Artist Trust
Artist Trust is a Seattle-based 501c3 nonprofit founded in 1986 that supports individual working artists of all disciplines in Washington State through grants, professional development, and community resources, having invested over $15 million in 16,000+ artists since inception.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1986
- HeadquartersSeattle, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Artist Trust does
Artist Trust is a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded in 1986 and headquartered in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, with a mailing address at 1211 E Denny Way and a physical office at 1835 12th Ave. The organization supports individual working artists of all disciplines (literary, media, performing, visual) across Washington State through a portfolio of merit and need-based grant programs, professional development workshops, and community-building resources. Since founding, Artist Trust has invested over $15 million in Washington State artists; in 2025 alone it disbursed $335,500 directly to 94 artists and reached over 16,000 artists annually through online resources and programming.
The organization's product surface is organized around five named grant programs: Grants for Artist Projects (GAP, $2,500 to 65 artists per cycle, recently increased from $1,500), Fellowship Awards ($10,000, including dedicated tracks for Native artists, Trans*/Indigiqueer artists, and Black artists), SOLA Awards (Support Old Lady Artists, $5,000 each to 10 female visual artists age 60+), the Twining Humber Award ($10,000), and the Arts Innovator Award ($25,000 to two recipients). Adjacent services include a sliding-scale membership program ($20-50 annually) with over 1,000 members, an opportunities board, a resources library covering healthcare, housing, legal, and funding topics, and a calendar of virtual and in-person workshops delivered statewide. Grant applications are processed through Submittable, events through Eventbrite and Zoom, and there is no proprietary technology platform.
The revenue model is diversified across individual donations (monthly sustainers, annual fund, legacy/planned giving), corporate partnerships and event sponsorships (including a Benefit Art Auction gathering 450+ donors, artists, and community members), foundation and endowment grants (notably The Dale and Leslie Chihuly Foundation, Marjorie Levy Estate, Lillian Miller Educational Foundation, Vadon Foundation, Kucera/Yocom Endowment, 4Culture, and the City of Seattle Office of Arts & Culture), and membership dues. The organization is governed by a Board of Trustees with county-level geographic representation across Washington State, and operates with a lean staff of approximately eight people under Executive Director Kristina Goetz.
Artist Trust firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Artist Trust
- Legal name
- Artist Trust
- Website
- https://artisttrust.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1986
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Artist Trust is a Seattle-based 501c3 nonprofit founded in 1986 that supports individual working artists of all disciplines in Washington State through grants, professional development, and community resources, having invested over $15 million in 16,000+ artists since inception.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Artist Trust industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Arts Grantmaking and Artist Services
- NAICS
- Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Arts Education & Community Arts Programs (BPAGAHAC)
Keywords
Where Artist Trust is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Seattle
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Artist Trust business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
Revenue model
- Individual Donations: Annual fund drives, monthly giving program (Artist Trust Sustainers), and one-time donations from individual supporters.
- Planned Giving/Legacy Gifts: Bequests, charitable remainder trusts, retirement plan beneficiary designations, and life insurance beneficiary gifts.
- Corporate Partnerships: Year-round partnership sponsorships, event underwriting for grants and workshops, and annual benefit art auction sponsorships.
- Membership Dues: Sliding scale membership at $20-50 annually, providing tax-deductible donations that fund grants and programs.
- Special Events: Annual Benefit Art Auction (gathering 450+ donors, artists, and community members) and Gather celebration event.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Artist Trust Membership - Sliding Scale |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Artist Trust product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Artist Trust is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that supports individual working artists of all disciplines in Washington State. It provides unrestricted grants (GAP, Fellowship, SOLA, Twining Humber, Arts Innovator Award) ranging from $2,500 to $25,000, professional development workshops, an online resources library, an opportunities board, and a sliding-scale membership program offering community benefits and partner discounts.
Product overview
Artist Trust is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that supports Washington State artists through grant programs, professional development, and membership services. The organization operates a portfolio of grant programs including Grants for Artist Projects (GAP), Fellowship Awards, SOLA Awards, Twining Humber Award, and Arts Innovator Award. Additional services include a membership program with partner discounts, professional development workshops and events, a resources library covering funding, healthcare, housing and legal topics, and an opportunities board for calls, residencies, and jobs.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Artists Up: A program that develops opportunities connecting artists across Washington State to resources and each other, with a focus on racial equity and voices of individual creators.
Products and services
- Grants for Artist Projects (GAP) Unrestricted project-based grants of $2,500 awarded to 65 artists working in all disciplines across Washington State. Open to individual working artists of any discipline.
- Fellowship Awards Merit-based unrestricted awards of $10,000 given annually to practicing professional artists of exceptional talent and ability residing in Washington State, across all disciplines.
- SOLA Awards (Support Old Lady Artists) Ten unrestricted awards of $5,000 given annually to Washington State female visual artists age 60 or over who have dedicated 25 years or more to creating art.
