Make a gift today to support California’s thriving cultural communities.

From bringing the healing power of traditional arts to incarcerated people to preparing local residents to document the sonic landscape of their communities — when you give to the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, you support work that tells us what it means to be human. Any amount, whether it be a one-time gift or a monthly donation, will help us meet our goal this giving season.

It’s fast and easy to donate online.

 

View our donor campaign →

Or, you can mail paper checks to:

744 P Street, Suite 307
Fresno, CA 93721

“A tree without roots will never bear fruit. Supporting ACTA is like supplying water to our roots. It is a little sip of livelihood to those brave traditional artists that will not compromise their culture.”

— Makeda Kumasi, Founder and Artistic Director of the Umoja Ensemble of the Inland Empire (2020 ACTA Living Cultures Grantee)
Master artist Jorge Mijangos (L) with his apprentice in son jarocho luthiery, Juan Francisco Parroquin (R) in 2013, holding instruments they are in the process of crafting. Photo: Sherwood Chen/ACTA.

We come together every day to create culture. In neighborhoods, parks, and places of worship, Californians are playing taiko drums, dancing son jarocho on the tarima, singing a gospel hymn, sharing a family recipe, or telling rich stories about their own cultural heritage.

Through shared practice and experience, we know our humanity. We learn from what has come before to understand today and envision tomorrow. 

ACTA supports the work of California traditional artists and cultural communities representing hundreds of expressive forms. From Ohlone basketry and Japanese koto music to Oaxacan mask-making and queer voguing competitions, we recognize California’s breadth of cultural practice as sources of social belonging, power, and justice.

Here’s what your donations to ACTA could help support:

A Living Cultures grant from ACTA supported regalia making for a Karuk coming of age ceremony that was resurrected after a 200 year hiatus. Photo: Sarah Liz.
  • A grant to support projects sustaining traditional cultural practice
  • Cultural transmission between a master and apprentice
  • Archival digitization, and access to, a fieldwork-based multimedia collection 
  • Restorative justice through arts in corrections programming
  • Artist roundtables that promote California’s cultural riches
  • Community recordings chronicling the immigrant experience
  • Increasing ACTA’s capacity to offer new programs and services throughout California

Every gift is a commitment to a culture bearer — and the people of California. Thank you for your generosity.

Contact: Amy Kitchener, Executive Director
Fresno Central Office | [email protected] | (559) 237-9813 and (559) 696-2815

Other ways to give:

ONE

Donate by Mail 

Make a check payable to the Alliance for California Traditional Arts and send it to us at 744 P Street, Suite 307, Fresno, CA 93721.

TWO

Amazon Smile 

If you use Amazon, login here and select ACTA as your charity. We will receive a small percentage of qualifying purchases.

THREE

Matching Gifts 

Many employers offer a matching gift program, doubling or even tripling contributions made by their employees, employees’ family members, retired employees, and board members. Contact your Human Resources department to find out more.

FOUR

Legacy Planning 

Include ACTA in your legacy plans and you and your loved ones may enjoy tax or income advantages while helping us to support California’s cultural heritage. Here are two things you can do today:

  • If you are at least 70 1⁄2 years old, make a qualified charitable distribution from your tax-deferred IRA. By transferring funds directly from your IRA to ACTA, you can satisfy required minimum distributions for the year and enjoy advantages compared to taking a taxable distribution and then contributing the proceeds.
  • Name ACTA as a beneficiary in your will, trust, life insurance policy, retirement account, or other estate plan. Let us know about your plans by completing and returning our simple, non-binding agreement.

The Alliance for California Traditional Arts is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a nonprofit 501c3 organization, federal ID 02-0541202, and your contribution is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Find us on Charity Navigator and Guidestar. We endorse the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ Donor Bill of Rights.

Invest in California’s cultural wealth.

Every gift is a commitment to a culture bearer, and the people of California.

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