Art Matters Inc logo

Art Matters Inc

Private foundation · Grantmaker New York, NY EIN: 13-3271577 Website

ART MATTERS INC is a private foundation based in New York, New York. It supports artists through grants and fellowships; its website describes its support as no-strings-attached and says its grants are unrestricted.

Key facts about Art Matters Inc

In short: Art Matters Inc gave $297K across 35 grants in 2024 (avg $8K), mostly in New York. Source: 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.

EIN
13-3271577
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2024
Annual giving (2024)
$296,841
Grants made (2024)
35
Average grant
$8,481
Median grant
$8,000
Total assets
$101,361
Primary geography
New York (95% of itemized 2024 grant dollars)
How to apply
The 2024 filing lists Abbey Williams as the contact for applications. Full details ↓
Deadline
None.

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2024; updated September 2026. Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.

Financial Overview

From 2024 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing

Total Assets

$101K

-1.7% YoY

Annual Giving

$297K

+28.3% YoY

Grant Count

35

+12.9% YoY

Avg Grant Size

$8K

+13.7% YoY

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Art Matters Inc reported a distributable amount of $7K for 2024 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.

How Art Matters Inc gives

  • Giving grew 45% from 2021 to 2024. Method
  • In 2024 it paid out well above its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method

From the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings. Methodology.

Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.

Mission & Focus Areas

Art Matters says it supports artists and collectives addressing urgent social issues and has a longstanding commitment to artist empowerment and freedom of expression. Its history describes early support for individual artists, with some funding for organizations that sponsored or presented new work.

Among the 2024 grantees were Middle East Children’s Alliance, which describes its mission as working for the rights and well-being of children in the Middle East, and Recess Activities Inc, which says it partners with artists and youth to build a more just and equitable creative community. These are the grantees’ stated missions, not Art Matters’ own.

Grantmaking

In filing year 2024, Art Matters reported 35 grants totaling $296,841. Grants ranged from $141 to $24,000, with a median of $8,000. The largest listed award was $24,000 to Xaveria Simmons for a fellowship to create artwork. Gelare Khoshgozaran and Cameron Rowland each received $16,000 for fellowships to create artwork. Other listed fellowship recipients received $8,000 each, including Basel Abbas, Ruanne Abou-Rahme, Lara Aburamadan, Mohamed Abusal, Mahmoud M Alshaer, Leila Awadallah, Jibz Cameron, Patty Chang, and Mel Chin. The foundation also gave $8,000 to Middle East Children’s Alliance and $7,500 to Recess Activities Inc.

Review Cycle

None.

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Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2024, 95% of grant dollars went to recipients in New York and 5% to recipients in California.

Grant Distribution by State

27states

Share of all 35 itemized 2024 grant dollars.

Cities

New YorkBrooklynLos AngelesNew OrleansChicagoSeattleFlagstaffInglewoodPhiladelphiaTucsonAnn ArborBloomfieldBronxDetroitHoustonOaklandPortlandSaint PaulSan FranciscoAlbuquerque

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$100K$200K$300K47 grants202038 grants202131 grants202231 grants202335 grants2024

From 2020 to 2024, annual grant giving ranged from $205K (2021) to $297K (2024). In 2024 it made 35 grants totaling $297K.

Grant Insights

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2024

Xaveria Simmons: $24KXaveria Simmons$24KGelare Khoshgozaran: $16KGelare Khoshgozaran$16KCameron Rowland: $16KCameron Rowland$16KBasel Abbas: $8KBasel Abbas$8KRuanne Abou-Rahme: $8KRuanne Abou-Rahme$8KLara Aburamadan: $8KLara Aburamadan$8KMohamed Abusal: $8KMohamed Abusal$8KMahmoud M Alshaer: $8KMahmoud M Alshaer$8KLeila Awadallah: $8KLeila Awadallah$8KJibz Cameron: $8KJibz Cameron$8K

The largest 2024 recipient was Xaveria Simmons ($24K). Together the top 10 received $112K.

Grant Size Distribution

182 grants across all recorded years

182<$50K$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 182 grants of 182 (100%).

