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On February 25, 1976, the New England Foundation for the Arts was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, creating the pathway to contribute to the cultural life of New England and the nation. We continue celebrating NEFA’s 50 Stories series with this blog on NEFA’s early days as a nonprofit and Regional Arts Organization and how many of the activities continue to influence the work today.
A New Regional Arts Organization
The United States Regional Arts Organizations (US RAOs) strengthen and support arts, culture, and creativity in their individual regions as well as across the nation. By design, the RAOs are integrally tied to state arts agencies and the National Endowment for the Arts and other public and private funders to develop and deliver programs, services, and products that advance arts and creativity.
The rationale for establishing NEFA as a formal nonprofit entity was to enable the exchange of the arts across state lines, something that the two oldest RAOs - the Mid-America Arts Alliance (established in 1972) and Creative West (established in 1974 and formerly known as WESTAF) - were already doing in their respective regions. South Arts quickly followed in 1975, followed by NEFA, Mid America Arts (1979), and finally Arts Midwest (1984). Correspondence on May 13, 1976, from WESTAF’s president Richard Collins to NEFA director Dr. Tom Wolf, acknowledges the beginnings of NEFA’s work as a regional arts organization: “It’s also most interesting to note that the New England Foundation for the Arts has been incorporated and is beginning to look at regional services. I personally feel that this will be a great benefit to the New England states and their constituency.”
Founded on Reluctance
As the story goes, some of the New England state arts agency leaders at the time were not convinced that an incorporated organization was necessary and that perhaps New England was compact enough to make do with a collaborative program model. What surfaced was that this initiative would be missing out on federal funding from the National Endowment for the Arts slated for this work, if there were a nonprofit – in this case, a regional arts organization - to manage the funding. “Everybody knew what a state arts agency was because it was a legislatively mandated agency of government. But nobody really knew what a regional organization was,” shared NEFA’s founding executive director, Dr. Thomas Wolf, in a January 12, 2026, conversation on NEFA's founding with current executive director, Harold Steward.
The first official board meeting of the recently incorporated New England Foundation for the Arts was held on March 2, 1976, at the historic Phenix Hall in Concord, New Hampshire. The meeting was called to order by board president John G. Coe, then director of the NH State Council on the Arts.
At this meeting, executive director Dr. Tom Wolf shared progress on the regional grantmaking program designed to support arts activity that crossed state lines. Tom reported that he had met with 20 identified performing arts groups across the region, considering various art forms and artist fee levels to enable presenters of all sizes across New England to engage in the work through what was then known as the New England Touring Program, supporting arts organizations to present artists from another state in the region.
The agenda also included NEFA’s fiscal agent, the New Hampshire Charitable Fund and Affiliated Trusts (now the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation) discussing fiscal best practices for this new nonprofit. The board also discussed research into a regional crafts initiative and a plan to discuss an Artist in the Schools program at the next meeting.
NEFA Today
Today, this foundational grantmaking work continues through the New England States Touring (NEST) program, with approximately 700 artists/ensembles currently self-identifying eligibility via their CreativeGround profiles.
In recent years, the six RAOs have worked in partnership to distribute public funds responsively, equitably, and efficiently, while responding to shifting needs and priorities to strengthen the national arts infrastructure. Recent examples of RAO collaborations include GPS for the Arts: Recommitting America to International Cultural Exchange (2009), awarding Arts Resilience grants as part of the United States Arts Resilience Fund (2021), awarding ArtsHERE grants (2024), Cultural Sustainability awards (2025), and, most recently, Walking Together grants (2026). These types of collaborations combine the benefits of national scope with deep regional knowledge.
This is just a glimpse of how NEFA’s early work continues to influence where NEFA is today, reaffirming our role as a social impact organization. We look forward to sharing many more pivotal moments during this 50 stories series throughout our celebration.
Perhaps one of those stories will be yours?
What's your story?
We welcome you, our constituents, to share how NEFA has supported your artistic vision, your organization, or your community. We warmly invite you to join this milestone celebration by sharing your story, The People's History of NEFA: