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Arts & Culture

Piper Trust’s Commitment


Arts and cultural experiences create a vibrant Maricopa County

  • Literature, performance, visual arts, and other cultural experiences enrich our quality of life.
  • A lively arts and culture scene can provide Maricopa County with much-needed economic stimulus.
  • Children’s participation in arts and culture facilitates communication ability, critical reasoning, and social aptitude.

Our Approach and What We Fund

1. Improved Business and Financial Operations

Organizational planning in business, marketing, and fundraising strengthens arts and culture organizations and improves sustainability.

Computers, specialized software, and upgraded technology, such as installations of the comprehensive Tessitura software, are assets to help arts and culture nonprofits manage their operations, build audiences, and communicate with donors.

2. Collaborations for Greater Effectiveness and Efficiencies

Collaborative projects to build a distinctive arts and culture community in Maricopa County — emphasizing arts and culture as an engine of economic development and community asset.

An example of a collaborative project is the Cultural Data Project (developed by The Pew Charitable Trusts).

3. Revenue Generation, Cost Reduction and Mergers

Redesigning business models and alternative structures may be opportunities to increase revenues and reduce costs.

**Requirement**
Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust requires all arts and culture grantees to participate in the Arizona Cultural Data Project (Arizona CDP). The Arizona CDP is a powerful online management tool designed to strengthen arts and cultural organizations by providing an amazing array of reports designed to increase management capacity, inform decision-making, and document the economic value of the arts.  Historical and organizational data is collected via a standardized, user-friendly form. The result—arts and cultural organizations will have access to consistent, reliable, comprehensive data and the ability to view trends, benchmarks, and financial management capacities. Learn more or become a participant: https://culturaldata.org/what-we-do/for-arts-cultural-organizations/.