Giving History

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Xaveria Simmons New York, NYFellowship to Create Artwork$24,000
Gelare Khoshgozaran New York, NYFellowship to Create Artwork$16,000
Cameron Rowland New York, NYFellowship to Create Artwork$16,000
Basel Abbas New York, NYFellowship to Create Artwork$8,000
Ruanne Abou-Rahme New York, NYFellowship to Create Artwork$8,000
Lara Aburamadan New York, NYFellowship to Create Artwork$8,000
Mohamed Abusal New York, NYFellowship to Create Artwork$8,000
Mahmoud M Alshaer New York, NYFellowship to Create Artwork$8,000
Leila Awadallah New York, NYFellowship to Create Artwork$8,000
Jibz Cameron New York, NYFellowship to Create Artwork$8,000

Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Filing year Assets Revenue Expenses Grants
2024 $101,361 $516,167 $516,994 $296,841
2023 $103,106 $398,798 $426,377 $231,300
2022 $126,624 $415,905 $429,483 $232,500
Revenue
Expenses
Qualifying Distributions
$0$200K$400K$600K20202021202220232024
Metric202420232022
Total Assets$101,361$103,106$126,624
Revenue$516,167$398,798$415,905
Expenses$516,994$426,377$429,483
Qualifying Distributions$515,995$417,847$427,660
Net Investment Income———
Distributable Amount$6,609$9,342$11,842

Data update history

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2024 filing lists Laura Donnelley as chair; Gai Gherardi as president; Alexander Gray and Marianne Weems as vice presidents; Linda Earle as treasurer; and Sacha Yanow as secretary. It also lists Rujeko Hockley, Regine Basha, Mary Beebe, and Demian Dineyazhi as board members.

Art Matters Inc is led by Gai Gherardi, President since 2022 (on filings since 2020); 1 of 21 officers listed in 2024 is compensated.

Officers on the 2024 filing

  • Gai Gherardi

    President

    Vice President → President, 2022

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Laura Donnelley

    Chair

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Abbey Williams

    Director

    On filings since 2020

    40 hrs/week

    $75K (2020) → $97K (2024)

  • Alexander Gray

    Vice President

    President → Vice President, 2022

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Bruce Yonemoto

    Board Member

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Catherine Gund

    Board Member

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Cee Scott Brown

    Board Member

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Claire Morton

    Board Member

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Demian Dineyazhi

    Board Member

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Julio Cesar Morales

    Board Member

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Laurence Miller

    Board Member

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Linda Earle

    Treasurer

    Board Member → Treasurer, 2022

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Lowery Sims

    Board Member

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Marianne Weems

    Vice President

    Board Member → Vice President, 2024

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Mary Beebe

    Board Member

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Mimi Wheeler

    Board Member

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Philip Yenawine

    Board Member

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Regine Basha

    Board Member

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Rujeko Hockley

    Board Member

    Secretary → Board Member, 2024

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Sacha Yanow

    Secretary

    Board Member → Secretary, 2022

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Viet Le

    Board Member

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

Former officers (2)
  • Former: David Mendoza (2020) — Board Member
  • Former: Yoshua Okon (2020) — Treasurer

Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2024. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.

Compensation Overview

From 2024 IRS filing

Abbey Williams — Director: $97KAbbey WilliamsDirector$97K

The highest reported compensation on the 2024 filing was $97K, to Abbey Williams (Director).

Contact

Application contact: Abbey Williams
Mailing address: PO Box 311 Prince Street Station, New York, NY 10012
Phone: (917) 478-1010
Website: https://www.artmattersfoundation.org

Frequently asked questions about Art Matters Inc

How much does Art Matters Inc give each year?

Art Matters Inc gave $297K across 35 grants in 2024, according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2023 it gave $231K across 31 grants.

What is Art Matters Inc's typical grant size?

Art Matters Inc's median grant in 2024 was $8,000, and its average grant was $8,481, across 35 grants on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.

Where does Art Matters Inc give grants?

Art Matters Inc gives mostly in New York: 95% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was California (5%). The most frequent recipient cities were New York, NY (32 grants).

Does Art Matters Inc give general operating support?

Occasionally: 3% of Art Matters Inc's 2024 grants with a stated purpose (1 of 35) were for general or operating support, per its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Recurring purposes include "Fellowship to Create Artwork" (33 grants).

Who are Art Matters Inc's largest grantees?

Art Matters Inc's largest 2024 grantees include Xaveria Simmons ($24,000), Gelare Khoshgozaran ($16,000) and Cameron Rowland ($16,000), according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 19% of its itemized 2024 grant dollars.

How large is Art Matters Inc?

Art Matters Inc reported $101K in total assets on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $516K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $7K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).

What does Art Matters Inc fund?

Art Matters says it supports artists and collectives addressing urgent social issues and has a longstanding commitment to artist empowerment and freedom of expression. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Art Matters Inc?

The 2024 filing lists Abbey Williams as the contact for applications. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑

What is Art Matters Inc's EIN?

Art Matters Inc's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 13-3271577. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2024.

Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.

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