GIA Blog

MOT Founder Receives Kresge Eminent Artist Honor
Posted on January 9, 2013 by Steve

From Michael H. Hodges for the Detroit News:

David DiChiera, founder and general director of the Michigan Opera Theatre in Detroit, has been named the 2013 Kresge Eminent Artist, Troy-based Kresge Foundation announced today. The award, which comes with $50,000, cites DiChiera's achievement in bringing opera back to the city, making it accessible to new audiences and creating the Detroit Opera House from an abandoned building just off Grand Circus Park.
Let's make arts cuts today mean stronger theatre tomorrow
Posted on January 9, 2013 by Steve

From Lyn Gardner for The Guardian UK:

Yes, it's going to be challenging. But with a properly orchestrated campaign of lobbying it's not too late to get the government and hard-pressed local authorities to understand the value of the arts. Wheeling out industry bigwigs days or weeks before the axe is about to fall is far too late; we need to mobilise audiences to speak for and with the arts on a regular basis.
New Committee to Review Kennedy Center Honors Selection Process
Posted on January 8, 2013 by Steve

From David Montgomery for the Washington Post:

The Kennedy Center has formed a committee of artists and community leaders to review the heretofore opaque process by which winners of the annual Kennedy Center Honors are selected... The 11-member artist advisory panel will have its second meeting this month, Kennedy Center spokesman John Dow said.
California Arts Council Loses Chance to Raise Money via Tax Returns
Posted on January 8, 2013 by Steve

From Mike Boehm for the Los Angeles Times:

A feature allowing California taxpayers to use their income tax returns to make donations toward arts programs will disappear in 2013. Forms for the 2010 and 2011 tax years had a checkoff box for the California Arts Council as one of 18 options for targeted giving to various state-funded causes. But it won't be an option any longer.
21 Outstanding Bay-Area Nonprofits in Arts & Culture
Posted on January 8, 2013 by Steve

GuideStar's Philanthropedia convened a group of San Francisco Bay Area Arts & Culture experts to produce a list of outstanding nonprofit organizations. The curators are listed along with the methodology of their research.

The Sound of Philanthropy and the Social Economy in 2013
Posted on January 7, 2013 by Steve

From Bradford K. Smith, president of the Foundation Center, for PhilanTopic:

The vast majority of today's social sector leaders grew up in a world where foundations were the funders and nonprofits were the doers. Blueprint 2013 lays out a vision of a social economy inhabited not only by traditional nonprofits, but also by social businesses, socially responsible corporations, peer networks, and institutional forms not yet invented. Donors in this economy have choices between well-known forms of charitable giving (like creating a foundation), impact investing, and political giving to bring out the change they desire.
January Member Spotlight on Artist Trust
Posted on January 7, 2013 by Abigail

Throughout January, our website photo banner will feature artists supported by GIA member Artist Trust. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Artist Trust has invested over $9 million in artists since its founding. It supports Washington State artists of all disciplines in launching and sustaining successful careers, through financial grants, career training, and professional resources.

Leadership Transition Begins at Grantmakers for Education, Tebben Departs in March
Posted on January 3, 2013 by Steve

From Anne Stanton, Chair, Grantmakers for Education:

Dear Colleagues,

I am writing to inform you of a leadership transition at Grantmakers for Education. Chris Tebben has announced her departure from GFE, effective mid-March 2013, in order to seek opportunities that will offer her a greater balance between personal and professional obligations.

Philanthropy Buzzwords 2012
Posted on December 28, 2012 by Tommer

Once again, Lucy Bernholz brings us the list of philanthropy buzzwords for the year. Thanks, Lucy!

Turnaround Arts: A Postcard from Bridgeport
Posted on December 20, 2012 by Abigail

In The New York Times, a story about Roosevelt School in Bridgeport, CT, one of eight schools participating in the federal government's Turnaround Arts initiative, which was designed to "test the hypothesis that high-quality and integrated arts education can be an effective tool to strengthen school reform efforts-boosting academic achievement and increasing student motivation in schools facing some of the toughest educational challenges in the country."