Creative Pioneers Fund (CPF)

The Creativity Pioneers Fund (CPF) is a microgranting program that catalyzes transformative social change by investing in, connecting, and supporting cultural and creative organizations that promote bold, innovative, and unconventional practices to build a more just, inclusive, and equitable world.

The Creativity Pioneers Fund is the result of a collective effort of partners and donors who believe in the transformative power of creativity and the need to take a new philanthropic approach to social change. Leveraging the creative ecosystem of partners and stakeholders, the Creativity Pioneers Fund aims to provide a variety of learning and development opportunities for all its recipients (beneficiaries and supporters).

The Creativity Pioneers Fund is a unique philanthropic fund that aims to provide economic resources, learning and development opportunities, and targeted network connections, to cultural and creative organizations operating in disadvantaged areas of the world with the goal of revealing the transformative power of creativity for social change. Through a trust-based, intersectional, highly inclusive approach, the Creativity Pioneers Fund supports organizations that create great value but elude traditional philanthropic tools. 

The Moleskine Foundation believes that organizations engaged on the front lines are best qualified to determine where to allocate the funds provided, so the grantee organization has decision-making autonomy over the use of resources. The application should report all costs incurred directly for planned activities and programs during the year-which may include, but are not limited to, the following items:

Expenses inherent to programming;

• Personnel costs, whether newly hired or for paid work of existing staff, provided such costs are vital to the operation and programming of the organization;
• Travel and subsistence costs, e.g., airfare and ground transfers, for meals and lodging, must be congruent with the policy on expenses adopted by the organization, if any;
• Promotion costs, such as costs for marketing and distribution of related materials or advertising on media platforms, if any;
• Evaluation costs, including the collection, storage and analysis of data and the production of evaluation reports, including overtime worked by staff or appointments given to external consultants;
• Fees charged by professionals: payments made to organizations or individuals for professional services of a financial, legal or marketing nature;
• Overhead expenses to support business growth and development to ensure longterm sustainability.