since 2021, 17 fellows have been supported across four cohorts.
Festival Partnerships: Each year, Whippoorwill Arts collaborates with festival organizations such as the Freshgrass Foundation and Northwest Folklife to present live music featuring regional and national roots musicians while promoting equitable pay, community-centered booking practices, and broader visibility for roots artists.
Organization
WHIPPOORWILL ARTS INC
Address
201 Martina Ave.
Richmond
94801
County
Contra Costa
Region
Bay Area – Other
Website
