Ninth Street Media Consortium
For A Planning Grant
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Amount$57,000
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Program
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Date Awarded5/12/2008
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Term12 Months
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Type of SupportProject
Overview
Ninth Street Media Consortium (NSMC) was incorporated in 2001 as a partnership between four media arts organizations : Film Arts Foundation (FAF), Frameline, National Asian American Telecommunications Association (now the Center for Asian American Media), and the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (all Hewlett Foundation grantees). As a consortium the four organizations partnered with a private developer to purchase and renovate a 21,000 square foot, three-story facility in San Francisco’s SOMA District. The Ninth St. Media Center was opened in 2002 and, with the benefit of a Hewlett Foundation capital campaign challenge grant, bought out their private partner two years ahead of schedule. Today the four partners own 100% equity in their building, achieve efficiencies by sharing technology, staff and building maintenance costs and rent additional space to three other film-organizations.
Funds for this project will be used to support a comprehensive planning process, and short term occupancy costs as the consortium members respond to FAF’s financial crisis and likely dissolution in 2008.
The planning process will engage consultants with expertise in non profit finance, strategic planning, organizational communication, commercial space planning and an accountant. The focus of the process will be to determine the best way for the remaining consortium partners to :
1) Stabilize the partnership’s financial obligations in light of one of the 4 equity partners folding and an outstanding $2.75 million debt to Wells Fargo on the 9th street facility.
2) Determine the consortium’s future and scenarios for either taking on a new partner or buying out FAF’s 25% equity share directly. Bolstering this critical decision by with realistic short and long term business models.
3) Preserve and honor FAF’s legacy including the potential adoption/acquisition of FAF programs and assets.
About the Grantee
Grantee Website
www.ninthstreet.org
Address
145 Ninth Street, Suite 250, San Francisco, CA, 94103-2641, United States
Grants to this Grantee
for general operating support
Ninth Street Media Consortium manages and provides operational leadership for the Ninth Street Independent Film Center, which houses six media arts organizations, including three other Performing Arts Program grantees. The organization provides a media literacy program for youth, filmmaker residencies, and film exhibition and educational programs for 2,500 people each year. Renewed support for Ninth Street Media Consortium would support the continuation of support services for the tenants of the 22,000-square-foot building that has served as a permanent home for independent media since 2001. Funding would also help the organization undertake a strategic planning process in order to strengthen its business model.
for general operating support
Ninth Street Media Consortium is one of four equity owners, and the operational leader for the Ninth Street Independent Film Center, which houses eight media arts organizations and five independent media artists. The organization provides technology and building management services, a filmmaker residency program, and a screening room for film exhibition and educational programs that reach approximately 2,500 people each year. This grant will support the continuation of services for the owners and tenants of the 22,000-square-foot building, as well as help the organization undertake a planning process that will strengthen its long-term financial sustainability.
for general operating support
Ninth Street Media Consortium (NSMC) was incorporated in 2001 as a partnership among four media arts organizations: Film Arts Foundation(FAF), Frameline, National Asian American Telecommunications Association (now the Center for Asian American Media), and the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (all Hewlett Foundation grantees). The consortium built and now operates the Ninth Street Media Center in San Francisco. There are eight film/media arts organizations working in the building and the NSMC helps each of these non profits save money by sharing IT costs, projection equipment and screening facilities. Because the NSMC physically and financially binds diverse elements of the Bay Area’s media arts community together, independent filmmakers, video artists, curators, and media presenters communicate better and collaborate more intensively to deliver high quality artistic and educational programming. During the past grant period special supplemental grants were made to NSMC to enable it to cope with the dissolution of the Film Arts Foundation and with renewed support NSMC will strengthen its board, improve its financial health and make its screening room more available to building tenants and external film presenters.
