GIA Blog

Member Spotlight on The McKnight Foundation
Posted on January 2, 2015 by SuJ'n

During the month of January, GIA's photo banner features work and projects sponsored by The McKnight Foundation. For more than 60 years, McKnight has been seeking to improve the quality of life for present and future generations. Its grantmaking is primarily focused in the state of Minnesota where the foundation is established.

McKnight’s arts program is founded on the belief that Minnesota thrives when its artists thrive. It supports working artists to create and contribute to vibrant communities. In 2013, about 11% of McKnight’s total grantmaking payout — more than $9.5 million — went to organizations working to advance this goal.

Message to Cultural Groups: Rent, Don’t Buy!
Posted on January 2, 2015 by Steve

Duncan M. Webb, president of Webb Management Services, posts to The Clyde Fitch Report:

Here in New York City, the Department of Cultural Affairs has a wonderful program to help groups acquire, build and/or renovate spaces. As you might expect, when the funding source is attached to federal HUD grants, the process to qualify for this support and to work through the actual process of buying/building/fixing is lengthy as well as cumbersome. Groups are briefed and trained to go through the process with lots of warnings about how long it might take and how much effort will be required.

A few years ago, my firm surveyed 10 organizations that went through DCA’s capital funding process to receive City support toward developing a new or improved facility. Here’s what we found out:

  • Even though the groups factored some delay into the project timeline, it almost always took significantly longer to complete than anticipated.
  • Most groups underestimated the time required to develop new sources of earned and contributed income, and found that private funding did not increase to support the more expansive operation.
  • Groups did not anticipate staffing changes as a result of new facilities; and in some cases were unable to afford new staff, leading to significant burnout among existing staff even before new facilities were open.
  • Frustrated boards did not appreciate how long it would take to stabilize operations in new facilities, and did not foresee how few financing options exist to help cultural groups successfully transition into new facilities.
NEA 2015 Funding Guidelines Posted, Webinars Planned
Posted on December 19, 2014 by Steve

The National Endowment for the Arts has published guidelines and application materials for two funding categories. The 2015 Art Works and Challenge America programs support projects anticipated to take place beginning in 2016. Any nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, unit of state or local government, or federally recognized tribal community with at least a three year programming history is eligible to apply for project-based support through these two programs. Webinars are scheduled for January 21 and March 11, 2015 to provide technical assistance in the application process.

Measuring Cultural Engagement: A Quest for New Terms, Tools, and Techniques
Posted on December 17, 2014 by Steve

Measuring Cultural Engagement: A Quest for New Terms, Tools, and Techniques is a new report from the National Endowment for the Arts that summarizes a convening held at the Gallup Headquarters in Washington, DC, in June of 2014. The NEA and the Cultural Value Project (CVP) of the United Kingdom’s Arts & Humanities Research Council convened leading researchers, practitioners, and policymakers from a handful of countries to challenge assumptions about how and why public involvement in arts and culture is measured and to identify research needs and opportunities to promote more meaningful measurement.

The Art of Healing
Posted on December 17, 2014 by Steve

Kathleen Masterson and Suzanne Leigh look at Art for Recovery, a pioneering program at the University of California San Francisco:

It’s hard to empirically measure that impact because so many of art’s benefits are indirect, said Theresa Allison, MD, PhD, an associate professor in the UCSF Division of Geriatrics who has a background in musical anthropology. But, she said, therapies that benefit a patient’s emotional wellbeing can have real impact on overall health. “We are finally at a tipping point, where the health sciences recognize the impact of loneliness and depression on health care outcomes, and we recognize the positive impact of visual and performing arts on symptoms management,” Allison said.
Dodge Foundation Appoints Sharnita C. Johnson Arts Program Director
Posted on December 11, 2014 by Steve

Since 2012, Sharnita Johnson has managed a $25 million grantmaking portfolio in education, health and family economic security at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Prior to that, she was a senior program officer at the Skillman Foundation, where she developed strategic partnerships and oversaw neighborhood development, arts and culture, and youth development grantmaking. In her role at Dodge, Johnson will direct the Foundation’s Arts grants, which foster a diverse and vibrant arts ecosystem, create broad-based public support of the arts, and support communities engaged in creative placemaking in New Jersey.

Reports on Alternative Venues, Eliminating Budgets in Grant Applications
Posted on December 10, 2014 by Steve

Barry Hessenius posted to Barry’s Blog:

The James Irvine Foundation released a report last week entitled Why "Where"? Because "Who", authored by Brent Reidy of AEA Consulting, addressing the issue of alternate venues for the presentation of art, examining "why place has become an important variable for arts practitioners to consider as they chart a course for the future." This is an outstanding contribution; well researched, well written. The tendency for most of us is to read the Executive Summary of these kinds of reports and often skip the rest. That would be a mistake with this offering; there is a lot of meat here.
Why Cities Can’t Afford to Lose Their Artists
Posted on December 8, 2014 by Steve

From Richard Florida at Citylab:

A recent study published in the journal Urban Studies takes a close look at the connection between the arts and city building. The study, by Carl Grodach of the Queensland University of Technology, Elizabeth Currid-Halkett of the University of Southern California, and Nicole Foster and James Murdoch III of the University Texas at Arlington examines the economic and demographic factors most closely associated with arts clusters and the kinds of metros where arts hubs are found. The researchers scrutinize the concentration of arts clusters (using the standard location quotient measure) across all 366 U.S. metros areas and nearly 14,000 ZIP codes, which account for nearly 90 percent of all arts employment.
The James Irvine Foundation Releases New Study as Part of Its Arts Engagement Focus Series
Posted on December 4, 2014 by SuJ'n

The James Irvine Foundation shares its research findings about arts groups that are expanding their settings and venues to engage new and diverse audiences.

Josephine Ramirez of the Foundation writes:

This release is part of an Arts Engagement Focus series intended to uncover valuable, practical information that can help arts organizations better address key questions: Who participates in arts? How can we engage new participants? Where can arts participation take place? Together, these studies provide a timely and substantive view of arts engagement across the sector — they can inspire ideas and fuel discussion in arts organizations of all sizes, ages and types.

The Hewlett Foundation Shares Its Assessment of Regranting Intermediaries Strategy
Posted on December 4, 2014 by SuJ'n

Earlier this year, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation conducted an assessment of its approach to support regranting intermediaries. It sought to forecast the funding environment for current intermediaries in its Performing Arts Program, better understand who benefits from the foundation's current intermediary funding strategy - and who doesn't, and develop recommendations on how to better serve the Bay Area performing arts ecosystem in accordance with its strategic framework. The foundation makes assessment available to the larger arts and culture field as a way to share "lessons learned."