At 25, Fleming was awarded an experimental grant from the National Endowment for the Arts which she used to create and direct the first regional cooperative arts program in the nation. Under this program, which involved the thirty colleges in the Mid-Hudson area of New York, Fleming designed and produced yearly festivals in art, music, drama, dance, film, poetry, the culinary arts, and video. The festivals involved residencies of many major artists across different disciplines. The program also included a cross-discipline arts touring program funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts.