The Hill-Snowdon Foundation, General Service Foundation, Jesse Smith Noyes Foundation, the Whitman Institute and other partners have announced the 2nd round of the Defending the Dream Fund. The Defending the Dream Fund was launched in April 2017 to help fund grassroots community organizing groups address a variety of new and urgent threats related to Trump era policies or practices … Continue reading Defending the Dream Fund Supports Community Organizing in the Trump Era
Monica's Blog
Posted on September 13, 2017 by Monica
Posted on September 11, 2017 by Monica
The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) will receive a funding increase to its current base of $60 million, bringing it to $80 million over four years by fiscal year 2020-21. Over the next four years, this added investment to OAC programs will ensure that Ontarians have increased access to arts activity throughout the province and ensure that they see themselves represented in the arts. Two-thirds of the increased granting budget will be used to augment operating grants to arts organizations.
Posted on September 7, 2017 by Monica
Older adults who create art and attend arts events have better health outcomes than adults who do neither is one of the conclusions in a new report published by the National Endowment for the Arts. Staying Engaged: Health Patterns of Older Americans Who Engage in the Arts presents the first detailed look at arts participation habits, attitudes toward the arts, and related health characteristics of adults aged 55 and older.
Posted on September 6, 2017 by Monica
In a recent blog post, Ford Foundation President Darren Walker reflects on recent political events and the need for moral courage in America:
Like so many of you, I am bewildered, almost daily, by the onslaught of dispiriting, sometimes debilitating news. Just this week, a new, politicized (and heartless) assault on young, mostly Latino immigrants—the cancellation of DACA—has left me reeling. When I travel to visit the organizations we work with in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, friends and colleagues express shock about America’s leadership and standing in the global community.
While we’ve endured challenging times before, I have always maintained an unwavering faith in America’s promise and, more broadly, in our democratic values—and I still do. I have always believed that progress is cumulative—that, as more people and communities win their place in the circle of American equality and opportunity, this circle will continue expanding, in a virtuous cycle.
Posted on August 29, 2017 by Monica
With support from Gerbode Foundation, Tides, The California Wellness Foundation, and Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, Northern California Grantmakers will host a live event for grantmakers on “Fighting Intolerance in the Bay Area and Beyond.” From the event page: Join us for a thought-provoking and insightful program with local and national experts on these complex issues, … Continue reading Northern California Grantmakers to Host Event on Fighting Intolerance
Posted on August 23, 2017 by Monica
A recent article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review highlights the practice of shared gifting, “a grantmaking approach that allows nonprofit leaders to award grant dollars to other nonprofit organizations.” The article discusses the potential impacts of this form of peer-to-peer support, including creating opportunity for otherwise overlooked organizations and supporting nonprofit collaboration.
Posted on August 21, 2017 by Monica
The Chronicle of Philanthropy has compiled a list of statements from nonprofit and foundation leaders following the events in Charlottesville, VA, including GIA member Grant Oliphant of The Heinz Endowments. In addition to these, other arts foundation leaders have voiced their responses: “Even as brazen displays of hatred rightfully appall us, subtle, everyday acts of racism … Continue reading Funders Respond to Charlottesville
Posted on August 21, 2017 by Monica
Barr Foundation President James Canales wrote a statement in response to recent news of racist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia and President Trump’s subsequent comments: We at the Barr Foundation add our unequivocal voice to the growing chorus that explicitly renounces the violent expressions of hate and the vile racism and bigotry that we witnessed in … Continue reading James Canales on Charlottesville: We Must All Speak Out
Posted on August 18, 2017 by Monica
From The Washington Post: The remaining members of a presidential arts and humanities panel resigned on Friday in yet another sign of growing national protest of President Trump’s recent comments on the violence in Charlottesville. Members of the President’s Committee are drawn from Broadway, Hollywood, and the broader arts and entertainment community and said in a … Continue reading Members of White House Presidential Arts and Humanities Committee Resign in Protest
Posted on August 17, 2017 by Monica
Edwin Torres, deputy commissioner of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, has been selected by the Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA) board of directors as the organization’s new president & CEO. Torres will become GIA’s third CEO after a national search for a successor to current CEO Janet Brown, who will step down at the end of 2017.