Grantmakers in the Arts

April Member Spotlight: Cave Canem

Jaime Sharp — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 15:13:00 +0000

Submitted by Jaime Sharp on March 29, 2024

Cave Canem was founded by Toi Derricotte and Cornelius Eady in 1996 to remedy the underrepresentation and isolation of African-American poets in the literary landscape. That year, Cave Canem welcomed the inaugural cohort of Fellows to our Retreat—a residency of intensive poetry workshops and readings, which offers an unparalleled opportunity to join a community of peers and study with a faculty of renowned poets—at Mount St. Alphonsus Seminary, in Esopus, New York. Since 2003, University of Pittsburgh|Greensburg has hosted the flagship program. Cave Canem Fellowships have supported more than 500 poets, many of whom have gone on to distinguished literary careers, including winners of the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize, recipients of the MacArthur Fellowship, and Poets Laureate.

Cave Canem offers a suite of core programs that consists of Fellowships, Regional Workshops, Prizes, and a Legacy Series, as well as readings and other presentations that highlight the poetry of our Fellows and that of the African diaspora. Programs are open to the general public, offering Black poets exposure to new audiences and new audiences exposure to Black poetry. Our programs and publications enlarge the American literary canon; democratize archives; and expand the notion of what is possible and valuable in a poem for students, aspiring poets, and readers.

Lisa Willis, Executive Director, Cave Canem

“Black poets and literary arts organizations have made significant contributions to the American and global cultural landscapes. As we continue doing our part to diversify and contribute to the arts ecosystem Cave Canem is excited to be in community with its grantmaking colleagues and eventually share more on the research we are conducting to understand what has made our community so resilient, and to share our findings on what is required to ensure Black literary arts service organizations survive and thrive well into the future.

In addition to the direct support of Black poets through prizes and fees; Cave Canem began its Fellows & Faculty Fund in 2020 to help support members of our community during a time of global hardship. As we continue to foster community across the diaspora our re-granting program has since expanded to include both individual and project grants to serve as a resource for our poets to nurture their poetic pursuits and make access to Black Poetry more equitable. We are excited to continue this important work and to join GIA as a National Partner as of February 2024.”

Social Media Links and Handles

Facebook @cavecanempoets
Instagram @cavecanempoets
Twitter @cavecanempoets
LinkedIn

You can learn more about the Cave Canem on the photo credits page.

2024-2025 GIA SfIA New Committee Members

Jaime Sharp — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 18:06:00 +0000

Submitted by Jaime Sharp on February 26, 2024

GIA is pleased to announce four new members to the Support for Individual Artists (SfIA) Committee.

Lydia Boss, Program Co-Director, Artist Trust
Clarissa Crawford, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Alternate ROOTS
Adam DesJardins, Program Officer, Fred A. and Babara M. Erb Family Foundation
Michelle Johnson, Senior Program Officer, The Kresge Foundation

GIA members have been working together to promote and improve funding for individual artists for more than 20 years. The Committee has been one of the most active groups of funders within GIA serving the field through a variety of projects including a scan of scholarly research on artist support; a visual timeline outlining the history of artist support funding; major publications; a research project on data collection to support individual artists; GIA’s annual Individual Artist preconference; and other programs.

View the 2023 Individual Artist Preconference summary here.

ICYMI: 2023 Funder Pledge for Safety and Security

Jaime Sharp — Thu, 14 Dec 2023 16:48:00 +0000

Submitted by Jaime Sharp on December 14, 2023

From Funders for Justice:

Why This Pledge? BIPOC-led groups on the frontlines of social justice fights face sustained attacks from well-resourced, powerful opposition forces, putting their lives and organizations at risk and compromising their ability to secure victories. Movement groups report digital, physical, and psychological security threats; politically motivated attempts to strip them of their nonprofit status; and political prosecutions for their constitutionally-protected activism. At the same time, the BIPOC, queer, trans, and migrant communities in which they organize are also under political attack, facing targeted surveillance and criminalization as well.

Sadly, these threats are not new. Social justice movements have always been met with vigorous and often violent opposition, dating back to this nation’s origins of slavery and genocide. In recent years as social justice movements have gained increasing visibility, these threats have gained reinvigorated steam.

