GIA Blog

In Chicago, the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts will host a panel discussion on April 10, 2013, 6pm EDT. The discussion will explore the emerging role of artist-endowed foundations as a force in cultural philanthropy and in the stewardship of contemporary art and design.

By Janet Brown from her blog Better Together

My first year at GIA was 2009. When I travelled the country to meet members and learn about their work, I was surprised by my conversations with most private funders. These funders said their work was different from others because they were focused on small organizations; African, Latino(a), Asian, and Native American (ALANA) organizations, artists or communities; issues of equity; and the changing demographics in their communities.

In April our photo banner will feature projects and exhibitions supported by GIA member The Coby Foundation, Ltd. Located in New York City, the foundation funds projects in the textile and needle art fields throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic. Below, Coby Foundation executive director Ward Mintz, describes the outset of the foundation and its 2012 grantees:

Thomas C. Layton, president of the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation for the past 38 years, will retire effective at the end of 2013. Mr. Layton will assume the title of President Emeritus. He will be succeeded by Stacie Ma’a, the Foundation’s Vice President and a staff member for the last 14 years.

The Boston Review kicks off an online conversation What are Foundations For? with a lead essay by Bob Reich, and responses by Stanley Katz, Diane Ravitch, Christopher Coyn, Paul Brest, and a host of others.

In a just-published TED Talk, activist and fundraiser Dan Pallotta calls out the double standard that drives our broken relationship to charities. Too many nonprofits, he says, are rewarded for how little they spend – not for what they get done. Instead of equating frugality with morality, he asks us to start rewarding charities for their big goals and big accomplishments (even if that comes with big expenses). In this bold talk, he says: Let's change the way we think about changing the world.

Colorado Creative Industries, a division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, announced earlier this month that Margaret Hunt has been selected as the new director. She will be responsible for developing a statewide shared vision for Colorado's creative industries and expanding the commitment of local, state, and federal governments to the state's creative economy.

The trustees of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation have elected Carol Coletta as vice president/community and national initiatives. She is a nationally recognized expert on cities and the use of the arts to build communities. Coletta is the director of ArtPlace, a unique collaboration between private foundations and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) organized to promote creative placemaking.

Of the nearly six thousand respondents to Nonprofit Finance Fund's fifth annual survey of the nonprofit sector, nine hundred represented arts and culture organizations. The data is posted to NFF's website in the form of an online data analyzer, with arts-specific results here. Some of the highlights:

• 42% of arts organizations reported a surplus in 2012, but only 28% anticipate ending 2013 in the black.

• 64% reported an increase in program demand in 2012, with 75% predicting an increase this year.

• 40% of arts organizations reported some level of comfort talking to their funders about the need for reserves. This is 30% higher than for the entire nonprofit sector. Arts organizations, more than other sectors, also report greater comfort discussing with supporters cash flow, facilities, and working capital needs.

• Still, the sector remains split between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’: 60% of orgs have three months of cash or less.

• Only 37% of arts groups report regularly collecting data on the impact of their programs. This compares to 53% for all nonprofits nationally. 

From Janet Brown from her blog Better Together

I took a short hiatus from blogging in the first quarter 2013. I was “blogged out.” I've been storing up some ideas and am ready to put them out there again for better or worse.