From the GIA Team

Grantmakers in the Arts would like to thank the members and funding partners who have helped make 2018 an outstanding first year for our new team. We thank you for your time, dedication, and passion as partners in the collective work to support the arts as a vital force in communities across the nation. We are also grateful to the artists and cultural producers who continue to lead, inspire, and create change every day — without whom none of our work would be possible.

GIA Conference Survey Reminder

Thank you, once again, for making the 2018 GIA Conference a rich exchange of ideas, practice, and aspirations. It is important to us to get your feedback on the conference and we hope you will take the time to fill out our brief survey by Monday, November 5. If you attended the Oakland conference, you have received the survey in your inbox. Until Denver 2019!

Grantmakers in the Arts Releases Guide on use of Federal Funds for Arts Education

GIA has released an online state-by-state guide on how States are using their federal funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to support arts education and arts programming in K-12 schools in the United States. The guide serves as an introduction to ESEA, recently updated by Congress through the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Through this resource, GIA provides guidance in understanding the law, the different programs within it, and how those programs relate to the arts or arts education. Click here to explore this resource.

“Whether You Say AO to PSO: What is the value of member organizations?” webinar

Philanthropy-serving organizations (PSOs) – often referred to as affinity organizations (AO) or membership organizations (MO) – hold a unique position in the nonprofit-sector. These types of organizations gather insights and aggregate information on both the nonprofit field and the funder-response to those needs. Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA) provides information, resources, and leadership to funders of artists and arts organizations. A 2017 United Philanthropy Forum study revealed that national and regional PSOs reported a median 93 percent membership renewal rate, but why?

Join us to hear from David Biemesderfer, president & CEO, United Philanthropy Forum and Tatiana Hernandez, senior program officer, The Kresge Foundation and a GIA board member. They will discuss the value of membership organizations, their impact, and why you should be a part of one!

“Whether You Say AO to PSO: What is the value of member organizations?” will be held Tuesday, December 4, at 2:00pm EST / 11:00am PST. Details and registration available here.

LISC NYC, in partnership with Upstart Co-Lab, a national organization that connects impact investing to the creative economy, launched the NYC Inclusive Creative Economy Fund, "an opportunity for accredited investors to finance affordable, inclusive creative workspaces," states the press release…

Nia King, the third of our Oakland Conference bloggers, covered the preconference After Ghost Ship: Supporting artist-led solutions to equitable and accessible space development on Sunday, October 21. Here she opens her reporting from the preconference…

Blogger Tram Nguyen offers some of her initial takeaways following the 2018 GIA Conference in Oakland, California…

Blogger Lara Davis reports on day one (Monday) at the GIA Conference in Oakland…

GIA Conference blogger Lara Davis turns in her initial notes on the 2018 GIA Conference in Oakland, California…

GIA Conference Blogger Tram Nguyen reports from the preconference, Culture at the Intersection of Race, Space, and Place, that took place on Sunday, October 21, in Oakland, California…

Not only in the United States these political times are divisive. But, as Hilary Pearson, president of Philanthropic Foundations Canada says, “funders of civil society organizations can risk more to work with them to support experiments, pilots, new ways to figure out and test approaches and to reinforce inclusion and engagement”…

A new report says a growing number of funders are responding to demands that they be more accountable, transparent, and collaborative through participatory grantmaking…