The stakes are high, and the need is great. We believe that philanthropy’s failure to provide BIPOC-led social justice groups with robust, long-term support has made it nearly impossible for movements to build durable safety and security infrastructure. We have come together with a sense of urgency to align our giving and mobilize a robust philanthropic response that matches the scale, duration, and sophistication of the attacks BIPOC-led social justice groups face. We encourage our philanthropic colleagues to join us in taking the pledge.

Read the full pledge and learn how to support here.

ICYMI: Stand With Us for Philanthropy

Jaime Sharp — Thu, 14 Dec 2023 16:47:00 +0000

Submitted by Jaime Sharp on December 14, 2023

From Council on Foundations:

We invite philanthropic and nonprofit organizations to sign on to the statement below to join the Council on Foundations and Independent Sector in supporting the rights of philanthropic organizations, charitable nonprofits, and individual donors to give in ways that align with their values.

We believe that philanthropic organizations, charitable nonprofits, and individual donors have the right to exercise their values and views through giving money and other resources, as protected by the First Amendment. That includes efforts to support historically marginalized groups.

Right now, those fundamental rights are under attack, in the form of a lawsuit by the American Alliance for Equal Rights. AAER has sued the Atlanta-based Fearless Foundation – led by Black women and committed to providing grants, tools, and mentorship to women of color – claiming that its program for Black female entrepreneurs is racially discriminatory.

While we have different views, funding priorities and values, we, the undersigned, stand together in affirming that:

Philanthropic donations support our communities in ways that mirror the diversity of our priorities and interests.
Charitable giving is expressive conduct and a form of nonpartisan, constitutionally protected speech.
Philanthropy has a positive impact for communities and charitable causes across the country, including supporting historically marginalized groups and communities.
Philanthropic organizations, charitable nonprofits, and individual donors have the right to exercise their views through giving, as protected by the First Amendment, even when others might disagree with where a funder chooses to donate. However, together, we have a duty to ensure that charitable dollars never promote hate, extremism, and violence.

We are committed to making it easier for organizations and people to give, across all dimensions of society, not harder. We call on the courts to dismiss this lawsuit and uphold the First Amendment rights of philanthropic organizations, charitable nonprofits, and individual donors to give in ways that align with their values.

Read the full letter here.

What We're Watching: Community Foundations for Just Communities

Jaime Sharp — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 17:17:00 +0000

Submitted by Jaime Sharp on December 12, 2023

From the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation:

Community Foundations for Just Communities
Thursday January 18 from 2-3:30 EST/1-2:30 CST/noon-1:30 MST/11-12:30 PST

Community Foundations can open doors for new ways to support artists and arts organizations. Donor advised funds (DAFs), collaborations with private foundations, advocacy and lobbying are all aspects that can bring more resources to the field.

Structurally, Community Foundations have been set up to preserve the status quo - to attract and retain donors. How do/can community foundations question and challenge inequitable practices, address power dynamics and experiment towards just futures?

This session is a follow-up from our conversation at the November GIA conference in San Juan. The topic will be selected by the participants. Some of the possibilities include:

· increase access for artists/arts organizations to DAFs and donors, including non-financial support

· fund individual artists beyond project-based grants by moving into more unrestricted/practice based grants

· integrate practices of Trust Based Philanthropy to strengthen relationships with our community partners, colleagues, donors, and boards

· collaborate with local government to influence cultural policy and practices

· work holistically across sectors and issue areas

Please join us as we continue the dialogue and seek ways we can collaborate on creating a more equitable future!

Feel free to reach out to Sharon DeMark at the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation with any questions: sharon.demark@spmcf.org

Zoom link:
https://spmcf.zoom.us/j/88624342437?pwd=5PxAbmuo1Qzp5QqR2onG6gQieE2tsb.1

Meeting ID: 886 2434 2437
Passcode: 743181

What We're Watching: Cultural Philanthropy in 2024: What You Need to Know

Jaime Sharp — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 17:08:00 +0000

Submitted by Jaime Sharp on December 12, 2023

From Arts Funders Forum:

End the year with some of the thought leaders that we turn to for advice and wisdom. Hear about the most pressing issues facing arts funding, and their actionable solutions to forge ahead in 2024.

Join them for this webinar on December 19 at 11 CT/12pm ET.

Learn more and register here.

