
SMART Growth
Making Diverse Small Cultural Organizations Strong and Sustainable
The Chicago Community Trust believes that the strength of our region’s cultural vitality is rooted in the diverse landscape of community-based arts and cultural organizations that create affordable and accessible arts opportunities for all residents.
SMART Growth is a four-year capacity-building program that helps Cook County’s small arts and cultural organizations engage their board and staff in strengthening management practices that effectively support their mission, enabling them to contribute to the community, pay a living wage to artists and staff and remain resilient in the face of economic and demographic shifts. This signature Trust program includes a customized initial assessment by the Arts & Business Council of Chicago and training in the SMART Growth methodology, followed by 3 years of general operating grants which can range from $15,000 to $50,000 per year.
A total of 99 cultural organizations are alumni of the SMART Growth program.
In 2010, the Trust commissioned an evaluation of the SMART Growth methodology, assessing its impact on organizations as well as providing data to improve the program’s design for future cohorts. This was followed up with a 2014 longitudinal study that tracks the first cohort of organizations, five years after their participation.
See all Partnerships and Initiatives
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2018 SMART Growth Class
In June 2018, the Trust announced the twenty-nine organizations that will participate in the fourth cycle of SMART Growth over the next four years:
• 826Chi
• American Indian Center
• Blair Thomas & Co.
• Chicago Dance Crash
• Chicago Dancemakers Forum
• Chicago Filmmakers
• Chicago Independent Radio Project
• Chicago Tap Theatre
• CircEsteem
• Collaboraction Theatre Company
• Community TV Network
• Deeply Rooted Dance Theater
• Ensemble Dal Niente
• Experimental Sound Studio
• Forward Momentum Chicago
• Free Street Theater
• The Gift Theatre
• Institute for Therapy Through the Arts
• Intonation Music Workshop
• Kalapriya Dance Center for Indian Performing Arts
• Khecari
• Korean Cultural Center of Chicago
• Mandala Arts Performing Asian Arts
• Musical Arts Institute
• Playground Theater
• Project Danztheatre Company
• Project Onward
• Trickster Art Gallery
• Voice of the City -
2015 SMART Growth Class
In February 2015, the Trust announced the thirty-one organizations that will participate in the third cycle of SMART Growth over the next four years. Selected from a pool of 136 applicants, the grant recipients are:
• American Blues Theatre
• Audience Architects
• Center for Arabic Language and Culture
• Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre
• Chicago Slam Works (Chicago Poetry Slam)
• Chicago West Community Music Center
• Chinese American Museum of Chicago (Chinatown Museum Foundation)
• Erasing the Distance
• Filament Theatre Ensemble
• Green Star Movement
• Guild Literary Complex
• High Concept Laboratories
• Hyde Park Suzuki Institute
• Imagination Theater
• Mariachi Heritage Foundation
• Maywood Fine Arts
• Mitchell Museum of the American Indian
• Najwa Dance Corps
• National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture
• National Veterans Art Museum
• Pride Film and Plays
• Red Clay Dance Company
• Rivendell Theatre Ensemble
• 2nd Story (Serendipity Theatre)
• Snow City Arts Foundation
• South Side Community Art Center
• Spudnik Press Cooperative
• The Arts of Life
• The Miracle Center
• True Star Foundation
• West Point School of Music -
2011 SMART Growth Class
Thirty organizations participated in the second SMART Growth initiative:
• 16th Street Theater
• About Face Theatre
• Aguijón Theatre
• archi-treasures
• Baroque Band
• Chicago Artists’ Coalition
• Chicago Dancing Festival
• Chicago Jazz Philharmonic
• Chinese Fine Arts Society
• Clinard Dance Theatre
• Contratiempo
• DanceWorks Chicago
• Elastic Arts Foundation
• Ensemble Español
• Global Girls
• Kartemquin Films
• Kuumba Lynx
• National Public Housing Museum
• Pegasus Theatre
• People’s Music School
• ElevArte (formerly Pros Arts Studio)
• Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center
• Sones de Mexico
• South Shore Drill Team
• Street-Level Youth Media
• Tellin’ Tales Theatre
• The Polish Museum of America
• Threewalls
• Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art
• Vivian G. Harsh Society -
2007 SMART Growth Class
Forty organizations participated in the inaugural class of SMART Growth:
• African American Arts Alliance
• Albany Park Theater Project
• American Theater Company
• Anchor Graphics
• Barrel of Monkeys
• Changing Worlds
• Chicago Chamber Musicians
• Chicago Dramatists
• Chicago Human Rhythm Project
• Chicago Jazz Ensemble
• Chicago Jazz Orchestra Association
• Chicago Public Art Group
• Congo Square Theatre
• Emerald City Theatre
• House Theatre
• The Hypocrites
• Independent Feature Project
• Intuit
• Jazz Institute of Chicago
• Joel Hall Dancers & Center
• Jump Rhythm Jazz Project
• Lifeline Theatre
• Links Hall
• Luna Negra Dance
• Muntu Dance Theatre
• Natya Dance Theatre
• Neighborhood Writing Alliance
• Neo-Futurists
• Next Theatre Company
• Puerto Rican Arts Alliance
• Remy Bumppo Theatre
• Rush Hour Concerts
• Shanti Foundation for Peace
• ShawChicago
• Silk Road Rising
• South Chicago Art Center
• Teatro Vista
• TimeLine Theatre Company
• TUTA Theatre
• Young Chicago Authors