We ALL win! with Bravo Greater Des Moines

Sherry Gupta walked across the stage at the Bravo Awards Gala to give Sally Dix and Matt McKinney each a big hug. Bravo, the regional arts council for Central Iowa, has been a lifeline for CultureALL since 2009. Sherry wanted Bravo’s Executive Director and Board Chair to know how deeply grateful she and the CultureALL community are for Bravo’s annual operating funds.

Bravo’s visionary stewardship

Bravo Greater Des Moines was designed as an economic development strategy. The founders understood that art and culture are a cornerstone of a strong economy; they are the backbone of education, producing creativity and innovation, drawing jobs and families into a region. 

Nurturing the arts is good work that needs a good steward, providing leadership, and channeling funds to keep cultural organizations operationally healthy.

What we ALL should know about Bravo

Bravo became a regional model - admired across the country - for its collaborative approach and shared investments in arts and culture

Bravo was formed in 2004 because a group of visionary, bold business and civic leaders across the municipalities of Greater Des Moines came together to elevate the quality of life, drive economic development and advance regional priorities

As the region’s arts council, Bravo has a seat at the table for every regional vision plan, shaping the conversation on everything Greater DSM is trying to achieve

Bravo's work throughout the year is possible because of public funds invested by 17 local government partners

These 17 communities invest their hotel/motel tax revenue in Bravo

Each of Bravo’s city partners invest 28.5% of hotel/motel taxes collected; this amounts to more than 90% of Bravo’s annual revenue

Bravo staff does much more than grantmaking, but its core and primary purpose is grantmaking. During the last 5 years (FY19 – FY24), 93% of this hotel/motel tax revenue has gone out directly in grants

Bravo’s structure is extremely efficient and effective, executing best-practice stewardship on behalf of our local government partners

Without Bravo, each city would be left to figure out its own way to allocate funds. There would be no line of sight to what others are doing, creating an inefficient model of winners and losers for public dollars

Bravo's regional oversight means that every dollar is allocated so that no corner of our community is left behind

Their finely tuned grant-making process ensures every art and culture organization is fully vetted, every dollar put to good use, and every grant aligns with regional priorities

Last year, more than 22,000 students benefited from Passport to Culture, Bravo’s youth program that provides funding for students to experience culturally enriching educational opportunities in and out of the classroom

In 2000, there were fewer than 30 nonprofit arts, culture, heritage, and interpretive science organizations in the region. Today, Bravo supports more than 90 organizations

CultureALL receives prestigious Bravo award

On February 8, 2025, Bravo recognized CultureALL for its “transformative impact on the region.” They said CultureALL was selected “not only for the incredible work and growth” achieved, but also because its goals, strategy, and programming “align with the pillars of Bravo’s strategic plan and core values.” They lifted up CultureALL as a “vibrant example of the impact of arts, culture, and heritage on the community.” 

Among the audience of more than 1,000 supporters at this Bravo Awards Gala were CultureALL Ambassadors RJ Hernandez, Mamta Israni, Josie Shaw, Yoko Tanaka, Alex Yakobson; Board Members (past and present) Carol Spaulding Kruse, Ganesh Ganpat, and John Schmidt; Volunteers and Staff: Jessica Orton, Jack Chimbetete, JJ Kapur, Paula Hutton McKinley, and Erika Worley.

After the audience viewed an inspiring video about CultureALL Ambassador Josie Shaw, which was filmed and edited by Estuary Motions (Israel Lopez) and paid for by Bravo, CultureALL’s Founder Sherry Gupta walked across the stage to accept the award on behalf of the CultureALL community. This was her message (see the video):

Bravo is truly something special. The organization’s leadership and courage has been a visionary force, shaping and honoring the cultures and arts that make our region so vibrant and prosperous.

Bravo’s investment empowers organizations like CultureALL to do so much more than provide entertainment to growing audiences. They do more than encourage creativity and innovation. They do more than attract customers and employees to our region.

They also create a sense of place, where people from all backgrounds and life experiences feel valued and represented, with the freedom to flourish, for the benefit of all.

CultureALL plays a unique role in serving Bravo’s mission. We provide pathways for Iowans to get to know their neighbors and colleagues.

People like Josie Shaw from Kenya form a network of more than 100 CultureALL Ambassadors and Open Book storytellers. Each one engages learners of all ages in authentic, playful, interactive experiences that spark greater curiosity and respect, leaving us wanting to learn more.

Josie recently worked at an elementary school, demonstrating how Kenyan women use one large cloth, called: Lesso. She showed them how to use it as a skirt, a shawl, baby carrier, tablecloth, head covering… It was at that moment when students were excited to say: My grandma wears a hat; my dad wears a baseball cap, and then … “My mom wears hijab.”

After a whole year of students studying in class together, it took just one CultureALL Ambassador’s workshop to make it “normal" to be different.

The process invites us to see the world from new perspectives, giving us access to new and interesting information.

We all win   when we share cultural arts experiences. 

We all win   when we value the cultures in our communities.

Thank you for honoring CultureALL with this spotlight award on our 20^th Anniversary! And thank you, especially, for supporting Bravo at a time when their courageous leadership is exceptionally vital.