GIA Blog

The inaugural issue of the Nonprofit Wakanda Quarterly, a quarterly publication that seeks to "provide space for Black nonprofit leaders to flex their intellectual muscles in a way that will truly move the sector forward," according to George Suttles, one of the drivers of this publication, is out.

In an open letter, the BIPOC Executive Directors Coalition of Washington State urge funders to "double the amount of funding you release to nonprofits and ensure the additional funds are going to organizations led by and serving Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color."

The Guggenheim Museum has named Naomi Beckwith deputy director and chief curator, after Nancy Spector stepped down from that position amid charges of racism, The New York Times reported. Beckwith starts her new position in June, becoming the museum's first Black deputy director and chief curator.

Cooperative funding may be integral to sustaining a career in the arts, as an article in Next City explores.

Inside Philanthropy reminds readers that in July, a coalition of Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) theater-makers published an open letter titled “We See You, White American Theatre,” calling for change across the field in areas like hiring, work conditions and programming. This article asks: Five months later, are funders rising to the challenge?

A group of philanthropic organizations signed a joint letter condemning the violence that unfolded January 6 as a pro-Trump mob stormed the US Capitol.

"The failure of trust sits at the intersection of two live debates in philanthropy. First, foundations are being called to give more to communities of color. Second, they are also being called to give capital that shows trust: long-term general operating support (GOS)," writes Jacob Harold, executive vice president of Candid.

“The only way to achieve equity is to expose how white privilege exists from top to bottom in many…cultural institutions, making it nearly impossible for artists of color to tell their stories on their own terms,” writes Salamishah Tillet, in The New York Times. “Fortunately,” Tillet continues, “Black artists are not waiting around for change to happen, slowly or suddenly.”

Cave Canem, EcoTheo Review, and LOGOS Poetry Collective announced the launch of the Starshine and Clay Fellowship, a new initiative providing financial and development support to emerging Black poets, and fundraising opportunities for Cave Canem. Applications for this fellowship are accepted until January 31.

On behalf of GIA’s team and our membership, I am writing this blog post as a response to Quanice Floyd’s recently shared article, The Failure of Arts Organizations to Move Toward Racial Equity. First, to Quanice – Grantmakers in the Arts hears you. Your statement offered our community the opportunity and charge to reflect deeply, specifically about power.