Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.
AEFI Celebrates its 20th Anniversary in 2026 and Introduces a New Strategic Plan
AEFI’s Genesis
The Aspen Institute Artist-Endowed Foundations Initiative | AEFI took shape in 2006 as a groundbreaking research project – the National Study of Artist-Endowed Foundations – under the auspices of the Aspen Institute’s Program on Philanthropy & Social Innovation. Its inception was spurred by established AEF leaders who believed that if this emerging field could have access to trustworthy information about effective practice, it had the potential to become a transformative force enhancing the country’s cultural philanthropy resources and long-term art stewardship capabilities. The Study’s research findings were published in 2010, and the Study Report continues to be available on AEFI’s webpage, along with periodic updates. AEFI subsequently introduced the Seminar on Strategy for AEF Leaders, the cutting-edge professional education program for leaders moving into the AEF field, with a curriculum based on the Study’s findings. Concurrently, it launched the Artist-Endowed Foundation Leadership Forum, convening foundation leaders to discuss critical issues and opportunities shaping the field, surfacing these ideas for exploration in its ongoing research program. In 2016, this expanding line of work was re-christened as the Aspen Institute Artist-Endowed Foundations Initiative | AEFI, recognizing the transition from research project to dynamic ongoing endeavor.
Meeting the Moment: AEFI’s Path Forward
Twenty years after AEFI’s founding, the number of identified AEFs has risen to 500, the field’s aggregate assets have grown to more than $9 billion and its annual charitable expenditures to $220 million. Not surprisingly, the need for information as well as opportunities for AEF leaders to connect and engage in collegial exchange has grown commensurately. At the same time, the winds of change are blowing in the arts and in philanthropy, among many aspects of our society. It is once more time for AEFI to evolve in response to the field’s expanding needs, even while maintaining its mission to increase the charitable impact of the Artist-Endowed Foundation community in its art stewardship and cultural philanthropy purposes, which it does by developing, sharing, and fostering collegial discussion of timely, trustworthy information on effective practice for those who create, lead, govern, and advise foundations.
