#MergerMondays: Arts & Education Council + Network for Strong Communities

The Arts and Education Council (A&E)—a long-standing grantmaker and champion for the arts—is merging with Network for Strong Communities (NSC), a nonprofit technical assistance provider. The result? A newly integrated organization designed to support both artistic expression and the infrastructure that makes it sustainable.

NSC’s role as a technical assistance provider means they offer nonprofit leaders the tools and training to strengthen operations—things like governance, finance, strategic planning, and compliance. These are often the behind-the-scenes systems that keep missions moving but rarely get the spotlight.

By merging, A&E and NSC are recognizing something powerful: creative communities flourish when they’re backed by solid support systems. This union brings together two critical pieces of the nonprofit puzzle—mission and mechanics—under one roof.

It’s a unique partnership. And it opens the door for other arts and culture organizations to imagine new ways to build strength—not just through funding or programming, but through shared services, operational knowledge, and collaborative strategy.

To the teams making this vision real: thank you for showing what’s possible when we reimagine what support can look like.

📣 Full press release here:  https://nscnow.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/AE-release-final.pdf