Arts Funders Respond

An article in The Art Newspaper describes how a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts helped launch an initiative that has raised over $1.2 million in private funding: With the $25,000 NEA grant, the St Paul, Minnesota-based arts non-profit, Springboard for the Arts, which calls itself “an economic and community development organization … Continue reading How a $25,000 NEA Grant Became a Springboard for Change in a Rural Minnesota Community →

The Council on Foundations had published an informative update on how potential federal tax reforms affecting the charitable deduction (which allows individuals to write off contributions to nonprofits on their taxes) could negatively impact giving to private foundations. To mitigate consequences of changes to the charitable deduction, the Council encourages funders to advocate for “a … Continue reading The Charitable Deduction: How Tax Reforms Could Affect Foundations →

A recent article on Quartz describes how military service members benefit from arts programming from the National Endowment for the Arts: The benefits of arts therapy are particularly striking at the “resilience” stage, where it is used to combat physical and psychological trauma. Research has shown that arts therapy helps military patients suffering from PTSD and … Continue reading How Military Service Members Benefit from the NEA →

A recent article on Hyperallergic discusses how the National Endowment for the Arts distributes funding across the US, and how important that funding is for rural states in particular: According to the National Association of State Arts Agencies’ Fiscal Year 2017 Revenue Report (the source of many of the funding statistics included here), American Samoa, Georgia, Idaho, … Continue reading Why Eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts Would Hurt Rural Americans the Most →

A report from the National Center for Arts Research examines the economic impacts of nonprofit arts and culture organizations across the country. The report also illustrates the wide geographic distribution of these organizations, stating that “arts and cultural organizations are where people live, not just in big cities or on the coasts.” Read the report.

A recent article on Quartz offers a wealth of data showing how arts impact the economy, public health, and education in America: The numbers pointing to the importance of the arts in America are astounding. For example, from 2006 to 2013, the arts industry consistently outperformed the overall US balance of trade, increasing the national … Continue reading The Data that Proves Why the Arts Are Good for the American Economy →

In a recent article on The Hill, country commissioner and arts leader Natalia D. Macker writes about how funding from the National Endowment for the arts supports rural areas like Wyoming: In a rural state like Wyoming, where I serve as a local elected official and the artistic director of a nonprofit theater, arts funding … Continue reading NEA Funding Cuts Mean More than Starving Artists in American Countryside →

From Education Week: President Donald Trump’s full budget proposal for the U.S. Department of Education, released on Tuesday, includes big shifts in funding priorities and makes cuts to spending for teacher development, after-school enrichment, and career and technical education, while ramping up investments in school choice. A $1 billion cash infusion for Title I’s services … Continue reading How President Trump’s Budget Plan Would Change Spending on Education →

President Trump has released the full version of his 2018 budget plan. From artnet News: Donald Trump’s much-anticipated 2018 budget proposes steep cuts to domestic programs—including the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. According to a CNN report, which cites an outline of the budget released last night, the … Continue reading President Trump’s Newly-Released 2018 Budget ‘Doubles Down’ on Calls To Eliminate the NEA →

William D. Adams, the tenth chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, announced today his resignation from the agency, effective Tuesday, May 23, 2017. In a brief statement to staff, Adams expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to serve as the chairman of NEH and his admiration for the work of the agency. Deputy … Continue reading NEH Chairman William D. Adams Announces Resignation →