Also Received
To Protect the Powerless in the Digital Age
An Open Letter to Foundations: To Protect the Interests of the Powerless in the Digital Age, Communications Researchers Need Your Support
The "open letter" has a number of signers.
August 12, 1998. 33 pages. The Civil Rights Forum on Communications Policy, 818 18th Street, N.W. Suite 810, Washington, D.C. 20006, 202-887-0301, forum[at]civilrightsforum.org.
This document presents an argument that foundations should support communications policy research, in particular research about how minority and poor people are affected by "our shift to the digital age." Among the questions that might be answered are these: How well is the telecommunications infrastructure being maintained in poor communities as compared to wealthy communities? Are cable, telephone, and wireless service companies deploying advanced communications technology in low income areas? Are infrastructure maintenance and deployment decisions distorted by racial or ethnic prejudices? The authors hope their letter will engage foundations in these questions.
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Trust, Service, and the Common Purpose
Philanthropy and the Nonprofit Sector in a Changing America
No single author credited.
April, 1998. 36 pages. The American Assembly, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 456, New York, New York 10015, 212-870-3500; fax: 212-870-3555.
This is the summary report for the proceedings of the 93rd American Assembly meeting at the Getty Center, Los Angeles. The purpose of the meeting was to examine the effects and implications of the shift of responsibility from government to private charity, volunteerism, and corporate enterprise for basic social services, health, education, and culture. The background papers for the proceedings will be available in book form in December, 1998.
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CLMP Monographs
A series of publications on literary publishing
Author varies
From 1994-1997. 12-20 pages per issue. CLMP, 154 Christopher Street, Suite 3C, New York, New York 10014, 212-741-9110, fax: 212-741-9112.
Since 1994, CLMP (Council of Literary Magazines and Presses) has been publishing a series of monographs on literary publishing. A set of these was recently received by GIA Newsletter, allowing us to look back on them as a body of work. Taken together, they offer a good overview of the field of literary publishing and the management of literary organizations. Monograph titles include: Circulation Development for Literary Magazines; Textbook Adoptions: A Promising Market for Literary Presses; Readers' Surveys: Getting to Know Your Audience; and Getting the Word Out: The Power of Publicity. The most recent monograph was written by Rebecca Sterner, and is titled Marketing Copy that Sells Literary Magazines. In this paper, Sterner takes on the popular notion that the types of people who read literary magazines are "just not 'susceptible' to marketing" and then describes exactly how to go about doing just that. This is an interesting series.
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Overcoming the Jitters
The Uneasy Relationship between Philanthropy and the Media and Ways to Improve It
1998, 42 pages plus appendices, executive summary available. The Urban Institute Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy, 2100 M Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037, 202-261-5790
A qualitative survey on philanthropy and the media conducted by Burness Communications in 1998 revealed a clear and discernible gap in understanding between foundations and the public. Media coverage of foundations tends to focus only on celebrities, major gifts, and scandals within philanthropy. Foundations' diversity makes them difficult to understand. Foundations, however, can be important sources of information for the media. Journalists' scant knowledge of nonprofits can lead news organizations to overlook compelling stories about the nonprofit sector. A set of recommendations follows. This is an extremely useful report for those considering communications strategies.
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Getting Back in Shape
Guidelines for Improving the Fitness of Established Nonprofit Organizations
Laura Colin Klein and Paul Connolly
Summer 1998. The Conservation Company, One Penn Center, Suite 1550, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, 212-568-0399.
The latest in a series of briefing papers from the Conservation Company, this paper describes their work with troubled organizations. Includes the "stagnation checklist" (warning signs of organizational atrophy) and what to do about it.
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Community Revitalization and the Arts in Philadelphia
Working Paper #8
Mark J. Stern and Susan C. Seifert
January 1998. 52 pages. Social Impact of the Arts Project, University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work, 3701 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6214
Through the use of data on community arts participation and the 1980 census, the authors assess the role of arts and cultural organizations in strengthening neighborhoods between 1980 and 1990, and the processes through which that influence is manifested. The study shows, for example, that sections of the city with a strong arts presence had greater population growth and a more rapid decline in poverty during the 1980s. (See discussion of this project in GIA Newsletter Autumn 1997)
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"Arts in Education"
Special issue, Principal magazine
Principal, National Association of Elementary School Principals, 1615 Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia, 22314-3483, 703-684-3345, fax: 703-548-6021
The March 1998 issue of Principal magazine included a forty-page special section on the arts in education. Nine short articles and several side bars cover topics from "integrating art and mathematics" by Phil Phillips and Cynthia Bickley-Green to "model approaches to arts education" by Doug Herbert.
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Information on Artists 2
A study of artists' work-related human and social service needs in four U.S. locations
Joan Jeffri, with Robert Greenblatt
1998, 12 pages (the abstract). Research Center for Arts and Culture at Columbia University, School of the Arts, 2960 Broadway, Mail Code 1809, New York, New York 10027, (212) 678-3271, rcac[at]columbia.edu.
In 1997 the Research Center for Arts and Culture returned to its 1988 national study of individual artists, focusing on health care, pension, welfare, credit, live/work space, and legal and financial needs. The 1988 study included ten U.S. locations, the follow-up study in 1997 went to four: Los Angeles, Minneapolis/Saint Paul, New York, and San Francisco. The survey instrument was the same, though questions were added to the 1997 study about community, technology, and professional status. Grantmakers interested in the lives and working conditions of individual artists will find the study helpful. Mean gross individual incomes grew; 62 percent spend one to four hours per week volunteering or performing community service; and, 87 percent voted in the last two federal elections.
