The Los Angeles Visual Arts Coalition, a group of 33 small- to medium-sized contemporary visual arts organizations, has raised more than $2.6 million in a scalable, sustainable fundraising model that allows it to share the funds with its members.

The coalition, also known as LAVA, includes Craft Contemporary and the MAK Center for Art and Architecture in the local community, as well as other institutions throughout Los Angeles. Its members collectively presented over 100 exhibitions and 1,240 public programs, and welcomed over 350,000 visitors in 2022.

LAVA arose out of a belief that a coalition of similarly scaled cultural organizations should exist in a mutually supportive system that supports one another and ensures the visual arts sector remains vibrant. With grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Teiger Foundation, the coalition’s collective fundraising model is a critical safeguard in an uncertain economic environment.

“At the heart of LAVA is the shared feeling that by elevating the value of mutual aid and deep collaboration, we can work together to create a transformative, radically transparent and intergenerational economic model that benefits us all,” said Laura Hyatt, executive director of LAND (Los Angeles Nomadic Division), a nonprofit arts organization dedicated to site-responsive projects. “It really shifts the thinking away from organizations as competitive entities and supports efforts to change the field.”

LAVA has reached a major milestone in its fundraising efforts, providing every member organization with $50,000 in unrestricted funds to support general operations, which is rarely funded by foundations and individual donors. Executive directors of the individual organizations are free to determine how best to use the funds, including staffing, infrastructure, rent, administration, equipment and programs. The coalition will issue a report to funders on how the donations were used to strengthen and grow arts organizations. LAVA has set a goal of next providing health insurance to all 180 full-time and part-time employees who work at member organizations by the end of 2023.

For information, visit lavacoalition.art.