If you’re an artist, nonprofit leader, cultural organizer, or anyone working at the intersection of creativity and social change, you already know the landscape is shifting—and not in your favor. From sudden grant revocations to legal threats and public media cuts, values-driven arts organizations are facing mounting political and financial pressure. In an environment where inclusion and cultural storytelling are under attack, understanding how to protect your work is no longer optional—it’s essential.

• Discover how new federal policies and funding shifts are undermining equity-focused arts initiatives—and what that means for your organization’s future.
• Learn the difference between the “Ironman” and “Atomic Blonde” survival strategies for nonprofits navigating politically hostile environments, and how to align your approach with your mission.
• Gain actionable tools for crisis communication, narrative layering, and coalition building to defend your mission and your community when the pressure is on.

Listen now to learn how to safeguard your creative work and stay resilient in the face of rising political and legal threats to activist artists, cultural organizers and community cultural organizations.

1. People

• Matthew Charles Davis – Public relations and crisis communications expert featured in the Grantmakers in the Arts webinar “Navigating Today’s Funder Challenges.” Former investigative journalist known for handling high‑profile media crises .

2. Events

• Navigating Today’s Funder Challenges: A Live, Expert Discussion – A Grantmakers in the Arts webinar held June 3, 2025, featuring experts (including Matthew Charles Davis) discussing legal, PR, and narrative strategies for nonprofit arts funding
• Grantmakers in the Arts 2025 Webinar Series – A continuing series of webinars for arts funders and nonprofit leaders organized by Grantmakers in the Arts ().

3. Organizations

• Grantmakers in the Arts – National service organization offering resources, webinars, and research to support arts funders and grantees
• National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) – Federal agency providing funding and support for U.S. arts projects; mentioned regarding grant revocations.
• Office of Management and Budget (OMB) – Executive office responsible for federal budget oversight; cited for budget freezes on grant approvals.
• Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) – Federal agency funding public broadcasters like PBS and NPR, currently facing funding threats.
• PBS – Public Broadcasting Service, funded partly through CPB; its federal support has been targeted.
• NPR – National Public Radio, similarly reliant on CPB and under political scrutiny.
• Kennedy Center – Leading performing arts center in...

What if the key to undoing bias and building empathy isn’t just policy or protest—but a complicated art and neuroscience dance that facilitates the rewiring the human brain?

In this final chapter of our three-part Breaking Ice series, we move from the stage to the synapse. After witnessing how theater can unearth hidden truths and foster real conversations, we now explore the neuroscience behind it all. What’s really happening inside us when we struggle with difference? And how can understanding the brain help advance the work of DEI?

• Dive into the emerging science of imagination, fear, empathy, and storytelling—and what it reveals about our social behaviors.
• Learn why art, especially performance, is such a powerful tool for reconfiguring how we perceive “the other.”
• Hear a heartfelt, layperson’s journey into the brain’s wiring—and how Breaking Ice exemplifies the potential for rewiring hearts and minds through shared experience.

Spending time with the Breaking Ice theater based diversity, equity, and inclusion program gave rise to a question: How might new insights about how the brain works might help us better understand the how and why of our continuing struggle with difference? Here is what ensued.

LISTEN TO Part 1 of this series

LISTEN TO Part 2 of this series

Change the Story / All Episodes

Breaking Ice is the award-winning program of Pillsbury House Theatre that for over 20 years has been “breaking the ice” for courageous and productive dialogue around issues of diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. A diverse company of professional actors portrays real-life situations that are customized to meet the goals, needs and culture of each unique organization we serve.

Pillsbury House and Theater is a groundbreaking “new model for human service work that recognizes the power of the arts and culture to stimulate community participation, investment and ownership.”

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: was a Hungarian-American psychologist. He recognized and named the psychological concept of "flow", a highly focused mental state conducive to productivity.[1][2] He was the Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Management at Claremont Graduate University. He was also the former head of the department of psychology at the University of Chicago and of the department of sociology and anthropology at Lake Forest College.

Can a scripted performance shift the way people feel—and act—about race, identity, and inclusion in their workplace?

This is Chapter Two of our three-part journey into the world of Breaking Ice, a theater-based DEI program pushing against the mounting tide of resistance and rollback. Building on the emotional groundwork laid in Part 1, we now go deeper into what happens after the curtain rises—when the performance ends and the real conversations begin.

• Step inside the post-performance debrief: a high-stakes dialogue where vulnerability, pushback, and transformation collide.
• Learn how Breaking Ice uses improvisation, humor, and empathy to defuse defensiveness and invite deeper understanding.
• Hear powerful reflections from both cast and audience members as they confront their own assumptions—and open up to change.

If Part 1 opened your eyes, Part 2 will challenge your heart. Have a listen as Breaking Ice takes DEI off the page and into real lives, one courageous conversation at a time.