Artemis Rising Foundation

Artemis Rising Foundation (formerly Phoebe Snow Foundation, EIN 68-0315880) operates as one of the most selective private grantmakers in the documentary and social justice media space. Founded in 1994 by Regina K. Scully — a filmmaker and philanthropist based in San Rafael, California — the organization has grown from a modest vehicle into a $166.8M-asset institution that funds transformative media, education, and social change work. Its tagline, "Arts. Media. Education. Transformation through fierce compassion," frames a clear but narrow mandate.

The giving model is radically concentrated: approximately 2-5 grants annually across a nine-figure asset base. Identifiable grantees show one unnamed recipient receiving $21.8M across 4 grants (averaging $5.5M per grant) and Barnard College receiving a $1M endowed professorship. The $3M Filmmaker Fellowship at Barnard represents a third mode — long-term institutional investment in film education infrastructure. Grant range runs from $1M to $5.94M, with an average of approximately $2.8M. This is emphatically a large-check, few-partners model.

Scully personally reviews materials and uses the frame of "DNA changers" — projects that move audiences on emotional, physical, and psychic levels with credible paths to legislative, policy, or cultural change. Her evaluation questions are: How many people will experience reduced suffering? What constituencies benefit? Will this create systemic change?

Organizations that succeed with ARF invariably arrive through the documentary film community network — co-producers, festival relationships, Barnard/Athena Center affiliations, or Women's Image Network ties. There is no standard relationship progression (LOI to full proposal to site visit); instead, access comes through trust built over time in shared communities. First-time applicants should not expect to submit a proposal — they should expect to build relationships over 12-24 months before any funding conversation begins.

The Barnard Filmmaker Fellowship is the one formal, competitive entry point, and for teaching-oriented filmmakers, it is the highest-leverage opportunity in the ARF ecosystem.

Artemis Rising Foundation's grantmaking is defined by strategic concentration. Across fiscal years 2019-2023, annual grants paid ranged from $4.58M (FY2023) to $9.19M (FY2019), with a five-year average of approximately $6.5M annually. FY2024 charitable disbursements are estimated near $5M based on total expense disclosures.

Grant size is uniformly large: available records show a range of $1M (Barnard endowed professorship) to $5.94M (largest single identified disbursement), with an average around $2.8-4.6M depending on the period. The foundation's anonymous "See Grant Statement" entries — representing 4 of 5 identifiable grants and $21.8M of the $22.8M recorded total — suggest it routinely makes multi-year commitments to a small number of unnamed film production or nonprofit partners.

Geography is tightly concentrated: California (4 of 5 identified grantees) and New York (Barnard College). No grantees outside these two states appear in the available data, though the foundation does not state a formal geographic restriction. The foundation is headquartered in San Rafael, CA.

Program area breakdown favors documentary film production overwhelmingly. Secondary giving goes to film education infrastructure (Barnard Fellowship). Social issue themes funded include gender bias, women's empowerment, trauma, mental health, addiction, sexual assault (military and campus contexts), and environmental sustainability. Film, narrative, TV, and theater all qualify per the foundation's stated scope.

The asset trajectory has major implications for future giving: contributions of $62.1M in FY2022 and $25.9M in FY2023 lifted assets from $46.5M to $166.8M over three years. At the IRS 5% minimum distribution requirement, the foundation must now disburse approximately $8.3M annually — compared to $5.5M in 2023 and $4.6M in grants paid. This gap strongly suggests giving will increase, either through larger individual grants or modestly higher grant count, in coming years.

Among documentary film funders, Artemis Rising stands apart on two dimensions. Its asset base of $166.8M dwarfs most peers in this niche by a factor of 3-30x, and its giving concentration — typically 2-5 grants at $1M+ each — reflects a co-production model rather than a conventional grantmaking portfolio. The foundation behaves more like an executive producer than a traditional funder.

Catapult Film Fund and Chicken & Egg Pictures are the most accessible alternatives for emerging documentary makers and serve as natural first-funders — credit from either carries meaningful signal in the ARF ecosystem. Sundance Institute's Documentary Fund offers the most prestigious open-cycle process and is the institution whose alumni network most directly overlaps with ARF's funded filmmakers. For organizations whose social justice themes align with ARF's priorities, a track record with Sundance or Chicken & Egg is the strongest possible credential for an eventual ARF introduction.

Artemis Rising Foundation's most consequential recent activity is the continued build-out of the Barnard College Filmmaker Fellowship. Established with a $3M commitment in 2022, the program entered its third annual cohort cycle for 2025-26. Inaugural fellow Sekiya Dorsett — a GLAAD Award-winning director known for work on gender equity and diversity — taught the inaugural social justice documentary course, establishing the program's thematic DNA. Applications for the 2026-27 academic year have already opened and closed, confirming the fellowship now operates on a firm annual calendar with active industry participation.

In March 2025, ARF served as founding sponsor of the Athena Film Festival's 15th Anniversary (March 7-9, Barnard College, New York). The event featured the documentary 'Mrs. Robinson,' profiling former Irish President and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson — a signal of the foundation's continued investment in films about women exercising systemic power.

Founder Regina K. Scully received the 2024 Humanitarian Award from the Women's Image Network at the Beverly Hills ceremony, where ARF also co-sponsored Melissa Etheridge's Living Legend honor. These engagements confirm ARF's role as a convener and funder in the women's media advocacy space, not simply a grant distributor.

On the operations side, the FY2024 990-PF is the first filing to identify Grants Manager Carol Berberich ($110,548) and Executive Assistant Lisa Fortunato ($82,873) by name — indicating the foundation is formalizing its administrative infrastructure as assets approach $167M.

Because Artemis Rising Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals, conventional grant-writing advice is irrelevant. Strategic entry requires a different framework entirely.

The Barnard Fellowship pathway is the most actionable near-term opportunity. The annual open call publishes at athenacenter.barnard.edu/arff each October, with a mid-November deadline. Eligible filmmakers propose semester-long courses (US work authorization required) or 2-4 week mini-courses (open to international candidates) in areas including directing, animation, sound design, screenwriting for television, production, post-production, or the future of the field. The hiring committee includes Barnard and Columbia faculty. Key differentiation: demonstrate a social justice lens and commitment to advancing women in film. This is a teaching fellowship, not a production grant — your course concept matters as much as your filmography.

For project funding, three communities are the prerequisite to any relationship with ARF: the Athena Film Festival (submit your film; ARF as founding sponsor means jury visibility translates to foundation visibility), the Women's Image Network (attend industry events; Scully has been deeply involved as both honoree and sponsor), and the Sundance Institute documentary ecosystem (where ARF-funded films most frequently premiere).

When you do get a meeting, frame your project in Scully's own evaluation language. Her three questions: How many people will experience reduced suffering? What constituencies benefit? Will this produce legislative, policy, or cultural change? Do not lead with your film's aesthetic — lead with the quantified social change thesis. Topics in scope: gender bias, women's empowerment, trauma, healing, mental health, addiction, military/campus sexual assault, environmental sustainability.

Timing: ARF is most active in project discovery from January through June (Sundance, Tribeca, Athena). Festival premiere season is your highest-leverage visibility window.

Operational contact: Grants Manager Carol Berberich handles day-to-day grantmaking. The foundation's phone is (415) 384-2288, mailing address PO Box 6106, San Rafael, CA 94903. A warm professional introduction to Berberich via a mutual contact is the appropriate first step — cold email to this address is not.