GIA Blog

New from the GIA Reader: Expanding Cultural Family
Posted on July 28, 2016 by Monica

In the latest issue of the GIA Reader, Jen Gilligan Cole writes on “Expanding Cultural Family: Funders, Tools, and the Journey toward Equity.” The article discusses how the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission evaluated and adapted its grantmaking programs with a racial equity lens.

Canada Reinvents its Arts Funding Strategy
Posted on July 26, 2016 by Monica

A recent article in The Washington Post highlights Canada’s shifting approach to arts funding and how it compares to common approaches in the United States and other Western countries:

As much of the Western world flirts with retrenchment into a nativist crouch, Canada is doubling down on what [Melanie Joly, minister for Canadian Heritage,] describes as the basic “social contract,” which has always included the arts as a fundamental part of the national budget. But she and [Simon Brault, the head of the Canada Council for the Arts,] also stress the need to reform the existing system of cultural funding.
Americans for the Arts Releases Report on Public Opinion of the Arts
Posted on July 25, 2016 by Monica

New research by Americans for the Arts provides an in-depth look at public perceptions and attitudes about the arts in the United States. An Americans for the Arts and Ipsos Public Affairs survey of more than 3,000 American adults over the age of 18 provides current insight on topics including support for arts education and government arts funding, personal engagement in the arts, the personal benefits and well-being that come from engaging in the arts, and whether those benefits extend more broadly to the community.

Feasibility Study Supports Creating a National Network for Artists Working in Corrections
Posted on July 25, 2016 by Monica

With support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Quentin Hancock Fund and the Wallace A. Gerbode Foundation, California Lawyers for the Arts has released a study exploring the feasibility of establishing a national network to support the work of arts in corrections. The report includes the findings of a stakeholder survey that included arts practitioners, formerly incarcerated participants, funders, and others. The results revealed agreement on the values and functions of a national network, potential challenges, potential models to consider, and recommendations for future development.

New from the GIA Reader: Remembering Claudine
Posted on July 20, 2016 by Steve

In an article in the latest issue of the GIA Reader, “Remembering Claudine”, Maurine Knighton of Doris Duke Charitable Foundation shares memories of Claudine Brown, a beloved leader in the arts and culture field who passed away earlier this year.

The Artful Aging Movement Takes Hold
Posted on July 19, 2016 by Monica

In a recent blog post for Next Avenue, Heidi Raschke describes the growing movement for creative aging:

In the 1960s, boomers changed the world by transforming youth culture. Now they’re set to do it again by transforming the culture of aging. Philanthropists, scientists, artists, and entrepreneurs who are 50+ are redefining what it means to grow old in America, and many of them see the arts as a powerful tool to accomplish that goal.
New Report Forecasts State Arts Agency Funding for Fiscal Year 2017
Posted on July 19, 2016 by Monica

The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies has announced the release of the State Arts Agency Fiscal Year 2017 Legislative Appropriations Preview report. This document summarizes how state arts agencies fared during this year's budget deliberations and includes information on the appropriations each state arts agency expects to receive for FY2017.

Racial Equity in Arts Philanthropy: A Work in Progress
Posted on July 12, 2016 by Monica

In a recent blog post, Arleta Little, program officer for the arts at The McKnight Foundation, discusses racial disparities in arts philanthropy and how McKnight and other organizations are working to address it:

Given historic inequities and shifting demographics, increasing arts funding alone does not address the structural issues affecting how these funds are distributed. We must change the minds (leadership and decision making) and the mechanisms (the institutional policies and practices) that prevent more equitable distributions of resources. This is racial equity work.
What Foundations Are Missing About Capacity Building
Posted on July 7, 2016 by Monica

In a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, Dan Pallotta makes a case for fundraising as an important and often overlooked part of nonprofit capacity building:

Of all of the various sub-categories in capacity-building, one and only one has the potential to multiply the amount of money that a funder puts into it, and that category is fundraising – the least loved of them all. It doesn’t belong in the bunch as an equal among the others. It has super powers. It’s time [funders] recognized this and funded fundraising at their favorite grantees as a priority.
GIA Podcast: Eric Booth on Building the Field of Teaching Artistry
Posted on July 6, 2016 by Steve

New on the GIA Podcast, we speak with author and educator Eric Booth about the field of teaching artistry and what the US can learn from abroad to increase arts education access for all children.