Putting the Art in Partner
The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts recently debuted a new campaign titled “More Than a Museum” that will serve as a guiding mantra for AMFA’s role as a cultural hub, as well as new programs that bring art deeper into the community it serves.
AMFA will partner with Women & Children First to offer free art kits and donations of needed supplies to survivors of domestic violence in the WCF Family Peace Center. The museum will also launch The AMFA Classroom, a series of STEAM education programs that “expand access to arts-integrated instruction through museum-based educational experiences” with students at Sylvan Hills Elementary, Westwind School for Performing Arts and Parkview Arts and Science Magnet High School.
High Praise
On Nov. 3, Arkansas Business will host the Arkansas Executive of the Year Awards celebrating the state’s top leaders, including four nonprofit finalists from the metro: Melissa Dawson of The Centers, Ben Goodwin of Our House, Christina Littlejohn of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and Brian Marsh of Goodwill Arkansas.
Gifts & Grants
The Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund received a $25,000 grant from the Carl B. & Florence E. King Foundation to support parents in the Arkansas Delta.
A $1.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor allowed UA-PTC and Providence Park to launch YouthBuild BRIDGE, a new program giving young adults the opportunity to earn their GED while gaining construction training, certifications and leadership skills through building homes for those experiencing chronic homelessness.
Likewise, Summit Community Care committed $25,000 to establish the Reaching the Summit Scholarship Fund for UA-PTC students pursuing degrees in healthcare and health equity-focused fields.
CHI St. Vincent received a second $5 million gift from Boots and Warrick (after pledging their first $5 million in May) and a $1 million gift from Grace and John Steuri toward its upcoming Anthony Center for Advanced Cardiac Care.
The Arkansas Imagination Library received a $20,000 grant from the Methodist Foundation for Arkansas to sustain monthly book deliveries for kids in north central Arkansas.
UAMS broke fundraising records by bringing in more than $44 million through gifts and philanthropic grants in the 2026 fiscal year, only the third time its fundraising has exceeded $40 million.
Meanwhile, UAMS recently received a $2.4 million grant from the National Institute on Aging to study bone loss in aging and brittle bone disease, a National Institutes of Health grant for more than $3.1 million to research tumor growth in head and neck cancers and up to $1.05 million from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health to study leishmaniasis, a “neglected tropical disease.”
The Arkansas Commission on Child Abuse, Rape and Domestic Violence awarded more than $318,000 to five nonprofits, including Arkansas Children’s, Carter’s Crew and the Central Arkansas Library System Foundation in Little Rock.
Camp Aldersgate received a $150,000 gift from the C. Louis & Mary C. Cabe Foundation to restore the historic 1947 Allan Herschell carousel “where children and adults with disabilities have laughed, celebrated milestones and created lifelong memories for nearly eight decades.”
Big Moves
Molly McNulty was installed as president of the Rotary Club of Little Rock.
The Venture Center hired Michelle Royal as its membership manager.
The CARTI Foundation added three new board members: Kristi Moody, Kyle Morgan and Ardyth Neill.
The AMFA Board of Trustees added 10 new members: Tabietha Dillard, Marcy Doderer, Merritt Dyke, John S. Erck, David Mitchell, Marisa Nabholz, Jeff Nolan, Tobin Sparling, Van Tilbury and Anne Wallace.