The Helen Frankenthaler Foundation has just announced the third cycle of its Frankenthaler Climate Initiative (FCI), representing a total of $2.7 million in funding to 48 different visual arts organizations across the country for 2023.

Along with the announcement of this year’s awardees, the FCI is also now expanding its footprint to $15 million and extending itself to additional 2024 and 2025 cycles. The Foundation shares it has now conferred more than $10.8 million worth of funding since the program was first initiated in 2021.

The list of organizations receiving funding this year includes Maine’s expanding Portland Museum of Art; The Noguchi Museum and Pratt Institute in New York City; SITE Santa Fe; and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, among others in the cultural and education realms.

"2023 saw the largest number and most sophisticated project proposals to date, as the visual arts field continues to grow in its capacity to affect positive change on climate," Sarah Sutton, the CEO of Environment & Culture Partners, said in a statement. "FCI’s third-year grants support a broad spectrum of climate projects that will yield quantitative and qualitative data critical to institutional benchmarking and to advancing work addressing climate change. The increased appetite for pursuing energy-efficient practices across the cultural sector is a clear indicator that the essential changes being made by FCI grantees is moving the needle in favor of clean energy and climate-smart choices."

As always, these grants will be put toward the implementation of clean energy solutions through facilities upgrades and other much-needed institutional responses to climate change and against carbon emissions. Recipients will track and report their energy consumption and greenhouse gas reduction using Energy Star Portfolio Manager. The grants cover everything from the installation of new HVAC systems to the replacement of lightbulbs and upgraded building envelopes, among other key retrofitting areas.

Environment & Culture Partners is also joined by RMI in supporting the initiative. The 2024 application cycle will be opened once again in the spring. In a statement, the Foundation's Director, Lise Motherwell, said finally: "These organizations have inspired us with their ingenuity and commitment to lower their carbon footprints. We decided to extend our funding and FCI’s grantmaking cycle, so that others can participate in this clean energy initiative."