Philanthropic practice

The Kenneth Rainin Foundation’s New & Experimental Works (NEW) Program, a grant program that provides project support to small and mid-size dance, theater, and multidisciplinary arts organizations that enable Bay Area artists to produce timely, visionary projects, has rethought its application process.

"In a crisis, short-term efficiency can be a shock amplifier. Long-term efficiency comes from building resilient institutions," states Andrés Spokoiny, president of the Jewish Funders Network, in a recent article in Stanford Social Innovation Review.

Reflecting on Darren Walker's new book, “From Generosity to Justice: a New Gospel of Wealth,” Elizabeth Alexander, president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, answered some questions posed by the Chronicle of Philanthropy that shed light on the philanthropic field.

The Tipping Point Fund (TPF), a donor collaborative geared towards scaling impact investing, was recently announced by leaders from foundation and family office communities. With $12.5 million in initial funding, the TPF seeks "to make strategic grants to support the creation and development of critical market infrastructure that is necessary to maintain the continued growth and, the integrity, of the impact investing market."

In the midst of philanthropy's self-examination and taking steps toward change, that shift is best exemplified by Ford Foundation President Darren Walker’s new book From Generosity to Justice: A New Gospel of Wealth, writes Jeff Raikes, cofounder of the Raikes Foundation, in his review of this publication.

In a recent blog post on Nonprofit AF, Vu Le reflects on how he has been seeing more signs of diverse communities "being treated like children who don’t know what’s good for them." Le writes that, even though he doesn't think that it is conscious or intentional, "it is still frustrating."

In "Who Are Land Acknowledgments Really For?," Lauren Wingenroth writes about land acknowledgments in the dance world.

The City of Seattle published recently its first Creative Economy report. According to the report, the Office of Film & Music, Office of Economic Development, and Office of Arts & Culture undertook studying the local creative economy "because we know that creativity is vital to the health of our economy, both now and in the future."

An article in Stanford Social Innovation Review tells the story of a 1970s partnership between wealthy white liberals and black activists "to improve race relations and the living standards of urban black citizens in Boston."

In a recent post, Melissa A. Berman, Renee Karibi-Whyte, and Olga Tarasov of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, state that "trust in philanthropy is eroding."