What Souls Grown Deep Foundation does

Souls Grown Deep Foundation is a nonprofit cultural organization headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, founded in 1996 to document, preserve, and promote the work of African American artists from the American South. The foundation stewards a collection of more than 1,000 works by 160 artists, with a particular focus on vernacular art traditions — including quilts, assemblages, and sculptures from recycled materials — that have historically been marginalized by mainstream art institutions. Its operational core is a Collection Transfer Program that has placed over 350 works by more than 100 artists into the permanent collections of 16+ cultural institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, Royal Academy of Arts, and Tate Modern.

The foundation runs a multi-channel program: international exhibitions at major museums, publication of exhibition catalogs and biennial reports, a Custom Prints e-commerce storefront (prints.soulsgrowndeep.org) selling reproductions by Gee's Bend quiltmakers and other artists, and a Resale Royalty Award Program that ensures artists or their descendants benefit from secondary sales. In 2019, the foundation expanded its mission by creating the Souls Grown Deep Community Partnership as a parallel entity to formalize socio-economic initiatives in the home communities of the 160 represented artists, and committed $1 million over three years to impact investments through Upstart Co-Lab. The Roosevelt House Project in Gee's Bend, Alabama, represents a flagship cultural-tourism and community-revitalization initiative.

Revenue is generated through individual and institutional donations (via Donorbox), Custom Prints sales, licensing of artworks, and returns from impact investments. The organization employs 6 staff and is governed by a Board chaired by Lola C. West (since May 2023), with Maxwell L. Anderson serving as President and Raina Lampkins-Fielder as Curator. The foundation operates as a transnational cultural institution with active programming in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, and Denmark.

Name

Souls Grown Deep Foundation

Legal name

Souls Grown Deep Foundation

Website

https://soulsgrowndeep.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Souls Grown Deep Foundation is an Atlanta-based nonprofit that preserves and promotes African American artists from the American South, stewarding over 1,000 works by 160 artists and transferring them to major museum collections worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Arts Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB), Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

Keywords

• African american art
• Museum collection transfers
• Vernacular art preservation
• Community impact investing
• Artist estate support

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Support: The foundation relies heavily on charitable donations from individuals and foundations to support its operations, artist documentation, community development initiatives, and collection preservation programs.
2. Custom Prints Sales: The organization sells custom prints by Gee's Bend quiltmakers and other celebrated artists through their dedicated e-commerce platform, generating revenue while increasing access to and awareness of Black Southern art.
3. Impact Investing Returns: In 2019, the Souls Grown Deep Community Partnership committed $1 million to impact investments through Upstart Co-Lab, generating returns that support racial and social justice initiatives and community development in nine southern states.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Souls Grown Deep Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that stewards a collection of more than 1,000 works by over 160 Black artists from the American South, transferring artworks to partner museums for permanent inclusion in public collections. It also generates earned revenue through an online custom prints store, exhibition catalogs and publications, traveling exhibitions, community impact investments in artists, and the Resale Royalty Award Program that returns royalties to artists and their heirs.

Product overview

Souls Grown Deep Foundation operates as a cultural nonprofit offering a digital archive and online exhibitions of Black Southern artists, physical and virtual exhibitions, publications, and an e-commerce custom prints store. The foundation runs a collection transfer program placing artworks in major museums, a resale royalty award program, and community economic empowerment initiatives. Core offerings include the online collection/archives, exhibitions program, Custom Prints e-commerce shop, publications catalog, Collection Transfer Program for museums, and community support initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Roosevelt House Project: Initiative to contribute to the legacy of Gee's Bend community
• Souls Grown Deep Community Partnership
• Souls Grown Deep Like the Rivers

Products and services

• Custom Prints Store Online e-commerce shop offering custom-made art prints and reproductions of works by artists in the Souls Grown Deep collection, including works by Loretta Bennett and Cornelia "Ma Ple" Moss. Designed for individual collectors, design enthusiasts, and gift buyers.
• Publications and Exhibition Catalogs Hardcover and digital publications documenting artists, exhibitions, and collection scholarship; sold through the foundation's online store for collectors, scholars, and general readers.
• Collection Transfer Program Formal service through which the foundation transfers artworks from its collection into the permanent collections of partner museums, expanding public access to African American vernacular art.
• Traveling Exhibitions Program Curated exhibitions of collection works staged at partner museums and cultural institutions in the U.S. and abroad, available for institutional booking.

Quantifiable outcome

• 350+ works placed in 16+ museum collections
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• The Roosevelt House ProjectflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerA major initiative to preserve and develop the legacy of Gee's Bend, Alabama, home of generations of quiltmakers. The project aims to revitalize the community through cultural tourism and economic development, supported through dedicated fundraising efforts via Donorbox.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• High Museum of Art: Atlanta-based major art museum with strong holdings in American and self-taught art—shares geography and overlap with Souls Grown Deep's collection area, making it a natural regional institutional partner and peer in the Southern contemporary art ecosystem.

Direct peers

• Joan Mitchell Foundation: Artist-focused foundation that provides grants to artists and arts organizations, sustains artist legacy through property stewardship, and runs a broad set of artist-support programs—closely comparable to Souls Grown Deep's grantmaking, collection stewardship, and artist community support model.
• Robert Rauschenberg Foundation: Artist legacy foundation stewarding and exhibiting one artist's collection while funding philanthropic grants in arts, education, and the environment, paralleling Souls Grown Deep's combination of artist-specific collection management, grantmaking, and mission-driven community programs.
• The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts: Major artist-focused grantmaking foundation that funds curatorial innovation and underserved artist communities while stewarding a historic visual arts collection—directly comparable in mission, structure, and the merging of grantmaking with high-profile art preservation.

Emerging players

• Studio Museum in Harlem: Nonprofit institution dedicated to supporting and presenting work by artists of African descent, with artist-in-residence and collection programs—comparable to Souls Grown Deep's mission to elevate Black artists from a specific community into mainstream institutional collections.
• Spelman College Museum of Fine Art: HBCU-based museum dedicated to art by and about Black women, with a teaching collection and rotating exhibitions—comparable as a Black-arts-focused collection institution, though academically anchored.
• The Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art: Curatorial center within the Brooklyn Museum that integrates underrepresented artists into a major museum setting, paralleling Souls Grown Deep's work placing African American vernacular art into mainstream institutions via collection transfers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/soulsgrowndeepfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/souls-grown-deep-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 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 Souls Grown Deep Foundation