On May 18, 2011, in Interviews, MAEX Art Blog, by Onajide Shabaka

An Interview with Francie Bishop Good and Jodi Peck from Funding Arts Broward (FAB!)
By Katharine DeShaw, USA Executive Director

Background: Elle Mahoney, a dear friend of mine, moved from Minneapolis to Fort Lauderdale in 2004. A longtime arts lover, she quickly got connected to an organization called Funding Arts Broward (FAB!) and became a donor and an active member, attending arts events and activities in the community. Many arts groups were struggling with funding cuts from government and corporate sources in the early 2000s. In response, a small group of passionate individuals committed to supporting local arts organizations established FAB! in 2003. In just eight years FAB! has raised over $1.2 million and supported 30 organizations in Broward County through a competitive grant process. Recently I caught up with the founder of FAB!, Francie Bishop Good, who is also a generous supporter of United States Artists. Jodi Peck, another active member of FAB!, joined Francie and me for an illuminating conversation. Jodi chairs the board for the Trey McIntyre Project, a contemporary dance company based in Boise, ID; Trey received a USA Wynn Fellowship last December.

Kathie: What was the spark that created Funding Arts Broward (FAB!)?

Francie: I visited the Miami Art Museum in 2003 to see the Shirin Neshat exhibition and noticed that a volunteer group in Miami called Funding Arts Network (FAN http://www.fundingartsnetwork.org/) had underwritten it. I thought, “Wow! Look at what they have done!” FAN was founded by a group of lawyers in 1996 led by Debbie Hoffman. She generously gave us their template and, during many meetings, shared their experiences. Without their help, FAB! wouldn’t have happened.

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