Over the past several years, many author – including arts practitioners, academics, and funders – have put forth theories and frameworks that provided guidance for, but few extant examples of, what arts equity looks like in action. Since early 2014, the Memphis Music Initiative (MMI) has engaged in a unique form of arts philanthropy that is a promising approach for equity and inclusion.

Using a variety of qualitative methods, this study evaluates the funding and
programmatic practices of MMI in the broader context of arts funding, arts
education, youth development, and community empowerment to discern the
fundamental elements of the model, its effectiveness, and the lessons that others who are committed to equity might learn. The analysis is situated in a larger discussion of (a) the effects of race and place on access to funding and resources, which we call philanthropic redlining; and (b) the sustained and good-faith commitment to combat this phenomenon through the practice of disruptive philanthropy.