Empowered by Artists.
 

Third Streaming: a results-focused, purpose-driven consultancy.

 

Founded in 2010 by Yona Backer, Third Streaming (3S) is a global strategic consultancy dedicated to imagination-powered change and the preservation of creative legacies. We specialize in holistic development and integration, offering a range of customized services to nonprofit arts and culture organizations, foundations, individual artists, their estates, and philanthropists working at the intersection of social justice.

At Third Streaming, our services encompass strategic and legacy planning, program development, market analysis, and the identification of philanthropic, values-based objectives. We aim to align our strategic initiatives with your organization’s core mission, ensuring that each project contributes to long-term impact.

With extensive experience in artist-endowed foundations and individual artists' estates, such as our work with the Alvin Baltrop Trust, we ensure the recognition and preservation of creative legacies, elevating artists’ contributions to art history.

Our approach is mission-aligned, collaborative, and purpose-driven, deeply integrating visioning and moral imagination. By incorporating biomimicry and systems thinking, we enable our clients to explore new possibilities and address complex challenges with creativity and ethical foresight. Leveraging cross-sector research and deep-rooted connections, we guide organizational change through strategic planning, program evaluation, and development strategies. Our ultimate goal is to foster creativity, collaboration, curiosity, and community, raising consciousness through the arts to make the world a better place for all.

 
 
 
 
 
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Art has the power to raise our consciousness, and reimagine this world.

 
 
 
Butch Morris, "9/11 Break up to Make up, Choral Interpretations on the Writings of Maurice Blanchot.” Performance, September 11, 2010 (Conduction®), Third Streaming Gallery. Image credit Whitney Browne.

Butch Morris, "9/11 Break up to Make up, Choral Interpretations on the Writings of Maurice Blanchot.” Performance, September 11, 2010 (Conduction®), Third Streaming Gallery. Image credit Whitney Browne.

 
 

What Third Streaming Does

  • STRATEGY, PERFORMANCE & CAPACITY BUILDING

    We provide a comprehensive suite of integrated management consulting tools to strengthen organizational performance for long-term sustainability.

  • PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

    We evaluate programs, outcomes, and processes to improve performance and increase efficiency for meaningful impact.

  • IMPACT EVALUATION

    We measure impact of grant programs using qualitative and quantitative methods.

  • LEGACY PLANNING

    We offer strategies and structures of artists’ legacies and estates management.

 
 

How Third Streaming Works

We partner with our clients to help leverage their existing resources, and empower them to take their organization to the next level. We work to establish a culture of cooperation, integrity, trust, transparency, and joy. We ensure confidentiality, loyalty, and targeted expertise. 

 

By doing so, we help clients:

  • Gain clarity about what they are doing and where they are going

  • Create internal alignment

  • Strengthen the impact of their work

  • Achieve their highest aspirations

 
 
 
 
"Social,” Derrick Adams. From the "Paladar" dinner series, October 1, 2014, Third Streaming Gallery. Image credit Whitney Browne.

"Social,” Derrick Adams. From the "Paladar" dinner series, October 1, 2014, Third Streaming Gallery. Image credit Whitney Browne.

 
 

What Third Streaming Believes In

Third Streaming upholds our reputation for passion-driven art leadership by prioritizing artists and artistic practice at the intersection of social justice. We work alongside our clients ⁠— who understand the critical role artists play in larger society ⁠— to make our world a better place. To accomplish this, Third Streaming creates safe places where we ask the hard questions. Real transformation happens when we are willing to get out of our comfort zone and embrace change. Through empowerment and knowledge-sharing, Third Streaming is able to create pathways for new visions to manifest.

 
 

Who Third Streaming Works With

  • Nonprofit arts and culture institutions

  • Foundations supporting arts and culture initiatives

  • Artist-endowed foundations

  • Individual artists and artist estates

  • Charitably-minded families and individuals

 
 
 
 

Work For Individual Artists

Legacy Planning

Estate Management

Professional Development

Market Advice and Strategic Planning

 

 
 
 
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YONA BACKER

Proven Leadership for the Arts

Yona is an active listener with an exceptional ability to see multiple sides of a situation, which enables her to successfully navigate complex webs of authority and responsibility. She believes collaborative solutions and transparent processes are key to achieve successful outcomes. She is able to see the whole and make the parts fit. Her skills include helping organizations envision their next evolution, and articulating the steps necessary to get there.

 
 
Image credit Whitney Browne.

Image credit Whitney Browne.