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Civis Foundation

Annual Giving
$0.2M
Grant Range
$13K - $5.0M
Decision Time
6mo
Success Rate
2%

Civis Foundation

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $231,500 (FY 2024 charitable disbursements)
  • Total Assets: $88 million (as of FY 2024)
  • Decision Time: Varies by program (The Democracy Cycle: 5-6 months)
  • Grant Range: $12,500 - $5,000,000+ (endowment gifts)
  • Geographic Focus: National and international, with emphasis on Hudson, NY; Providence, RI; Savannah, GA; and New York City

Contact Details

Website: www.civis.org (currently under development)

Social Media:

  • Facebook: @civisfoundation
  • Instagram: @civisfoundation
  • TikTok: @civisfoundation

Note: The foundation's website is a temporary landing page. For program-specific inquiries:

  • The Democracy Cycle: Contact through Perelman Performing Arts Center at pacnyc.org
  • Civis Hope Commissions: Contact through Fisher Center at Bard at fishercenter.bard.edu

Overview

The Civis Foundation (EIN 136215329) is a private foundation established as the successor to the H. van Ameringen Foundation and Galvan Foundation, embodying their shared missions. Founded by the late Henry van Ameringen, a fragrance industry heir and noted social-liberal philanthropist, and T. Eric Galloway, a Harvard-trained lawyer and real estate developer, the foundation continues their commitment to advancing the common good.

With total assets of $88 million as of fiscal year 2024, Civis invests in arts and letters, cultural preservation, and community initiatives that inspire awareness of "the other," increase compassion, and foster responsibility for a shared and interdependent future. The foundation operates through strategic partnerships with major cultural institutions and supports both large-scale endowed programs and smaller sustaining grants. Civis is particularly active in historic preservation, performing arts commissioning, and community development in historically significant locations.

Guided by a commitment to civic awareness and responsibility, Civis invests in work that demonstrates how turning encounters with the other into authentic relationships is foundational to a sustainable, just, and equitable society.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

The Democracy Cycle (Partnership with Perelman Performing Arts Center)

  • Award: $60,000 per commission ($30,000 commission + $30,000 development support)
  • Total Program: 25 commissions over five years (2024-2026 open calls)
  • Application: Annual open call with international eligibility
  • Next Deadline: April 28, 2026, 5:00 PM ET
  • Supports new performing arts works across theater, dance, music, opera, and multi-disciplinary performance that illuminate democracy's promise, practice, imperfection, and opportunity

The Civis Hope Commissions (Partnership with Fisher Center at Bard)

  • Endowment: $5 million ($2.5 million from Civis, matched by Bard College)
  • Application: No public application process; works commissioned through Fisher Center LAB
  • Supports development and production of major new performing arts works that explore the subject of hope
  • Projects premiere at Fisher Center at Bard and tour nationally and internationally

The Center for Reflective History at Primus House (Providence, RI)

  • Established May 2025 with $750,000 purchase of historic Shakespeare's Head building
  • Mission to uncover, preserve, and explore social histories over two and a half centuries
  • Opening to public in 2027 with programs combining social history, civic engagement, and site-based storytelling

Sustaining Grants

  • Smaller grants to community organizations (e.g., $12,500 to Savannah Performance Alliance)
  • Support for cultural preservation initiatives in Hudson, NY and Savannah, GA

Priority Areas

Arts & Letters

  • Performing arts commissioning (theater, opera, dance, music, multi-disciplinary)
  • Projects that examine democracy, hope, and civic responsibility
  • Works that transform American artifacts and archival materials to imagine a more just future
  • Support for diverse voices and contemporary artists

Cultural Preservation

  • Historic building preservation and adaptive reuse
  • Uncovering and reclaiming lost narratives, particularly related to slavery and marginalized communities
  • Site-based storytelling and social history programming
  • Community facilities and cultural centers

Community Initiatives

  • Civic engagement and public sphere development
  • Projects fostering awareness of "the other" and building authentic relationships
  • Advocacy for social justice and fundamental rights
  • Mixed-income housing and community facilities (through affiliated Galvan Initiatives)

What They Don't Fund

Based on program guidelines for The Democracy Cycle (the only program with public eligibility criteria):

  • Full-time students enrolled in degree-granting programs (Ph.D. candidates must have completed coursework)
  • Works advocating for specific partisan candidates or political parties
  • Applications from employees or immediate family of PAC NYC or Civis Foundation employees

Governance and Leadership

Key Personnel:

  • T. Eric Galloway: Trustee and Co-Founder, advocate-entrepreneur who prioritizes social and communal interdependence to work towards a just and equitable society
  • Henry van Ameringen (deceased 2020): Co-founder, legacy continues through foundation's mission

Organizational Philosophy:

The foundation's work is inspired by James Baldwin, who wrote: "To encounter oneself is to encounter the other" and "Each of us, helplessly and forever, contains the other." This philosophy underpins all of Civis's programs.

Partnership Approach:

"Civis collaborates with public and private counterparts who share our commitment to advance the betterment of humankind."

