A Blade of Grass

What A Blade of Grass does

A Blade of Grass is an artist-led nonprofit organization founded in 2011 and headquartered in Long Island City, New York, that supports socially engaged artists through grants, fellowships, commissioned public programming, and field-building publications. Its primary constituents are individual artists and artist collectives working in socially engaged practice, for whom the organization provides direct funding (including via the Field Funds mechanism), curates commissions such as the 2021 Curriculum for the Future public programming, and convenes an Artist Circle of ten established artists (including Mel Chin, Rick Lowe, Tania Bruguera, Stephanie Dinkins, and Christine Sun Kim) who self-fund their peers.

The organization's core product is Landscapes, a flexible digital publication platform hosted at ablad eofgrass.pub and built on a Sanity CMS, which commissions and publishes conversations, texts, and projects shaped by rotating guest collaborators. The organization runs no traditional commercial product; instead, its operating model is sustained by foundation grants (The Mellon Foundation, David Rockefeller Fund, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and Wagner Foundation), individual tax-deductible donations processed through Monkey Pod and Give Lively, and direct contributions from the Artist Circle. Distribution is digital-first via the website, email newsletter, Facebook, and Instagram, with occasional on-site commissions at partner cultural institutions such as Weeksville Heritage Center.

Name

A Blade of Grass

Legal name

A Blade of Grass

Website

https://abladeofgrass.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

A Blade of Grass is an artist-led nonprofit that funds socially engaged artists through grants, commissioned public programming, and the Field Funds peer-mutual-aid mechanism, while publishing the Landscapes digital platform to document the field.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Long Island City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grants: Sustained funding from institutional foundations including The Mellon Foundation, David Rockefeller Fund, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and Wagner Foundation, providing multi-year grant support for programming and artist amplification.
2. Individual Donations: Individual donors at every level — from monthly sustainers to first-time contributors — contribute tax-deductible donations via an online portal (Monkey Pod) or by check, providing flexible, responsive funding.
3. Artist Circle Membership: An intentional community of artists (Alice Sheppard, Alisha B. Wormsley, Brett Cook, Christine Sun Kim, Mary Mattingly, Mel Chin, Rick Lowe, Stephanie Dinkins, Tania Bruguera, and Valerie J. Maynard Foundation) who contribute directly to fund other artists through Field Funds.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

A Blade of Grass is an artist-led nonprofit that funds socially engaged art through grants, fellowships, and Field Funds administered via an Artist Circle. The organization commissions public programming at partner cultural institutions (e.g., the 2021 Curriculum for the Future at Weeksville Heritage Center) and publishes the Landscapes digital platform, which features guest-edited issues of conversations, texts, and projects exploring the field.

Product overview

A Blade of Grass is an artist-led organization dedicated to nurturing socially engaged art. The organization operates primarily as a grant-making entity and programmatic organization, with its main digital offering being the 'Landscapes' platform—a flexible digital publication that commissions and shares conversations, texts, and projects exploring ecosystems of socially engaged art.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Landscapes: A flexible digital platform made by A Blade of Grass to explore ecosystems of socially engaged art. Each issue is shaped by a guest collaborator offering a perspective on the field from their vantage point. Landscapes commissions conversations, texts, and projects.

Products and services

• Landscapes A flexible digital publication platform that commissions and publishes guest-edited issues of conversations, texts, and projects exploring ecosystems of socially engaged art. Free and open to the public via the organization's website.
• Artist Grants and Fellowships Direct financial support provided to individual socially engaged artists through the organization's grantmaking programs, funded by institutional foundation partners and individual donations.
• Curriculum for the Future Public programming initiative in which A Blade of Grass commissions artists for projects at partner cultural institutions, exemplified by the 2021 fence-weaving installation by Brooklyn Hi-Art! Machine at Weeksville Heritage Center.
• Field Funds Mutual-aid funding mechanism in which Artist Circle members (Alice Sheppard, Alisha B. Wormsley, Brett Cook, Christine Sun Kim, Mary Mattingly, Mel Chin, Rick Lowe, Stephanie Dinkins, Tania Bruguera, and Valerie J. Maynard Foundation) contribute directly to fund other socially engaged artists.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Artist Circle MemberscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArtist Circle is an intentional community of ten established artists (Alice Sheppard, Alisha B. Wormsley, Brett Cook, Christine Sun Kim, Mary Mattingly, Mel Chin, Rick Lowe, Stephanie Dinkins, Tania Bruguera, and Valerie J. Maynard Foundation) who contribute directly to fund other artists through Field Funds. This peer-support model reflects a commitment to mutual aid and the redistribution of resources within the artist community.
• Weeksville Heritage CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerA Blade of Grass commissioned Brooklyn Hi-Art! Machine to install a fence weaving at the perimeter of the Weeksville Heritage Center as part of its 2021 Curriculum for the Future public programming, demonstrating a partnership-based commissioning model with cultural heritage institutions.
• Brooklyn Hi-Art! MachineminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrooklyn Hi-Art! Machine (artists Mildred Beltré and Oasa DuVerney) was commissioned by A Blade of Grass in 2021 for Curriculum for the Future public programming at Weeksville Heritage Center.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Creative Capital: National nonprofit that provides grants and professional development to individual artists working in innovative practice. Most directly comparable to A Blade of Grass as a peer grant-maker serving contemporary artists with project funding, though less narrowly focused on socially engaged practice.
• MAP Fund: Grant-making program supporting live performance and interdisciplinary practice with social engagement. Comparable as a project-based nonprofit funder of socially engaged contemporary work with similar values around community impact.
• The Laundromat Project: NYC-based nonprofit that supports artists working in community engagement and socially engaged practice through fellowship-style programs. The closest peer in niche — specifically community-anchored, socially engaged art — even though smaller and more place-based than A Blade of Grass.
• Anonymous Was A Woman: Annual unrestricted grant to women-identifying artists over 40. Comparable as a donor-funded nonprofit granting significant sums to individual artists, though narrower in demographic scope than ABoG.
• Foundation for Contemporary Arts: Nonprofit providing grants to individual artists for innovative contemporary work. Directly comparable as a grant-making arts organization, although broader in discipline scope than A Blade of Grass.
• Pollock-Krasner Foundation: Provides financial assistance to individual working artists through grants. Comparable as a nonprofit artist-grant vehicle with a foundation-funded model, although its criteria emphasize visual art rather than socially engaged practice.
• United States Artists: Nonprofit that awards unrestricted USA Fellowships of $50,000 to artists across disciplines. Comparable as a fellowship/grant-making nonprofit supporting working artists, with a similar foundation-funded model.
• Joan Mitchell Foundation: Foundation providing grants, fellowships, and residencies to visual artists. Shares the artist-support and grant-making mission with A Blade of Grass, although its scope (painting, sculpture, work on paper) is broader than social practice.

Broad incumbents

• New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA): Larger, broader arts nonprofit serving New York State artists with grants, residencies, and resources. A scaled incumbent that supports artists along similar dimensions but with a wider scope than ABoG's socially engaged practice focus.

Regional players

• Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC): NYC-based nonprofit providing workspace, residencies, and grants to artists. Closely tied to the New York arts ecosystem and overlapping in artist-support functions, though more focused on space provision than socially engaged practice.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/abladeofgrassorg
• Instagraminstagram.com/abladeofgrassorg
• Xx.com/abladeofgrass
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/a-blade-of-grass

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about A Blade of Grass