ICYMI: As Calls Mount for Ceasefire, Philanthropy Struggles to Find Its Voice

Jaime Sharp — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 00:30:00 +0000

Submitted by Jaime Sharp on December 11, 2023

From Northern California Grantmakers:

Northern California Grantmakers recognizes we are witnessing a key moment in the history between Palestine and Israel. The violence is not occurring in a vacuum and this moment requires us to deepen our analysis. The fear, heartbreak, and trauma surrounding this crisis is generational, deeply polarizing, and challenges finding a resolution. But action is critical as the situation in Gaza worsens by the hour, leading to mounting calls for an immediate ceasefire. The human cost of the past weeks is almost unfathomable, and we fear what is to come if the violence continues. Given this, the volume of conversation in our sector has not matched the severity of the issue.

NCG is here to support philanthropy in finding its voice as we and many others in the sector are struggling to do so. The clearest immediate actions philanthropy can take are to learn, use its institutional voice to prevent further violence, and provide resources that support humanitarian aid.

We have compiled the following resources to share action items, promote education around the crisis, address harmful narratives, and provide funding options that have emerged thus far. As we identify more resources that can support your institution’s journey, we will update this list.

Access the full list here.

What We're Watching: The Shift: Conversations about Holistic Inclusion with Kellee Edusei

Jaime Sharp — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 00:27:00 +0000

Submitted by Jaime Sharp on December 11, 2023

For the final conversation in 2023 for The Shift, Mark will be in conversation with the first woman of color to lead Dance/USA, a service organization for the dance field in its 40-year history. In this conversation, we will discuss how the Board of Directors should and can support women of color in executive leadership positions in the non-profit sector.

The discussion will stream on LinkedIn on Tuesday, December 12 from 2-2:45pm EST. Learn more here.

New Fund: The Latino Equity Fund announces $375,000 in grants to 20 Latinx-led and Latinx-serving organizations

Jaime Sharp — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 00:25:00 +0000

Submitted by Jaime Sharp on December 11, 2023

From The Boston Foundation:

The Latino Equity Fund at the Boston Foundation (LEF) today announced $375,000 in grants to 20 Latinx-serving organizations in Massachusetts. The grants, made through an open request for proposals in September, bring the total grantmaking from the Fund to over $1.8 million since 2013, with $692,000 being distributed this calendar year, making 2023 the largest giving year for LEF.

“We are a small but mighty fund, and we know the need is urgent for Latinx-serving organizations. We are committed to raising additional funds and expanding our grantmaking further next year,” said Javier Juarez, who became the Latino Equity Fund’s director in February. “I am proud of the work happening at LEF. As the only fund dedicated to Latinos in Massachusetts, we have a special responsibility in philanthropy, and it is my role to continue building partnerships that will increase our impact year to year. The time to support Latinos is now, and we are ready to lead the way.”

The Latino Equity Fund, a unique partnership between local Latinx leaders and the Boston Foundation, is the first Latinx-focused fund in the Commonwealth. The LEF uses its influence and platform to amplify diverse voices and perspectives within the Latinx community in Greater Boston and the state, with a focus on achieving greater and more equitable access to economic prosperity and well-being.

“The Latino Equity Fund is a powerful force for change. The Fund is breaking down barriers and creating opportunities for Latinos to thrive. It's a transformative investment in the Commonwealth's future.” said  Aixa Beauchamp, who co-founded the Latino Equity Fund in 2013 and continues to co-chair the Fund’s Advisory Board.

“I’m particularly excited about the organizations we’re supporting this year as they truly reflect the Latino Equity Fund’s renewed focus on economic prosperity and health equity,” added Juan Lopera, co-chair of the Latino Equity Fund Advisory Board.

Learn more here.

Fellowship Opportunity: GUTC Leaders Fellowship Program

Jaime Sharp — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 00:23:00 +0000

Submitted by Jaime Sharp on December 11, 2023

From Funders for LGBTQ Issues:

Encouraging funders to increase their grantmaking to transgender communities requires shifting philanthropic culture to be more inclusive and supportive of binary and non-binary transgender and gender non-conforming people as employees, colleagues, and leaders within the sector. Yet transgender people remain woefully under-represented in philanthropy, and trans-specific professional and leadership development opportunities remain rare.

Grantmakers United for Trans Communities (GUTC) develops trans leadership in philanthropy to strengthen the pipeline of trans professionals in the field, with the long-term goal of increasing the number of trans people working and taking leadership in philanthropy. The primary way we do this is through our Grantmakers United for Trans Communities (GUTC) Leaders Fellowship.

Learn more and apply here.