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

For Most Civis Programs: The Civis Foundation does not have a public application process for most of its grant programs. The majority of grants are made through strategic partnerships with established cultural institutions (Fisher Center at Bard, Perelman Performing Arts Center) or through direct initiatives identified by foundation leadership.

For The Democracy Cycle Only: This program accepts open applications from artists worldwide.

The Democracy Cycle Application Process:

  • Platform: Submittable (https://pacnyc.submittable.com/submit)
  • Eligibility: International and U.S.-based generative artists creating new work in theater, dance, music, opera, or multi-disciplinary performance
  • Support Available:
    • Consultation appointments via Calendly: https://calendly.com/boo-froebel
    • Information webinars (register through PAC NYC website)
    • Detailed submission guidelines at pacnyc.org/the-democracy-cycle-submission-guidelines
  • Requirements: Artists must be prepared to manage income-tax implications of accepting a commission from a U.S.-based organization

Decision Timeline

The Democracy Cycle:

  • Application Opens: February 9, 2026
  • Application Deadline: April 28, 2026, 5:00 PM ET (late applications not accepted)
  • Review Process:
    • Staff screens for eligibility
    • At least two Readers review each eligible proposal
    • Finalists identified and moved to expert panel
    • Panel of arts and democracy experts selects 8 commissions
  • Decision Notification: Winter 2027
  • Award Announcement: Fall 2026 (for 2026 open call)

Success Rates

The Democracy Cycle 2024 Open Call:

  • Applications Received: 450 submissions from around the world
  • First Round Readers: 27 readers
  • Panel Size: 7 arts and democracy workers
  • Commissions Awarded: 8
  • Success Rate: 1.8%

Reapplication Policy

The Democracy Cycle:

  • Unsuccessful applicants are welcome to apply again in subsequent open calls
  • Applicants may reapply with the same project if it still fits eligibility criteria (must update timeline and answer any new questions)
  • Lead artists may apply only once per open call cycle

Application Success Factors

The Democracy Cycle: What Reviewers Look For

Evaluation Criteria (from program guidelines):

  • How does the proposed work expand, critique, or celebrate democracy, the practice of democracy, and democratic ideals?
  • How has the artist identified and responded to ideas or themes related to democracy, including core democratic principles and values (political equality, majority rule, minority rights, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion)?
  • Does the work demonstrate clear potential for generating meaningful reflection and discourse on democracy?

2024 Commissioned Artists (examples of successful projects):

  • Javaad Alipoor
  • Baye & Asa
  • Pablo Manzi and Bonobo Teatro
  • Paul Pinto
  • Angélica Negrón
  • Vickie Ramirez, Ty Defoe, and Jeanette Harrison
  • Abigail Nessen Bengson and The Bengsons
  • Talvin Wilks and Paul Schiff Berman

Civis Hope Commissions: Thematic Alignment

Initial Commissioned Works (examples of aligned projects):

  • Jubilee: Musical by Suzan-Lori Parks and Steve H. Broadnax III, inspired by Scott Joplin's Treemonisha
  • Suddenly Last Summer: Opera by Courtney Bryan and Daniel Fish, based on Tennessee Williams
  • Yentl: Musical by Barrie Kosky and Lisa Kron, based on Isaac Bashevis Singer

These projects demonstrate the foundation's interest in works that examine, interrogate, and transform American artifacts and archival materials to imagine a more perfect, just, and hopeful future.

Foundation-Wide Strategic Priorities

Core Philosophical Alignment:

  • Projects that inspire awareness of "the other"
  • Work that increases compassion and fosters responsibility for shared, interdependent futures
  • Cultural expressions that demonstrate authentic relationship-building across differences
  • Preservation of historic landmarks while reclaiming lost narratives
  • Creating opportunities for diverse voices

From Gideon Lester, Fisher Center Artistic Director: "Art can describe things as they might be, and see things not only as they are framed by the current news cycle." He described the Civis Hope Commissions as "a rallying cry for the possibility of art."

From Leon Botstein, President of Bard: "The subject of this new program, and the generosity of its endowment, will help secure the vital role that the arts must play in highlighting the virtues, rights and privileges of a democracy by sustaining a vibrant, shared public sphere, which is the hallmark of freedom."

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Limited Public Access: Only The Democracy Cycle accepts unsolicited applications; most Civis funding flows through strategic institutional partnerships
  • Highly Competitive Open Call: The Democracy Cycle's 1.8% success rate requires exceptional artistic vision and clear alignment with democratic themes
  • Thematic Specificity: Successfully funded projects engage deeply with either "democracy" (for Democracy Cycle) or "hope" (for Hope Commissions), not just superficially
  • Baldwin's Philosophy: Understanding James Baldwin's concept of encountering "the other" is central to the foundation's worldview
  • Historic Preservation Focus: Beyond performing arts, Civis invests in preserving buildings with significant social histories, particularly related to slavery and marginalized communities
  • Geographic Concentration: While The Democracy Cycle is international, other Civis initiatives focus on Hudson NY, Providence RI, Savannah GA, and New York City
  • Partnership Model: For organizations seeking support outside The Democracy Cycle, building relationships with Civis's partner institutions (Fisher Center, PAC NYC) may be more productive than direct approaches

References

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