BY SYED K. JAMAL for WEEKLY VOLCANO | 10/23/2026
For the past 20 months, I have been building something I believe Tacoma needs: a stronger creative economy that allows artists, writers, filmmakers, and cultural entrepreneurs to turn ideas into public experiences.
I have done much of this work as a volunteer.
Through my work building a nonprofit, I have helped create festivals, literary and cultural events, civic proclamations, and creative properties. Our work has received endorsements from the governor and a state senator. Community members, vendors, foundations, and public agencies have contributed resources to bring these ideas to life.
These are meaningful milestones. But behind every festival and public celebration are countless hours of planning, fundraising, relationship-building, and problem-solving. Much of that labor has been mine, without financial compensation.
This experience has forced me to confront a question: What does it mean to build a creative economy when the people building it cannot always afford to make a living from their work?
We celebrate artists for their imagination and resilience, yet rarely ask who pays for the labor behind their art.
The Invisible Economics of Creativity
When people attend a free literary festival or cultural celebration, they see the finished product, not the months of preparation behind it.
A successful festival benefits authors, vendors, restaurants, performers, and local businesses. Young people discover new interests, visitors experience a city’s culture, and communities find opportunities to connect.
But who accounts for the person who conceived, developed, and produced the event?
We measure cultural success through attendance, visibility, and community impact. These measures matter, but they tell only part of the story. When creative labor goes uncompensated, someone is subsidizing the creative economy.
Too often, that someone is the artist.
A grant might cover the venue, equipment, marketing, and performers while leaving the person responsible for everything with little or no compensation. The project succeeds, the community benefits, and the creator immediately begins raising money for the next one.
Passion can launch a venture. It cannot indefinitely replace a salary.
Invest in Potential, Not Just Projects
Every thriving creative economy needs visionaries who recognize talent before its full value becomes obvious.
We need people who look at a filmmaker, writer, designer, or cultural entrepreneur and see not only what they have produced, but what they could accomplish with financial stability and professional support.
Too often, funding follows demonstrated success. Yet artists need resources to build the track record that funders demand.
Visionary funders break this cycle. They invest in promising people, not just polished projects. Their support might mean a paid commission, affordable studio space, a working grant, or a multiyear commitment.
The goal is not simply to fund the next festival or film. It is to ensure that the person capable of producing the next ten can continue doing so.
Momentum Has Economic Value
My experience building a nonprofit has taught me that momentum is an asset — and it can disappear.
An idea gains traction. Partners come forward. Community members contribute. Civic leaders offer endorsements. A funder recognizes potential. Suddenly, an opportunity exists to expand a program or build something lasting.
But creative momentum requires timely decisions.
When funding takes a year to arrive, volunteers may move on, relationships may cool, and the entrepreneur may have to abandon the opportunity to earn a living elsewhere.
Responsible due diligence matters, but so does speed. Funders need ways to respond when promising opportunities emerge, rather than relying exclusively on rigid annual cycles.
Vision recognizes potential. Investment provides the means. Timely action turns possibility into progress.
See the Institution Before It Exists
Every established institution began as an idea in someone’s mind. Before there was a staff, a building, or a recognized name, someone had to imagine what was possible and make it real.
In the early stages, an institution-builder often serves as strategist, fundraiser, producer, marketer, and administrator. The organization may look small, but its potential may be substantial.
Funders should learn to recognize these individuals.
When someone repeatedly brings people together, turns ideas into public programs, attracts resources, and builds community trust, they may be demonstrating the capacity to build an institution — not merely organize another event.
Of course, institution-building requires governance, financial discipline, accountability, and strong teams. These capabilities need investment, too.
For a nonprofit or 501(c)(3) organization, funding individual events without supporting the infrastructure behind them risks forcing every initiative to start from scratch.
Don’t just fund what an organization produces today. Invest in the capacity that will allow it to produce tomorrow.
Philanthropy Is Everyone’s Business
Philanthropy should not be reserved for wealthy donors writing five- or six-figure checks. It begins with recognizing that the things we value collectively require someone to sustain them.
A resident might contribute $10 to an arts fundraiser. A business might sponsor an emerging artist. An audience member might buy a book. A professional might donate expertise. Someone else might volunteer an hour or introduce a creative entrepreneur to a potential partner.
Small contributions, multiplied across a community, can make a meaningful difference.
Of course, small donations cannot replace institutional funding or fair compensation. But a culture of everyday philanthropy creates shared responsibility for sustaining the arts.
We must move beyond asking what artists can do for our communities and ask what each of us can do to sustain them.
A Challenge to Funders
To foundations, public agencies, philanthropists, and business leaders: fund the people, not just the programs.
When reviewing your next grant, ask whether the budget fairly compensates the person leading the work. Consider operating support, multiyear commitments, paid creative residencies, and early-stage investment in institution-builders. Simplify processes and respond quickly when credible opportunities arise.
Measure success not only by event attendance, but by whether your investment creates lasting capacity, paid opportunities, stronger creative businesses, and institutions that serve communities for years.
My experience building a nonprofit has shown me what community belief can accomplish. It has also taught me that recognition and sustainability are different milestones. An endorsement can validate a vision. A grant can deliver a project. Neither guarantees that the person behind it can afford to continue.
Tacoma has the talent, imagination, and community spirit to become a global creative hub. Realizing that ambition requires more than celebrating creativity after the work is done. It requires investing in the people who make it possible.
The true measure of a thriving creative economy is whether artists can afford to keep creating — and whether funders have the vision to invest in them before their potential becomes impossible to ignore.
Behind every dream that transforms a city is a person who must still make a living. And behind that person may be an institution waiting to be born.
