Arts & Culture Initiative

A healthy and coordinated arts & culture ecosystem rooted in the collective good of the sector and the people it serves.

About the Arts & Culture Initiative (ACI)

From canvas to curtain call, the arts connect, inspire and surround us in Western New York. While the cultural and emotional benefits of the arts are often celebrated, the sector also contributes significantly to our economy — driving innovation, creating jobs, fostering tourism and enhancing our quality of life.

With the Community Foundation’s focus on promoting regional vibrancy through architecture, arts and culture, it is championing the sector in multiple ways.

ACI Values

To leverage what’s existing to its fullest extent before starting something new

To be guided by community voice, identity, and representation in all implementation stages

To be nimble and flexible in responding to the evolving needs of the arts sector

To operate from a strengths-based approach that invites shared responsibility and active participation from all stakeholders

The ACI envisions a healthy and coordinated arts & culture ecosystem rooted in the collective good of the sector and the people it serves.

Click here for a recorded deep dive into the Arts & Culture Initiative.

To learn more about the ACI, including its vision in practice, history and the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation Investment, click here.

In 2025, the ACI Capacity Building Cohort gathered in Chaffee, N.Y. for a full day of learning opportunities. Pictured, top, from left: Yuki Numata Resnick, Senior Director, Arts & Culture, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo; Annette Jiménez Gleason, Senior Program Officer, Vitality, Rochester Area Community Foundation; and Berta Rivera, Director of Community Programs, Rochester Area Community Foundation

ACI Team

Yuki Numata Resnick

Senior Director, Arts & Culture, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo

Saira Siddiqui

Principal Consultant, Saira Creative Arts + Consulting

ACI Advisory Committee

Naila Ansari Carbonell Catilo

Co-Founder AnsariSaxon Productions, Associate Professor in Theater and Africana Studies Buffalo State University

Noah Goodling

Director of Programs, Impact HQ, Fueled by NSG

Linda Franke

Executive Director, Shake on the Lake; Program Coordinator, Rural and Traditional Arts Fellowship

Lynette Printup

Executive Director, Bundled Arrows

2026 Capacity-Building Cohort Consultants

Jeannine Higgins

Communications Consultant

Nikki Ronan

Founder & Principal Consultant, City of Light Creative & Consulting, LLC

Saira Siddiqui

Principal Consultant, Saira Creative Arts + Consulting

Grantmaking

The Community Foundation offers a number of arts & culture-related grant opportunities.

Click here to download our Grant Programs Overview.

Click here to access details of all grant opportunities.

Process is closed

Community Foundation Competitive Process

At more than 100 years old, the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo is committed to making grants that maximize impact on the eight counties of Western New York within its four Community Goals.

Process is closed

Oliver G. & Sarah Sloan Bauman Fund for the Arts

Helps perpetuate the appreciation of such fine arts as an important and integral part of our culture.

Process is closed

Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Legacy Funds

Supports programs and initiatives that reflect the personal passions of Mr. Wilson: Caregivers, Community Assets, Design and Access and Youth Sports.

Process is closed

Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation Arts & Culture Initiative

$500,000 in annual funding to support small to mid-sized arts and cultural nonprofits in the eight counties of Western New York, plus Monroe County.

Workshop Series

The ACI Workshop Series is designed to strengthen a healthy, coordinated arts & culture ecosystem by providing responsive, high-quality learning opportunities for organization staff, Board, and volunteers. Guided by demonstrated sector needs, each workshop is collaboratively developed with expert presenters and co-presented alongside regional intermediary organizations to foster shared knowledge, partnership, and goodwill across the field. All workshops are co-presented by the Impact Hq fueled by NSG, GO ART!, Arts Services Inc., Tri-County Arts Council, Arts Council for Wyoming County, and the Arts & Culture Initiative at the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo.

View upcoming and past workshops

Fund for the Arts

Funder collaboration is an important part of the ACI’s vision of a healthy and coordinated arts ecosystem. Fund for the Arts is a collaborative of arts funders who are working towards the following, collective mission: To strengthen Western New York’s arts and cultural sector by investing in sector-wide, capacity-building initiatives through aligned, pooled resources.

Learn more.

Our Impact

“There is potential for real connection within many of these organizations [in the capacity-building cohort] and it is so inspiring and motivating to see that and start churning on ideas for how to activate it in our own little organization."

Kimberly Merrill, Gowanda Community Theater Managing Director

Gowanda's Historic Hollywood Theater
My world is larger than it was before, and I need to make sure I grow the connections I gained working in my cohort. Knowing others are doing the same work helps give myself grace and encourage growth.

Ben Hickey, Executive Director

CEPA Gallery
It sounds simple but the idea that we are not alone. It can be isolating, this work we do, but I know I learned a lot from others and was able to examine my work with different lenses because of the conversations we had.

Tracy Snyder, Executive Director

Theater of Youth

How to Give

The Arts & Culture Initiative invites you to invest in a thriving arts & culture ecosystem grounded in collaboration, coordination, and collective impact. Your support strengthens the sector as a whole while generating ripple effects throughout Western New York — fueling economic vitality, strengthening communities, attracting and retaining talent, enhancing quality of life, and helping create a region where people want to live, work, and belong.

Give today

Questions? Reach out to our team.

Yuki Numata Resnick

yukinr@cfgb.org