Grantmakers in the Arts

**GIA WEBINAR** 🏜️Rooted in Resistance🏜️ Meet our guest speaker, Anna Needham! Anna Needham is a citizen of the Red Lake Nation of Ojibwe. She serves as the Tribal Relations Manager for the Arizona Commission on the Arts, acting as the agency’s liaison with the 22 Tribal Nations in Arizona. Beyond the Arts Commission, she has worked with other public arts funders from the National Endowment for the Arts to Phoenix’s Office of Arts and Culture. These experiences have led Anna to have an extensive background in public sector arts funding and policy, which she utilizes to demystify government resourcing structures and to transform them with intentional consideration of culturally-specific communities. Her expertise has led her to be a panelist for local, regional, and national funders and serve in different capacities as an advisor and board member for local and national organizations. Learn more about Anna and register for the Rooted in Resistance webinar here: https://bit.ly/41emCl1

**GIA CONFERENCE** 📘2025 GIA Conference Call for Submissions Now Open!📘 Grantmakers in the Arts is thrilled to welcome you to the Twin Cities for our 2025 Conference! The GIA Conference is the largest annual convening of arts funders and the most comprehensive opportunity for our colleagues in the field to learn from each other. We greatly value the experience, ideas, and programs that members share and the field at large. Call for sessions is now open! We encourage GIA members to submit plans for workshops, panels, round table discussions, and affinity groups. The deadline to submit a proposal is Friday, April 11 at 5pm ET. Please contact senior program manager Jaime Sharp at jaime@giarts.org with questions. Learn more about guidelines and considerations, and submit your proposal here: https://bit.ly/4ikDVIj Join us in the Twin Cities on October 19-22, 2025, to reunite with the GIA community and continue propelling an equitable philanthropic agenda.

**NEWS FROM THE FIELD** The Jerome Foundation has committed to aligning 100% of its investments with its core values, embracing a holistic, values-aligned investment strategy. This approach reflects their dedication to equitable practices, social, economic, and environmental justice, aiming to ensure the long-term viability of artists and culture bearers. By sharing their journey, they invite others to explore and adopt similar investment strategies that reflect shared values. President and CEO, Eleanor Savage, currently serves as a board member for Grantmakers to the Arts. Check out Jerome Foundation's new website and learn more about their initiatives here: https://bit.ly/4kEGerw

**GIA Reader** Artists and communities hold the keys to transformative change. In GIA’s newest feature, explore how arts and culture are shaping racial and economic justice in community development. Artist Tawanna Brown is weaving love, storytelling, and community into the fabric of Memphis. 💛 From uplifting Black artists to fostering creative spaces, her work is a powerful testament to the city's spirit. In collaboration with ThirdSpace Action Lab and the Community Opportunity Alliance 🎨 Read more about her impact and the full feature here: https://bit.ly/43oAw6X

**ORGANIZATION NEWS** One of the guiding principles in designing the Craft Futures Fund - WNC Emergency Relief grants was to reduce barriers to funding. To that end, the Center for Craft partnered with regional organizations, studios, and collectives who nominated individuals within their networks for emergency relief. The first round of applications is closed, but more information will be shared as it becomes available. If you're interested in learning more about the grant goals and stay updated on Phase 2, visit here: https://bit.ly/4ipOB8l

**GIA WEBINAR** 🏜️Rooted in Resistance🏜️ Meet our guest speaker, Casandra Hernandez Faham! Casandra Hernández Faham is a senior program associate for Arts and Culture at the Mellon Foundation, where she leads the Frontera Culture Fund. Prior to Mellon, Casandra served as the first executive director of CALA Alliance (Celebración Artística de las Américas), a Latinx arts organization based in Phoenix that organizes creative collaborations with artists in Arizona, México, and Latin America. Through a joint appointment, she also served as curator of CALA Initiatives at the Arizona State University Art Museum. Throughout her career, Casandra has organized artistic and cultural collaborations in the US-Mexico borderlands. Among other honors, she was the recipient of the 2014 40 Hispanic Leaders Under 40 Award. She holds a BA in cultural anthropology and an MA in museum anthropology from Arizona State University. Learn more about Casandra and register for the Rooted in Resistance webinar here: https://bit.ly/41emCl1

**GIA READER** Artists and communities hold the keys to transformative change. In GIA’s newest feature, explore how arts and culture are shaping racial and economic justice in community development. Tawanna Brown is the Senior Manager of Knowledge and Learning for the Aspen Young Leaders Fellowship (AYLF). At AYLF, Tawanna supports alumni engagement, knowledge management and curriculum development and delivery. Her eclectic journey has afforded her rewarding experiences in program and organizational development, youth and parent engagement, participatory evaluation and grantmaking and capacity building, among other areas. She values the wisdom embedded in stories and metaphors and practices, faithfully, the art of writing love letters. In collaboration with ThirdSpace Action Lab and the Community Opportunity Alliance 🎨 Read Tawanna's full letter here: https://bit.ly/4hXONf4

**NEWS FROM THE FIELD** Led by Council on Foundations staff and philanthropic leaders, this training will address policy advocacy strategies that support racial equity and effective practices. Participants will gain helpful tools and resources while networking with peers who are developing and implementing their foundation’s advocacy strategy. This two-part training will take place on Tuesday, March 4: 1:00-5:00 pm ET and Thursday, March 6: 1:00-5:00 pm ET. Learn more about this offering and register here: https://bit.ly/3Dam87o

**GIA READER** In "Building Power Through Alliances," Grantmakers in the Arts emphasizes the importance of strategic collaborations to amplify influence and drive systemic change. We highlight how diverse groups have united to build power and urges the cultural community to engage in advocacy, clarifying that interacting with the executive branch is advocacy, not lobbying. GIA showcases its initiatives, such as the Cultural Policy Learning Series & Action Lab and partnerships with economic justice organizations, to integrate arts into broader social change efforts. These collaborations aim to mobilize support for community development and economic justice, recognizing the unique role artists play in these movements. This blog is jam-packed with resources you won't want to miss - read the full president's blog here: https://bit.ly/4kfiSs8

**GIA WEBINAR** Border communities stretching across Arizona, Mexico, and Tribal nations are sites of resilience, cultural sovereignty, and self-determination. As political discourse and policy decisions increasingly impact these regions, artists, cultural practitioners, and organizers reclaim narratives, assert community control, and transform power dynamics between funders and grantees. Join Casandra Hernandez Faham (Mellon Foundation), Anna Needham (Arizona Commission on the Arts), and Nicole Maria Yanes (NDN Collective) on Tuesday, April 1 at 2pm ET/11am PT to explore the strategies and practices emerging from border communities to resist cultural occupation and realize liberation. Panelists will share how they are centering local knowledge, challenging traditional philanthropic models, and forging new pathways for long-term sustainability. Learn more and register here: https://bit.ly/41emCl1