Adriana Griñó, Arts Program Officer, has announced she will leave the Kenneth Rainin Foundation effective January 20. Adriana joined the Foundation as Program Assistant in 2014. She was promoted to Program Associate, which was followed by her appointment to Program Officer in 2017. Her decision to leave the role comes after over eight years of service in advancing the Foundation’s goal of enabling Bay Area artists to thrive. Over the years, Adriana has developed meaningful connections with grantees, peer funders, partners and staff, and has strengthened the Foundation’s contributions and impact in the field.
Adriana has led the New & Experimental Works (NEW) Program, providing unrestricted and support for artist fees to enable Bay Area artists to produce visionary projects relevant to the communities they serve. She also managed our Open Spaces Program, which funds temporary public art installations in San Francisco and Oakland. In recent years, Adriana hosted over a dozen grant proposal workshops, processed hundreds of applications and stewarded over 150 grants over the past five years. Beyond grantmaking, Adriana supported the Arts program’s strategic shifts to center individual artists. She helped launch the prestigious Rainin Fellowship in 2021 in partnership with United States Artists, who administers the program. Four Arts Fellows selected annually receive a grant of $100,000 plus tailored supplemental support in recognition of their superior artistic contributions and leadership in the Bay Area.
At the height of the COVID pandemic, Adriana worked with the Arts Team to provide emergency relief support to grantees and raised funds from peer foundations to enable three rounds of awards for individual artists through the East Bay/Oakland Relief Fund administered by the Center for Cultural Innovation. This program has distributed over $1.5 million to over 700 artists throughout the Bay Area over the past three years.
“Adriana operates with brilliance and care, showing up with positivity and an open heart, and always going the extra distance for applicant and grantee organizations and the communities we mutually serve.”
Ted Russell, Director, Arts Strategy & Ventures
Adriana has also partnered with peer funders to support collaborative efforts to reduce burdens on applicants and advance equitable grantmaking practices. In acknowledgement of the time and labor involved in the grant application process, she launched the External Application Track, allowing NEW Program applicants to submit proposals they had prepared for other funders to the Rainin Foundation. Her efforts to increase access to the Foundation also included working with the Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project (QWOCMAP) to launch the Arts Program’s first demographic data survey. Internally, she partnered with the Communications Team and others to develop a variety of resources for staff to advance the Foundation’s diversity, equity and inclusion work.
Adriana has served on several external working groups and committees such as Grantmakers in the Arts’ Support for Individual Artist Committee, where she contributed to research projects and participated in conference planning committees; the Arts Loan Fund steering committee, where she served as co-chair; and most recently on the City of Oakland’s Funding Advisory Committee.
“Adriana has helped shape and nurture the Arts Program for most of its existence, building remarkably strong relationships with artists and funders in the process. She operates with brilliance and care, showing up with positivity and an open heart, and always going the extra distance for applicant and grantee organizations and the communities we mutually serve. I’m grateful for all I’ve learned working by Adriana’s side,” said Ted Russell, Director of Arts Strategy and Ventures.
The Rainin Foundation honors Adriana’s leadership, her extensive contributions and the dedication she brought to our work and the arts field each and every day. We wish Adriana continued success.
In the interim, program inquiries should be directed to the Arts Team.
A Message From Adriana Griñó
During my time at the Rainin Foundation, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to work with dedicated colleagues both within and outside the Foundation as well as artists and grantee partners, from whom I’ve learned a great deal. I have benefitted so much from their generosity, freely shared experience and expertise, and candor, which served me greatly as I navigated the complex world of philanthropy.
I’ve had the immeasurable privilege of working to support Bay Area artists. I’ve walked through theater doors to worlds unknown, revisited familiar places through different lenses and seen bodies move in ways that reminded me of my own embodied existence. In those moments, I have found connection with myself and others in ways that have been profoundly moving. Bearing witness to this brilliance, that shines even in the darkest of moments, has been a great gift to me.
Above all else, I feel immense gratitude as I move into this next stage. Thank you.
