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.
GIA Blog
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 31, 2017 by SuJ'n
For the month of September, GIA’s photo banner features work and artists supported by the Metcalf Foundation. The goal of The George Cedric Metcalf Foundation is to enhance the effectiveness of people and organizations working together to help Canadians imagine and build a just, healthy, and creative society. The foundation invests approximately $5.4 million each year in charitable activities to work focused on the environment, performing arts, inclusive local economies, and special initiatives.
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 24, 2017 by Steve
In the latest issue of the GIA Reader, Stan Hutton of the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation writes about the recent formation of the Arts Education Impact Group organized by Grantmakers for Education (GFE). Hutton notes that there is growing interest in arts education among GFE conference attendees, and that the newly formed group will promote understanding among GFE members about the benefits of a quality arts education. Read “Grantmakers for Education Forms Arts Education Impact Group.”
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