- Twining Humber Award An unrestricted award of $10,000 given annually to a Washington State female-identified visual artist, age 60 or over, who has dedicated 25 years or more to creating art.
- Arts Innovator Award Unrestricted awards of $25,000 given annually to two Washington State artists of any discipline who are originating new work, experimenting with new ideas, taking risks, and pushing the boundaries of their fields.
- Membership Program Sliding-scale membership priced at $20-50 annually, providing a quarterly members-only e-newsletter, exclusive virtual content and events, and discounts to local retailers, artist-friendly businesses, and art museums statewide.
- Professional Development Workshops and Events Virtual and in-person workshops, career-building opportunities, and grant writing resources for artists across Washington State, including topics such as artist resume writing, professionalizing art practice, navigating opportunities, and knowing your worth.
- Resources Library Articles, how-tos, toolkits, webinars, and information on funding, healthcare, housing, and legal issues for artists, accessible online.
- Opportunities Board A listings platform for calls for art, grants, residencies, jobs, and other opportunities for Washington State artists of all disciplines.
Quantifiable outcome
- $15 million+ invested in Washington State artists since 1986
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Artist Trust
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Artist Trust technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Artist Trust partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- City of Seattle Office of Arts & CulturecorePartners with Artists Up initiative to support the Continuum exhibition celebrating Artist Trust fellowships from 2020-2026.
- Gage Academy of ArtminorHost venue for in-person workshops including 'Navigating Artist Opportunities' workshop hosted at Gage Academy of Art's Seattle location.
- Left Bank Natural WineminorProvides wine for the Continuum opening reception event at Artist Trust office.
- 4CulturecoreCommunity supporter for Artist Trust programs and the Continuum exhibition celebrating Artist Trust fellowships. Supports Artists Up programming in partnership with City of Seattle Office of Arts & Culture.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Artist Trust competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Creative Capital: National nonprofit that provides direct grants and professional development to individual artists across disciplines, widely regarded as a comparable direct-funding model to Artist Trust but operating at national scale.
- United States Artists: National nonprofit awarding unrestricted fellowships ($25K-$50K) to individual artists across the U.S., functioning as a near-identical analog to Artist Trust's Fellowship and Arts Innovator Award programs but without geography restrictions.
- Joan Mitchell Foundation: National nonprofit foundation providing grants, fellowships, and residencies to visual artists, sharing Artist Trust's mission of unrestricted support to working artists via a foundation-led model.
- New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA): State-level nonprofit that administers fellowships and professional development for New York State artists, the closest geographic analog to Artist Trust's state-restricted grantmaking model.
- MAP Fund: National grantmaking program supporting individual artists in live performance and dance, sharing the artist-direct unrestricted grant philosophy that defines Artist Trust's GAP and Fellowship programs.
- Foundation for Contemporary Arts: Small national nonprofit providing direct, artist-initiated emergency and project grants with unrestricted awards to individual artists, operating on a similarly lean scale and unrestricted grant philosophy as Artist Trust.
Broad incumbents
- The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts: Large national arts foundation primarily funding exhibition-making and curatorial work via regranting, a more established incumbent working in adjacent direct-arts-funding territory.
Regional players
- Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation: Regional nonprofit foundation administering grants and artist support across the Mid-Atlantic U.S., a geographic peer delivering comparable grant-making and professional development services outside of Washington.
- Minnesota State Arts Board: State-level public arts funder that awards grants to individual artists and organizations in Minnesota, providing a state-restricted public-sector peer to Artist Trust's private nonprofit model.
- 4Culture: King County, Washington's public development authority for cultural funding, listed as an existing Artist Trust partner, offering geographic and mission overlap as a regional arts-funding peer.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Artist Trust social profiles
Digital presenceArtist Trust financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Artist Trust leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Artist Trust funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Artist Trust M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Artist Trust
What does Artist Trust do?
Artist Trust is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that supports individual working artists of all disciplines in Washington State. It provides unrestricted grants (GAP, Fellowship, SOLA, Twining Humber, Arts Innovator Award) ranging from $2,500 to $25,000, professional development workshops, an online resources library, an opportunities board, and a sliding-scale membership program offering community benefits and partner discounts.
Is Artist Trust a public or private company?
Artist Trust is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Artist Trust founded?
Artist Trust was founded in 1986. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Artist Trust based?
Artist Trust is headquartered in Seattle, United States, in the North America region.
How does Artist Trust make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Individual Donations are the primary driver. The others are planned Giving/Legacy Gifts, corporate Partnerships, membership Dues and special Events.
Who are Artist Trust's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Creative Capital, United States Artists, Joan Mitchell Foundation, New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), MAP Fund and Foundation for Contemporary Arts. The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts is listed as a broad incumbent. Regional players are Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Minnesota State Arts Board and 4Culture.
Does Artist Trust have an API?
No public API is recorded for Artist Trust.
What industry is Artist Trust in?
Artist Trust's product category is Arts Grantmaking and Artist Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAHAC, Arts Education & Community Arts Programs. Its NAICS code is 81321.