The term cliffhanger originated with a Thomas Hardy serial when one of his protagonists, Henry Knight, was left hanging off a cliff—literally. Readers love them—those major plot twists they just didn’t see coming, those suspenseful moments when the plotline or story suddenly ends, leaving them anxiously wanting more. 

But cliffhangers aren’t just for movies and books. They pop up in Foundation work, too. At the end of 2020, we announced that we had received a bequest totaling nearly $6.4 million—the largest single bequest to date. An anonymous donor with strong ties to Cape Cod entrusted us to create a permanent endowment fund to support the visual arts and other aspects of community life for years to come.

That news generated a lot of buzz—and a lot of activity. How would we invest that money back into the arts community? Well, this is the new chapter you’ve been waiting for.

In 2021, out of the $410,672 in grants distributed to arts and cultural organizations, we awarded more than $200,000 in grants to 14 nonprofit organizations supporting arts and culture on Cape Cod from this newly-created Visual Arts Fund. 

Cape Cod Art Center, Cape Cod Museum of Art, Twenty Summers, and Wellfleet Preservation Hall received Targeted Capacity Building Grants. These funds will improve studio space, finance technology upgrades and digitizing projects, and support strategic revenue development and Board expansion. 

The Cotuit Center for the Arts, Cultural Center of Cape Cod, and three nonprofit organizations supporting other aspects of community life are now part of our inaugural Comprehensive Capacity Building Program. Each one will receive $10,000 for immediate general operating support and $30,000 for capacity building and project implementation. The Foundation has partnered with industry expert TSNE Mission Works to conduct a capacity building assessment with each nonprofit and to provide the Foundation with technical assistance. The program also includes a unique peer-learning cohort model to strengthen and leverage these grantees’ individual and collective impact as they address issues affecting Cape Cod residents.  

We distributed $50,000 to the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod (AFCC) to support its Creative Exchange program which provides professional development and networking opportunities to local artists and creative workers—think “capacity building for creatives.” The Creative Exchange also received $400,000 in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to bolster its efforts. The program supports local creatives through financial planning, one-on-one coaching, fellowships, professional development workshops, and publicity opportunities.

The following organizations received grants for upcoming projects, programs, or general operating support: Cahoon Museum of Art; Cape Cod Theatre Company; Fine Arts Work Center; Highfield Hall & Gardens; Provincetown Film Society; and Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill.

Here’s the plot twist. We didn’t publicize a Request for Proposal (RFP) to arts and cultural organizations inviting them to apply for this specific funding. We have many field of interest funds like the Visual Arts Fund. Some are earmarked specifically for STEM education, others for animal welfare. To create separate timetables, applications, and review cycles for each of them would create layers of work and unnecessary delays. Our community needs funding now.

Instead, these programs came through our regular grantmaking programs and were supported through the Visual Arts Fund. While the difference may seem negligible, we’ve simplified the grantmaking process for nonprofits, increased our ability to maximize the impact of all our discretionary resources by matchmaking proposals across funds, and respected the parameters of each fund’s intent. Our donors have entrusted us with that. And because of this remarkable donor, there will be resources to support the visual arts for years to come.

That’s the best type of cliffhanger. We can’t wait to see how these 14 grantees rebound from the pandemic, move forward, and thrive. We also can’t wait to see what other arts and cultural organizations have in the works to connect and engage us in the months and years ahead.

Final thought: If there is something you care deeply about, consider creating a Field of Interest Fund now or making a planned gift to The Cape Cod Foundation to create a wonderful legacy like this one. We're here to help.