Thick Ice Fund

The Thick Ice Fund is a reserve of money we’re building up to help us weather climate uncertainty, shifting funding shenanigans and other cracks in the ice. We’re raising $150,000 over the next two years to create a cushion to draw from and replenish. This helps us keep ahead of cashflow and ensures long-term stability and annual programming.

OUR PROGRAM IS BELOVED AND SUCCESSFUL!

Since moving to Minneapolis, Art Shanty Projects has…

• Increased individual donations from $27,000 in 2018 to over $87,000 in 2025
• Started a membership campaign which has increased year-over-year since 2019
• Increased our staff numbers to support a program of our size and impact, and retained individuals with longtime expertise in curation, production, fundraising, practical outdoor skills, communications, stage management, safety and community engagement
• Developed and annually reviewed an evolving accessibility plan
• Sought out board members with careers and interests dedicated to accessibility, sustainability, Diversity Equity & Inclusion, arts administration and event production
• Have landed features in diverse local publications (Racket, Star Tribune, Minnesota Monthly, MinnPost, MPR News, among others) and national publications (Associated Press, New York Times, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt) 
• Reserved a dedicated pool of funds for outreach to artists in marginalized communities each year, which resulted in programming more BIPOC, queer, trans, immigrant artists, as well as formerly incarcerated people and those who have experienced homelessness
• Started a mentorship program to pair seasoned shanty artists with newcomers, strengthening our own community connections and the skills of individuals
• Annually greet 30,000 visitors

CURRENT FUNDING CHALLENGES

Current funding challenges include the impacts of climate change, reimbursement model grants, the current political landscape, dwindling funding resources and increased competition for dollars.

A more detailed view of these:

Climate Change
A large portion of our money comes from donations at the entrance from individual visitors. If climate change forces us to close early (as in 2024) we lose out on a major portion of our income. In this scenario our expenses are not greatly reduced. And we have a commitment to pay out artist contracts. 

Reimbursement grants
We’ve been lucky to be a recipient of two NEW reimbursement grants totaling over $40,000 for our 2026 program. This means we have to front the costs (like paying artists, and paying for necessary production expenses), and once we prove our program happens we submit for reimbursement. But if we don’t have enough of our own money in the bank to start, we can’t get to January! 

Political landscape, dwindling resources, competition
We rely on some grant funding - and it’s becoming more and more competitive as orgs are losing out on other sources of income (NEA, for instance). If we miss a grant, that may mean losing a whole program year

ANNUAL PROGRAM FUNDING BREAKDOWN

Just like we need 10 inches of good, strong ice to operate our program, we need these layers of funding to pay our bills! If any one of them melts, we are in jeopardy of not having a program

HELP US BUILD FUTURE LAYERS OF ICE!

Donate today here!

Or save on transaction fees and send a check to:
Art Shanty Projects 
THICK ICE FUND
PO Box 18684
Minneapolis, MN 55408