Social Capital:
A Pathway to Racial Equity in the Arts
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​ A Concept Note-in-Progress

This concept note is a work in progress and will evolve as we engage in dialogue about social capital in the arts with our collaborating artists, allies, and peers in Vermont and across the US.
What is "Social Capital"? 
Social capital is the value and advantages gained through social networks, which provide access to financial resources, influence, assistance, essential information, and opportunities for growth. These networks rely on trust, reciprocity, and mutual support, and they enable individuals or groups to achieve goals that would be difficult or impossible to attain in isolation.  Within this context, social capital means the value that comes from the social networks and relationships that enable individuals and groups to achieve their goals. It includes the benefits and resources people can access through their connections, trust, relationships, and mutual obligations within a community or social structure.

Social capital is an important pathway to strengthening Clemmons Family Farm's institutional capacity as an African American women-led arts and culture nonprofit organization and to helping Black artists to thrive in all dimensions of wellness.  Clemmons Family Farm is seeking to build equitable  partnerships with white-led arts and culture nonprofit organizations that include a focus on assisting our organization, and the Black artists we serve, to build our social capital.
Five Main Areas of Social Capital 
As we strive to understand how social capital works in the arts sector, we can break it down into five main areas:
1.  Access to Financial Resources
Social capital facilitates connections with people or institutions that provide financial support to the arts, such as investors, donors, or funding organizations. These connections often enable nonprofits and artists to gain access to grants, loans, or sponsorships that they might not otherwise secure on their own.
​2.  Access to Power, Influence, and Decision-Making Authority
Social capital empowers arts nonprofits and artists by connecting them with influential networks. Relationships with people in positions of authority or leadership can offer access to decision-making processes, providing a platform for advocacy and influencing policy in the arts sector. The strength of these social ties can enhance one’s ability to leverage authority to benefit an arts organization, artists, and communities.
3.  Access to Information
Being part of a social network provides access to valuable information that may otherwise not be publicly available or easy to find. This includes funding opportunities, job opportunities, trends and innovations in the arts sector, professional development, and insider knowledge that can help arts organizations and artists advance or make strategic decisions.  Access to information might be attained through listserves, newsletters, and subscriptions to journals or other sources of information that may be known to those within a social network and not known to those who are not within that network. 
4. Opportunities to Flourish
Social capital creates pathways for arts organizations and artists to access mentorship, professional networks, and collaborative opportunities that promote personal or career growth. By cultivating trust and reciprocity, organizations and artists can benefit from accessing and exchanging resources that enhance their capacity to succeed.
5. Social Networking and Connections Established on Trust
Trusting relationships formed through social networks are the backbone of social capital. These connections, based on trust, offer direct or indirect benefits, such as recommendations, endorsements, or introductions to influential people, which in turn can open doors to various opportunities to thrive in the arts.

​Barriers to Social Capital in the Arts: Racial Disparities in Wealth and Access to Social Networks that Connect Arts Organizations and Artists to Resources, Power, Influence, and Opportunities 
Arts nonprofit organizations led by people of color, and the artists they serve, face significant barriers to building social capital. These challenges stem from systemic racism, exclusion from predominantly white professional and social networks, and limited representation in the arts community. African American women-led arts nonprofits and Black artists, in particular, may encounter fewer opportunities for mentorship, funding, and spaces to create, showcase, or sell their creative works, as these are often distributed through existing social networks that may not be accessible to them. Additionally, African American women-led arts nonprofits may struggle to gain the trust and support of funders or other influential people who are unfamiliar with their cultural perspectives or priorities, further limiting their access to financial resources and institutional power.

In predominantly white states like Vermont, the lack of diversity in the arts and funding ecosystems can perpetuate feelings of isolation, make it harder to build necessary relationships, and hinder the visibility and sustainability of Black artists and their organizations. These structural inequities create a landscape where it is more difficult for them to tap into the same networks of influence and opportunity as their white counterparts.

Racial Disparities in Wealth
Racial disparities in wealth are closely tied to disparities in social capital, because limited financial resources often restrict the ability of Black-led arts nonprofits and Black artists to access networks, opportunities, and institutions that can facilitate upward mobility.  Three important contributors to racial disparities in wealth are income disparities, unemployment, and home ownership. 

1. Income Disparities:  According to the U.S. Census, the median household income for Black Vermonters tends to be lower than that of white Vermonters. In 2021, Vermont's median household income for white households was around $70,000, whereas Black households earned significantly less, often closer to $45,000, depending on the specific year and dataset.

2. Unemployment Rates: Black Vermonters face disproportionately higher unemployment compared to white Vermonters. Nationally, as of 2023, the unemployment rate for Black Americans was around 6%, compared to about 3% for white Americans. In Vermont, the 2020 data reflected an even starker gap, with the unemployment rate for Black Vermonters more than twice that of white Vermonters. For example, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Black Vermonters experienced an unemployment rate as high as 15%, compared to approximately 5% for white Vermonters.

3. Home ownership: Nationally, there is a significant disparity in homeownership rates. In 2023, approximately 74.5% of white Americans owned homes, while only about 44% of Black Americans were home owners. In Vermont, the home ownership equity gap is even worse. In 2020, 71% of white Vermonters owned homes, compared to only about 21% of Black Vermonters. This wide gap significantly impacts wealth inequities, since home ownership is one of the primary drivers of wealth in the U.S.

Race and Social Networks
On a national level in the U.S., research indicates that around 30% of white Americans report socializing with Black people. This number reflects ongoing racial segregation in social networks, even as our nation's demographic diversity grows. Many white people tend to have predominantly white social circles, limiting cross-racial social interactions (PRRI Survey, 2022). Specific data on how many white Vermonters regularly socialize with Black people is not readily available, but Vermont's demographics suggest that opportunities for cross-racial social interactions are limited. Vermont is tied with Maine as the least racially diverse state in the U.S., with over 94% of the population identifying as white, and only about 1.3% identifying as Black. This lack of diversity often leads to social segregation and fewer chances for meaningful socialization across differences of race and culture, contributing to social isolation and exclusion for Black Vermonters who are a minority population in the state.

Steps toward Social Change
Over the coming months, Clemmons Family Farm will be engaging in dialogue about social capital with our collaborating artists, allies, donors, and peer organizations in the arts and culture sector to develop tools and specific actions contributing to a more equitable creative economy in Vermont.