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What is LINC?

Launched as a ten-year initiative in 2003, Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC) represents a philanthropic experiment in using information, money, strategy, and partnerships to effect change in the support system for artists in the United States. LINC’s mission was to improve the ability of artists to create work, build social capital, and contribute to democratic values. Between 2003 and 2013, LINC invested in the work of more than 100 partner organizations and disbursed over $18 million to support innovative programs, groundbreaking research, catalyctic partnerships, knowledge-sharing, and other work in pursuit of that mission. 

  • Cornerstones

    The story of how LINC was founded, its primary programs, and its overall evolution. This section illuminates LINC’s values in practice over the course of its ten-year lifespan.

  • Research

    A complete index of LINC’s published research, highlighting critical findings that can contribute to innovative practices going forward. 

  • Case Studies

    Select examples from LINC’s grantee portfolio, which highlight shifts in thinking and practice to which LINC contributed.

  • Dance Place

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    Dance Place

  • case studies

    First Peoples Fund

  • Center for Cultural Innovation

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    Center for Cultural Innovation

  • case studies

    Community Partnership for Arts and Culture

  • Chicago Artists Resource

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    Chicago Artists Resource

  • case studies

    City Lore

  • Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center

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    Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center

  • Center for Cultural Innovation

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    Center for Cultural Innovation

  • researchCCPS

    14 Stories: Building Stronger Communities by Supporting American Artists

    WolfBrown

  • researchAS

    Developing Artist-Driven Spaces in Marginalized Communities: Reflections and Implications for the Field

    Urban Institute: Maria Rosario Jackson

  • case studies

    The Actors Fund

  • case studies

    Chicago Artists Resource

  • cornerstones

    From the Funder

  • cornerstones

    Earliest Beginnings