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Legislative Appropriations Annual Survey
Fiscal years 1997 and 1998 Update
Ann McLarty Jackson
July 1998. 8 pages. National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, 1029 Vermont Avenue, N.W. 2nd Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005, 202 347 6352, nasaa[at]nasaa-arts.org.
This report documents state art agency expenditures by state for fiscal years 1997 and 1998, provides per capita calculations, and shows NEA funding to state agencies. The report finds that over a five-year period (1993 to 1998) total state arts agency appropriations increased 44.3 percent. Specifically, between fiscal years 1997 and 1998, state legislative appropriations to arts agencies increased by $32.5 million, increases that stem from the overall health of state budgets. Between 1997 and 1998, total state government spending increased by 5.5 percent. By comparison, in the same period, appropriations to state arts agencies increased by twelve percent.
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Local Arts Agency FACTS 1998
Americans for the Arts Monographs
Randy Cohen and Benjamin Davidson
Summer 1998, 35 pages. Americans for the Arts, 1000 Vermont Avenue, N.W., 12th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005, 202-371-2830.
This annual statistical report on local arts agencies in the United States shows that together these agencies posted a 7.1 percent increase in their 1997 budgets. The percentage of local arts agencies using the arts "to address community development issues" has increased from 62 to 88 percent since 1994. Fully one third of reporting agencies have a community cultural plan. Of the local arts agencies that make grants, an average of 37.1% of funds go to individual artists. More than 300 LAAs are included in the statistical data. Useful information for grantmakers wishing to compare their local arts agencies to others nationally.
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The 1998 Nancy Hanks Lecture
On Arts and Public Policy
Dr. Billy Taylor, lecturer
Lecture date: March 9, 1998. 11 pages. Americans for the Arts (see address above)
In this lecture, Billy Taylor recounts his life in the arts and encourages the audience to "upgrade your personal contributions to the arts because, as we all know, individuals can make a significant difference."
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Workplace Giving
Raising Funds for the Arts
Robert Bush
1998. 16 pages. Americans for the Arts (see address above)
According to this report, workplace giving in the arts increased forty-eight percent between 1991 and 1996, and is used with increasing success by united arts fund organizations and local arts agencies. Nationwide, more than 2,000 places of employment provide workers with the opportunity to contribute to the arts. This booklet defines workplace giving and what makes a campaign effective, offers five case studies from across the country, and suggests first steps to take if a community is interested in establishing such a program.
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Drawing Our Worlds Together
An Overview of The Young Person's Cultural Exchange Program and a Gallery of Artwork from the Exhibits
Joel Plotkin, with extensive collaboration from David B. Levine, Judith H. Katz, and Roland L. Freeman
1998. 96 pages. The Group for Cultural Documentation, 117 Ingraham, Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20011, 202 - 882-7764.
This publication documents a yearlong cultural exchange program among three diverse groups of youngsters in Arizona (Yaqui Indian), Vermont (European American), and Mississippi (African American). Included is a 32-page gallery of full-color reproductions of about 100 works of art by participating youngsters, and a description of the project's planning sessions, classroom and after-school implementation, and art exchanges, and information about program assessment, impact evaluation, and replication guidelines.
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Nonprofit Arts and Cultural Organizations in Metro Atlanta 1997
Economic Impact Study
March 1998. 84 pages (with appendices). Arts & Business Council, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, 235 International Blvd. N.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30303, 404-586-8531.
A 1997 study showed that arts and cultural organizations in metro Atlanta had an economic impact of over $700 million through their direct and indirect spending on operations, through the ancillary spending of their audiences, and through their capital improvement expenditures. They also provided at least 6,365 paying jobs and had a total operating income of $156.5 million. Sponsors of the study included Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Arts & Business Council, Price Waterhouse LLP, Fulton County Arts Council, and DeKalb Council for the Arts.
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Design as a Catalyst for Learning
Meredith Davis, Peter Hawley, Bernard McMullan, Gertrude Spilka
1997, 148 pages. ASCD, 1703 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, Virginia, 22311-1714, 703-5778-9600, fax: 703-575-5400, member[at]ascd.org.
Published by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) and developed in cooperation with the NEA, this book documents effective ways that teachers and students are using design — from products and graphics to architecture and city planning — in the curriculum. The book is the result of a multi-year research project that sought out teachers using design topics, instructional strategies, and learning activities in their classrooms. In an introductory letter, NEA Chairman William Ivey wrote, “The teachers tell us that using design motivates their students, helps them master core academic content, and develops skills that are needed in both civic life and the world of work, including critical thinking, creative problem-solving, communications, and collaborative teamwork.” About the book, ASDA says it “provides an introduction to effective design activities and strategies for every grade level and subject area.”
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20/21: A Regional Cultural Plan for the New Millennium
Consultants: Wolf/Keens, Harvard Project PACE, and AMS Research
May 1997. 14 pages—summary, 94 pages—report. City of San José Office of Cultural Affairs, 4 North Second Street, Suite 450, San José, California 95113, 408-277-5144, sjoca[at]best.com.
Arts Council of Santa Clara County, 4 North Second Street, Suite 210, San José, California 95113, 408-998-2787, artcouncil[at]aol.com.
These reports detail a planning process that resulted in a cultural plan for San José and Santa Clara Counties in the Silicon Valley region. The process, commissioned by the City of San José Arts Commission and the Arts Council of Santa Clara County, involved 1,000 people through focus groups, community meetings, interviews, and hearings. (Editorial note: slick, expensive-looking print job.)