GIA Blog

Congressional leaders announced a proposal this week to better help low-income families pay for child care and expand high-quality state preschool options. The introduction of the Child Care for Working Families Act signals the intent of Representatives Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) to respond to the needs of families with young children.

Amid conversations of gentrification and affordable housing, the presence of Westbeth Artists Housing in New York City is a key reminder of the importance of spaces like this one. Artsy provides an inside look at the first federally subsidized artists’ colony in the US.

In honor of this year's Museum Advocacy Day, which takes place Feb. 25-26 in Washington, D.C., at Grantmakers in the Arts we look back at some of the museum contents we have published in our news feed and Reader. Some of the posts tackle diversity initiatives in both staff and boards while others explore the importance of integrating missing -or underrepresented- voices and artists.

A puppeteer’s show in Houston elementary and middle schools -part of Houston’s Arts Access Initiative- has improved students' scores on writing tests and has boosted students' compassion for their classmates, reported Chalkbeat.

Launched by the chef and restauranteur Rick Bayless, the Bayless Family Foundation selected three nonprofit Chicago theater companies with issues as the inaugural recipients of its Stepping Stone Grants. The $150,000 grant, as Nonprofit Quarterly reported, is intended to help the theaters overcome financial barriers to their growth and stability and help them achieve their artistic and administrative growth.

"Artists are used to dancing in the complexity. We like to make something where nothing exists; to explore new language around a struggle; to listen profoundly; to create new ways to see the world. Why not put artists in problem-solving roles?"

Grantmakers in the Arts is delighted to share this year’s “Foundation Grants to Arts and Culture, 2016.” In their analysis, Candid (formerly Foundation Center) has included both grants made by foundations directly supporting culture through arts portfolios and grants in support of culture through Grantmakers in the Arts is grateful to amplify the work of other grantmakers – in such fields as education, community and economic development, climate justice, and information and communications – who also see the value of arts and culture as part of their work. This arts funding at the intersection approach is one which GIA recognizes culture as essential to all social change within the larger social sector.

The Mosaic Network and Fund in The New York Community Trust, a learning network and collaborative fund to support arts and cultural organizations that are led by, created for, and accountable to ALAANA people will kick off in March, announced a post penned by Maurine Knighton and Kerry McCarthy, co-chairs, advisory committee of The Mosaic Network and Fund in The New York Community Trust.

Women of color face systemic obstacles to their advancement over and above the barriers faced by white women and men of color, according to a new report by the Building Movement Project.

The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) recently announced 16 arts organizations received awards in recognition of their work and for their potential continued impact on their fields.