How Granting Works

Participatory Grant Making

As the largest direct investment supporting arts education in Chicago Public Schools, the Creative Schools Fund administers funds through an open and transparent process. In order to keep arts equity at the center of our work, decisions are guided by a review committee comprised of a diverse group of arts practitioners, educators, experts, teachers, teaching artists, and practicing artists. Members reflect the demographics of Chicago’s public schools, every arts discipline, and a cross-section of arts partner organizations within the sector – ensuring grant decisions are objective and fair. Their professional backgrounds range from early career to emeriti. 

As part of their consultancy agreement, review committee members are required to share/alert Ingenuity of any conflict of interest. Each application is then reviewed by three committee members, and after assigning a preliminary score to each proposal, they engage in a discussion, ultimately proposing a slate of grants to Ingenuity leadership. Feedback gathered from past grantees during program visits and through reports is used to inform changes in grant strategy and processes in future years.

Thank you to our SY 23-24 Arts Partnership (Residency) grant advisors: 

Amy Vecchioni, she/her
Nationally recognized arts leader in Chicago Public Schools

Camille Franklin, she/her
Chicago Public Schools administrator, Office of Early Childhood

Dan Roberts, he/him
Executive Director of CircEsteem

Diane Chandler-Marshall, she/her
25-year arts advocate and administrator, education and artist development consultant for the Jazz Institute of Chicago

Ellen Oberto, she/her
PhD Candidate in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Illinois at Chicago, former CPS music educator

Emily Leonard, she/her
Executive Director and Lead Teaching Artist for Idea Box Integrated Arts, former Director of Education at Beverly Arts Center

Jean Lachowicz, she/her
Executive Director at Spirit of Harmony Foundation

John Gardner, he/him
Executive Director of The World Music Foundation

June Kim, she/her
Senior Manager of Grants and Development Communications at The Juilliard School

Kathleen Beckman, she/her
Director of Youth Programs at FACETS film-arts organization, organizer for Chicago International Children’s Film Festival

Katy Clusen, she/her
Associate Director, CSO for Kids, Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Kristina Wyatt, she/her
Dean of Continuing Studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Louisa Wyatt, she/her
Community Engagement Manager at Lollapalooza + Sueños Music Festival

Lynn Pace Green, she/her
Educator, artist, leader, Director of Arts Integrated Learning 

Maggy Fouche, she/her
Grants Consultant, Jazz Institute of Chicago

Miguel Millett, he/him
TRIO Director for Kennedy King College

Natasha Mijares
Artist, Writer, Educator, Chicago Cares

Pam Shortall, she/her
Piano, Voice, and Guitar Program Director at Merit School of Music

Rhapsody Snyder, she/her
Grant-writing educator, Executive Director of the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic

Ruth Lopez, she/her
Arts writer, author of Chocolate: The Nature of Indulgence (Abrams/Field Museum, 2002), and Elevated: Art and Architecture of the Chicago Transit Authority

Shreya Bhattacharyya, she/her
Nonprofit consultant 

Shruthi Kanan, she/her
Early childhood educator, Mary Crane Center

Stacey Lemp, she/her
Visual Arts Instructor at Chicago Public Schools

Sunny Jeanne Givens, she/her
Faculty, Art Therapy Department, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Susan A Lee
Professor Emerita Department of Theatre at Northwestern University

Trevor Nicholas, he/him
Music educator at Senn High School, MA in Music Education