IFUC's stated objective is to provide a range of services necessary for non-mainstream artists to fulfill their goals of artistic expression: public relations, counseling, business opportunities, and access to equipment.
[citation needed] Much of the business that takes place at IFUC is volunteer-driven, or works given in trade.
[2]Ferguson has said that IFUC arranged exhibitions of William Noguera's pen and ink photorealism—a sponsorship that raised eyebrows due to Noguera's status as a death row inmate at California's San Quentin State Prison.
[4] Other talents Ferguson claimed to have benefited from IFUC backing including graffiti artist Barry McGee (a.k.a.
[5][citation needed] Ferguson stated that The Institute helped launch the Punk Rock Orchestra, a San Francisco Bay Area music group which performs orchestral arrangements of punk rock classics.