TACA Announces Four Mid-Size Nonprofits Selected for Third Arts Accelerator Cohort
The Learning Program was Created in 2023 to Fulfill a Need for In-Depth Professional Development and Support Among Arts Nonprofits
DALLAS – TACA announced that four arts groups have been selected for the organization’s third cohort of the Arts Accelerator, a learning opportunity newly-reimagined specifically for mid-size arts nonprofits in Dallas County. The third cohort includes the following organizations:
Bruce Wood Dance Dallas
Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra
Shakespeare Dallas
Texas Winds Musical Outreach
To learn more about the selected organizations, visit: taca-arts.org/arts-accelerator-2025-2026/.
“For two years, the Arts Accelerator has worked with small and emerging arts organizations to support the development and growth of their businesses as they tackled challenges and laid the foundations for exponential future growth and stability. TACA is excited to invest in a different corner of the local arts community and work with mid-size organizations that are on the precipice of significant transformation that will have ripple effects throughout Dallas,” said Maura Sheffler, Donna Wilhelm Family President & Executive Director. “As the Arts Accelerator matures, we look to a future where we can support a wide range of arts organizations as they chart their path forward.”
The Arts Accelerator provides an opportunity to level up their arts management toolkit, while also creating a space for participants to build community with other leaders taking their organizations from growth into maturity stages. These organizations have a strong foundation, dynamic programs, experienced leadership, an impactful history, and are poised to take on the unique, specific challenges that come with this stage of development. Made possible by support from Communities Foundation of Texas and Sapphire Foundation, the Arts Accelerator is an intensive investment in the Dallas arts community, supporting these visionary arts organizations as they pursue their mission and future vision.
Second Cohort Completed in May
Six organizations participated in the second cohort, which ran from August 2024 to May 2025. All organizations were in the early years of nonprofit status or experiencing growth or transition.
Each organization created a strategic plan for the next 3-5 years as a foundation for organizational goals and guideposts for growth and development. The cohort culminated with a celebration featuring each of the six participants sharing their future plans and takeaways from the program. Each organization was also given a $5,000 grant from TACA to support the implementation of strategic plans.
Second cohort participants included:
The Cedars Union
kNOwBOX dance
Lone Star Wind Orchestra
Over the Bridge Arts
Representa
The Writer’s Garret
“As executive director, I have never felt more confident in meeting with potential partners and board members,” said Lori Sundeen Soderbergh, Executive & Artistic Director of Over the Bridge Arts. “The strategic plan has defined our goals and given us talking points while charting our course for the next three years. Thank you, TACA Arts Accelerator!”
Program Leaders and Content
TACA developed The Arts Accelerator in collaboration with Suzanne Smith, Founder & CEO of Social Impact Architects and Adjunct Professor at UTA and SMU.
“TACA has cracked the code of capacity-building for emerging arts groups, moving beyond one-and-done workshops to create a learning community focused on achieving real, sustainable growth for organizations,” Smith said.
The content of the program is based on the flywheel effect, first articulated by Jim Collins’ book Good to Great. For nonprofits, the flywheel is connected to long-term sustainability and addresses core elements, including growth and performance improvement in operations, financing, and other functional components of organizational management, as well as arts-specific content in audience development, fundraising, board development, and impact. Taken together, it creates a “flywheel effect” where organizations become stronger and more sustainable over time through its momentum.
Learn more about TACA’s Arts Accelerator at taca-arts.org/accelerator.
About TACA
TACA invests in the vibrancy and resilience of a diverse Dallas arts community.
For over 50 years, TACA has been dedicated to making North Texas’ arts community one of the strongest in the nation. We invest in (60+) arts organizations of all shapes and sizes to support an arts community brimming with cultures and stories, that cares about the health and well-being of Dallas citizens and is building a sustainable future for our creative community – all to ensure that North Texas remains a vibrant place to live, work, and play.
For more information about TACA, call 214-520-3930 or visit taca-arts.org. Connect with TACA on Facebook at facebook.com/tacadallas, LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/tacadallas, or on Instagram at instagram.com/TACADallas.
About Suzanne Smith & Social Impact Architects
Social Impact Architects is a social change agency that provides consulting and learning experiences to changemakers, working alongside them to design creative and transformative solutions to social issues. Suzanne Smith, MBA (Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business), is the founder and CEO of Social Impact Architects. Suzanne is an adjunct professor in the School of Management at The University of Texas at Arlington and SMU, and the author of Social TrendSpotter (@socialtrendspot).