PROFILES: New England Foundation for the Arts
www.nefa.org

Rebecca Blunk, Executive Director
Andrea Rogers, Chair

Member States
Connecticut
Maine
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Rhode Island
Vermont

Mission Statement:
We creatively support the movement of people, ideas, and resources in the arts within New England and beyond, make vital connections between artists and audiences, and build the strength, knowledge, and leadership of the region's creative sector.

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NEFA has been a significant cultural force since 1975, when it was created as one of six regional arts agencies nationwide, funded primarily through the National Endowment for the Arts and New England state arts agencies. Today's NEFA has evolved considerably from the original regional model, and now operates with an annual budget of $5 million to develop and manage arts initiatives on a local, regional, national and international level.

Through extensive funding, advocacy, and networking efforts, NEFA promotes the creation and distribution of the full range of artistic expression. NEFA functions as a grantmaker, program initiator, regional laboratory, project coordinator, developer of resources, and builder of creative partnerships among artists, arts organizations and funders. Each program and project that is brought to life at NEFA is created with the underlying goal of building a stronger and more dynamic infrastructure for the arts. NEFA celebrates New England and its characteristic values while playing a national role by distributing model programs, supporting international cultural exchange, and advocating access to the arts for everyone.

All of NEFA's programs, projects, and initiatives are housed under two interrelated areas: Creation & Distribution, and Research & Learning.

Activities in NEFA's Creation & Distribution arm exist to foster opportunity, excellence and accessibility for artists, arts organizations, and audiences. All of our commissioning and touring grant programs fall under Creation and Distribution.

Projects and initiatives in the Research & Learning sector of NEFA help to build the intellectual assets of the New England cultural community in order to inform cultural decision-making and program development and to develop public understanding of how the arts contribute to the vitality of communities. All research, data-gathering and documentation activities at NEFA fall under Research & Learning.

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