Grantmakers in the Arts

The "impact era" has more philanthropists framing their investments in decisions focused on having deeper social impact. According to a new piece in Forbes, this shift can be understood in relation to other impact-focused enterprises, and nonprofits are learning to refocus their strategies to maximize that impact.

Drue Heinz, a cultural philanthropist and publisher of The Paris Review, died on March 30 of this year, and reflecting on her life evokes a career in favor of culture and the arts.

In moments when respect for cultural diversity feels even more urgent, a national grantmaking program called Building Bridges, by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art (DDFIA), works to foster understanding and engagement between Muslim and non-Muslim communities.

Issues black and brown communities faced in Austin through the 70s and early 80s, and parallels to current social issues, are the subject of the exhibit "Juntos/Together: Black and Brown Activism in Austin, Texas From 1970-83," on display through May 19 at the George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural and Genealogy Center.

The U.S. spends more than $80 billion each year on prison systems and incarceration, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). By the close of 2010, America had more than 2.2 million people behind bars in state, local, and federal prisons, reports ACLU.

Through the Art for Justice Fund, an initiative that aims to reform the criminal justice system, the Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors launched a writing fellowship - supporting PEN America - to address issues of mass incarceration.

New Orleans will be the meeting point for dozens of funders at the EDGE Funders Alliance Conference, which will take place from April 17 - 20 to discuss ideas around their commitment to global social change philanthropy.

"What does culture have to do with sustainability?" A report by Helicon Collaborative, commissioned by ArtPlace, begins with this question to make the case for how place-based arts and cultural interventions, or “creative placemaking,” advance sustainability outcomes in the context of community development.

The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation has been awarded a new five-year grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, extending a partnership that has supported Chicago’s smallest arts and culture organizations for almost two decades.