Our Call to Funders: Commit to Black communities through action and investment

We at Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA) continue our call to funders to commit to Black communities through action and, importantly, investment! We join the call of our colleagues at ABFE, and so many others to support the Movement for Black Lives demand to invest in Black communities. Read here our statement along the Black Arts and Justice info hub we have put together.

From the GIA Reader

In “Equitable Investment and Local Arts Agencies: Research findings, proposed goals for change, and recommended strategies,” part of the GIA Reader, Vol 31, No 1 (Winter 2020) issue, Clayton Lord, Barbara Schaffer Bacon, Ruby Lopez Harper, and Mara Walker discuss the inequitable distribution of resources and how key is a philanthropic community that reworks or replaces systems. Read here.

Webinar Today! “Coronavirus Response: Building a Future that Reimagines Systems for Justice”

While we still do not know the full scale of the impact the coronavirus pandemic will have on our communities, our grantees, our artists and educators, we know recovery requires reimagining systems that center collectivity and racial equity.

Join us on today at 2p EDT/11am PDT for a 90-minute webinar featuring Randy Engstrom (Seattle Office of Arts & Culture), Sharnita C. Johnson (The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation), Dana Kawaoka-Chen (Justice Funders), and Justin Laing (Hillombo, LLC). These funders and PSO leaders will talk about what is necessary to reimagine systems, power, and practice in response to this pandemic and the ongoing crisis of racial inequality.

This webinar will be livestreamed on the GIA website. For participants who are deaf, hard of hearing, or requesting accommodation, live captioning and ASL interpretation will be available via the livestream. Details and registration here.

The Ford Foundation and Four Others Increase Their Spending to Face a “Once-In-A-Century” Crisis

Urgent times call for urgent responses. The Covid-19 pandemic along with what many have called out as a “racism pandemic” led the Ford Foundation to announce it will spend beyond the 5% minimum required from their endowment during this unparalleled moment…

A Cultural Strategy Guide Toward a Post-Pandemic Future

The Center for Cultural Power presented recently “NoGoingBack: A COVID-19 Cultural Strategy Activation Guide for Artists and Activists” to inspire creation and disruption in moments when “a global pandemic has magnified the flaws of our capitalist system, but, also, the power art and culture to uplift, disrupt and build community”…

A Fund Seeks To Help Build Capacity of Nonprofits To Manage Coronavirus Relief Funds

The recently launched Momentum Fund seeks to support nonprofit organizations managing active COVID-19 relief and recovery funds that are helping communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic…