by Justin Laing (bio), program officer, Arts & Culture Program, The Heinz Endowments For me, one of the most useful elements of NCRP’s Fusing Arts, Culture and Social Change was the section titled “A Funding Typology and Pathways to Change” … Continue reading
GIA Blog
Posted on December 7, 2011 by admin
by Judi Jennings (bio), executive director, Kentucky Foundation for Women Fusing Arts, Culture and Social Change is a wake up call to our field. The report shows that only 10% of grants of $10,000 or more given by private foundations … Continue reading
Posted on December 7, 2011 by admin
by Marta Moreno Vega (bio), president and founder, The Carribean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute; adjunct professor, arts and public policy, Tisch School for the Arts, New York University Fusing Arts, Culture and Social Change: High Impact Strategies for Philanthropy … Continue reading
Posted on December 7, 2011 by Steve
From the Nonprofit Finance Fund's Social Currency blog, Rebecca Thomas and Rodney Christopher examine change capital:
Today, with the help of a particular kind of money--Change Capital--Alvin Ailey American Dance Foundation is attracting new revenue by building a technology platform and internal capabilities that maximize opportunities for patron and audience engagement. Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation is raising money upfront to wind down its operations in a graceful way and leave a meaningful legacy.
Posted on December 7, 2011 by Steve
Arlene Goldbard's comprehensive report on the situation facing the San Francisco Arts Commission's Cultural Equity Grants (CEG) program:
The city creates a special initiative to respond to residents’ deep desire for cultural equity, one small step toward equalizing access to resources. It is housed at the Arts Commission, along with many other programs and initiatives. This initiative supports artists and groups—mostly grounded in communities of color or other marginalized categories—who have not been able to obtain meaningful resources from mainstream sources. As the story unfolds, the host organism falls into disarray, rotting from the head. Supposedly objective (i.e., astoundingly under-informed and therefore unprepared) auditors are summoned to diagnose and recommend, but they are given a brief that covers only a few questions. Their recommendations are mostlly administrative and general, but they single out the special initiative for significant cuts.
Posted on December 6, 2011 by Janet
Equity is at the core of this moment in our country's history. Occupy America continues to remind us of the inequities that have become the reality of the American dream. Once held in esteem because it was within reach of all Americans, the dream is fading in a country where poverty continues to increase, jobs are at a premium and politicians don’t realize their “team” is not one party but an entire country, and it’s losing.
Posted on December 6, 2011 by Steve
Aaron Dorfman writes for Stanford Social Innovation Review:
Philanthropy frequently justifies its independence by invoking capacities it seldom displays. Philanthropy, we are told, is the vaunted passing gear. “Social action is usually a slow process,” wrote Paul Ylvisaker, who championed the poor through his long career in government, philanthropy and the academy. “Foundations by stepping in can speed up the process, acting as ‘society’s passing gear.’” But where Ylvisaker saw potential for grantmakers to be catalysts and agents for change, we too often today see foundation leaders who prefer to be neutral conveners.
Posted on December 6, 2011 by Steve
Today, Grantmakers in the Arts launches a two-week Online Forum on Equity in Arts Funding. GIA designed the Forum to expand the dialogue around funding equity in the arts and to encourage a response to the systemic issues of equity identified during sessions at the recent GIA national conference and in Fusing Arts, Culture and Social Change, a 2011 report published by the National Committee on Responsive Philanthropy. Bloggers represent an exciting cross section of the country's arts funding, service, and equity thought leaders. Beginning today, new blogs will be posted and announced daily. The Forum is designed to run through December 16 and the discussion is open to all who wish to participate.
Posted on December 6, 2011 by Steve
Kelly Kleiman, principal of NFP Consulting, posts in her blog The Nonprofiteerabout the public benefits of art-making and the framing of an argument for arts subsidies around real-estate values:
The Nonprofiteer had a fascinating conversation with Margy Waller, a special advisor to Cincinnati’s ArtsWave, which leads the nation in evidence-based approaches to advocating for arts funding. Ms. Waller had reached out to correct The Nonprofiteer’s misunderstanding (and therefore misreporting) of ArtsWave’s efforts, noting that the argument is not that the public should fund the arts to promote economic recovery but that it should fund the arts to promote neighborhood vibrancy. This nuance turns out to make all the difference.
Posted on December 6, 2011 by Steve
The National Endowment for the Arts Challenge America Fast-Track (CAFT) program supports projects from primarily small and mid-sized arts organizations that extend the reach of the arts to underserved audiences—those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability. Chairman Landesman announced today that 162 Challenge America grants totaling $1,620,000 will be awarded to organizations in 46 states, plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.