Grantmakers in the Arts

Why Nonprofit Fundraisers Should Give More Attention to Gen X Donors

April 22, 2015 by Steve

The Nonprofit Tech for Good website has gathered up some research on Generation X:

There is a lot of discussion in the nonprofit sector about Millennials (a.k.a. Gen Y) and Baby Boomers and a growing interest in Gen Z a.k.a. #Philanthrokids, but almost no analysis of Generation X (aged 35-50 years). As the first generation to donate online and the generation that pioneered web design, email, blogging, and online advocacy, ignoring Gen X is a big mistake. As Gen X rebounds from the Great Recession, Gen Xers are entering their peak giving years and nonprofit fundraisers would be wise to pay more attention to how they give and why.

On the Art of Change

April 20, 2015 by Steve

From the closing plenary of the Skoll World Forum, Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, spoke about The Art of Change, a new initiative that will examine the roles art and culture play in illuminating and addressing urgent issues of equity, opportunity, and justice:

This is a problem not limited to art and artists. It reveals and reinforces a societal illness — a perversion and distortion. With increasing regularity, we prioritize short-term gain over long-term good. This kind of short-termism has infected so many dimensions of our lives. Education. Health care. Development. Business. Government. It has disrupted the way our society makes decisions.

April 16, 2015 by Steve

Featured in the current Reader, an article by Jennifer C. Lena and Erin F. Johnston examines cultural engagement with global Muslim communities.

April 15, 2015 by Steve

Twenty-six performing arts institutions from across the U.S. have been selected to take part in The Wallace Foundation’s Building Audiences for Sustainability effort a new, six-year, $52-million initiative aimed at developing practical insights into how arts organizations can successfully expand their audiences, the foundation has announced.

April 14, 2015 by Steve in Capitalization

Cathy Hunt, writing for The Australian Financial Review:

April 14, 2015 by Steve in Arts Education

In January, the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) released the results of an independent study that shows substantial gains in student achievement at schools participating in its Turnaround Arts initiative. The eight schools in the pilot phase of the initiativeshowing increases in reading and math scores, as well as an increase in attendance and a decrease in suspensionsdemonstrate that the program’s use of the arts is having a measurable impact on low-performing schools by increasing student engagement and narrowing the achievement gap.

April 14, 2015 by Steve

From Seth Lepore, posting to HowlRound:

In order to be a successful (a word that I grapple with constantly) performing artist, you need to understand business fundamentals, and disseminating this information is crucial. How do you run a crowdfunding campaign that doesn’t make your friends block you on Facebook? How do you identify and brand (ugh… brand) your work? How do you really figure out who your audience is? How do you have a good working relationship with the press? Knowing these key aspects gives artists a leg up, not to mention more validity and credibility in a world that still views artists as quaint and a little off.

April 10, 2015 by Steve

Featured in the current Reader, an article by Terence E. McDonnell and Steven J. Tepper examines the use of metaphor to defend cultural organizations under the threat of closing.

Explore Solidarity Economy resources here

Future of the Field: Cross-Sector Creative Placemaking Series

Video from the GIA 2021 Conference are now available for streaming.

The Racial Equity Coding Project: Unpacking The “Why”

In this first of a three-part discussion, we are joined by Susan Feder, Adam Fong, and Maurine Knighton, as they discuss the Racial Equity Coding Project, why it was started, their experience with the earliest iterations of the coding measures, and how their reflections will inform steps forward.

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