Forward Warrior is most successful when it engages and energizes the artist community to think openly, create freely, and work bigly. Ahem. Our outreach and engagement aim to forge relationships between makers and leaders by raising the standards of dialogue and positive messaging. With inspirational content at high levels of excellence, local businesses and neighborhood organizations take pride and ownership in our communal aspirations for greater understanding, empathy, and personal growth.
Grant support helps Forward Warrior achieve its mission and minimize commercial advertising or other corporate sponsorship enticements which might otherwise dilute the impact or muddy the message. While we do indeed selectively engage with local entrepreneurs and small enterprises who share our values and/or support our participants, public support through government funding creates a broader basis for a well-rounded budget that isn’t overburdened by market pressures.
Forward Warrior takes no ticket revenue, has extremely modest merchandise sales, and operates generally through a combination of in-kind donations, grants, and cash support from the parent organization. In 2020, the public health crisis is creating a shift in focus away from a live-painting audience towards increased artist safety and distancing support.
Previous beverage sales and vintage market collaborations will likely not take place in the foreseeable future, and the project will rely more heavily on grantmakers, donors, and fundraising initiatives based around digital media, photography, video (both streaming & professionally edited), and mural awareness campaigns such as “Atlanta Celebrates 1000 Murals” (aka #ATL1000).
We are keenly aware of the important social function of grant opportunities, and feel blessed by the support that allows us to showcase Atlanta’s amazing muralists and painters in a large outdoor public venue that is enjoyed by thousands. Thank you very much for considering us a worthy recipient of this valuable resource.
