June 18, 2025
Hello, friends–
First, I want to thank you for being friends and supporters of Fund for the Arts. In honor of your investment in this organization, I want to share an important update about my time at the Fund. Today, I am announcing my plan to end my time as President and CEO in June 2026, at the end of our fiscal year.
When I started my tenure at the Fund in June 2021, I was driven by a sense of duty and commitment to my hometown. I knew the job would be challenging, but felt encouragement from the Fund’s leadership and board that it was ready for a new vision.
First, I recognized that the Board of Directors was a true reflection of the city it served, thanks to the leadership of Carolle Jones Clay and the Governance and Nominating board committee. Second, I was encouraged by the work of my predecessor, Christen Boone, who took structural steps to make the Fund for the Arts’ grantmaking more equitable, transparent, and accessible. It was because of this groundwork that I considered the position a real possibility.
Coming in the door, I wanted to build a capable team and a sustainable business model that would last well beyond my leadership. At my core, I am a storyteller, and could see that what the organization really needed was someone to help this nearly 75-year-old institution imagine itself in the new world.
I began my time conducting hundreds of listening sessions with grantees, supporters, community members, artists, and more. Equipped with that information, I led the organization through the development of a new Vision, Mission, Values, and Strategies and a new belief statement: At the Fund for the Arts, we believe that art is a right, not a privilege, because art is a fundamental expression of the human condition. These continue to guide our work every day.
From these listening sessions, we also developed several major initiatives of which I am most proud. The ‘I Am An Artist.’ initiative inspires everyone to embrace their own artistic identity and the art they create every day. Expanding from that, the Arts in Neighborhoods initiative supports individuals, cohorts, organizations, businesses, nonprofits, and anyone who wants to bring their community together through art.
This summer, we will see the culmination of a massive endeavor from your Fund for the Arts team and partners as we launch the Cultural Pass App, which removes the barriers and boundaries of a strictly paper pass and helps tens of thousands of young people explore art, nature, culture, science, and heritage in their communities for FREE all summer long.
I want to extend a special thank you to current Fund for the Arts Board Chair Nicole Yates. Not only was she instrumental in helping to secure a $750,000 grant from the Humana Foundation to support the development of the Cultural Pass App, but she has been a master connector, a champion, an advocate, and trusted adviser since the day I started. I am incredibly grateful for her service to the Fund and for her support.
I am excited to spend my last year at the Fund for the Arts working alongside incoming Board Chair Scott Schaftlein. Scott has been a passionate advocate for the Cultural Pass App and a motivated and engaged member of our Board. I look forward to working together in developing a path forward, and I know the institution will be in great hands.
With the help of Board and staff leadership, I have spent the last year developing a series of sustainability goals for my remaining time as President and CEO.
- Ensure all work and initiatives are in alignment with our Vision, Mission, and Values
- Create a new, sustainable mechanism for crowdfunding and engagement
- Responsibly steward all of Fund for the Arts’ available resources, including selling our Main Street building and using the fund to create an endowment for the institution
Fund for the Arts has been working to support our arts ecosystem for more than 75 years. The way it has done so has evolved in that time, but the belief in the power of art to change our lives and our community has not. I am so proud to be a part of our team and the work we do.
I look forward to spending the next year working alongside the Fund for the Arts staff and board to ensure that we are embodying our vision and fulfilling our mission, while never losing sight of our values.
With appreciation,
Andre Kimo Stone Guess
President & CEO
