The BASED initiative seeks to advance community development through arts and culture. This national program provides a platform for continued learning of both leading practitioners and Kresge staff around emerging field priorities, such as strengthening racial equity and inclusion best practices within the community development sector.

While there are a substantial number of community development organizations that have successfully integrated Creative Placemaking into broader neighborhood strategies, many of these organizations face staffing, policy and funding hurdles. BASED aims to strengthen these organizations and expand efforts that integrate Creative Placemaking into place-based work happening in cities across the country.

This three-year pilot program was launched in 2019 and will be implemented in two phases. A second cohort of grantees will be selected in 2020. This phased approach was developed as a peer learning tool to enable local leaders from Phase I to connect around a shared agenda for equitable Creative Placemaking in order to inform the Phase II cohort.

BASED is an $8 million grantmaking initiative.