Grantmakers in the Arts

On Tuesday, March 4, President Obama released his FY 2015 budget proposal, which outlines priorities that could have a profound effect on both our nation’s fiscal policy and the work of our sector. On Thursday, March 13, 2pm EDT / 11am PDT, Independent Sector will host a webinar featuring tax experts along with a panel of sector policy specialists — including Rob Collier, Council of Michigan Foundations; Jennifer Ney, City Year/Voice for National Service; and Brandon Gryde Dance USA and OPERA America — as we analyze and discuss the impact of the spending provisions in the president’s plan and potential actions by Congress.

The Citizens' Institute on Rural Design (CIRD) has issued a request for proposals to rural communities facing design challenges — such as Main Street revitalization, how to manage and direct growth, design community-supportive transportation systems, preserve natural and historic landscapes and buildings, protect working agricultural lands, and provide adequate and affordable housing — who are interested in hosting a local workshop in 2014-2015. Successful applicants will receive a $7,000 stipend and in-kind professional design expertise and technical assistance valued at $35,000. The Request for Proposals is posted on the CIRD website.

Posted to Supporting Today’s Artists by Caitlin Strokosch, executive director, Alliance of Artists Communities

One of the reasons I love serving on Grantmakers in the Arts’ Individual Artists Support Committee is that every conversation centers on how we can do more to support artists. Again and again we ask: What else do artists need (besides more money)?

For the Alliance of Artists Communities—an international coalition of artist residency programs—our currency is time and space. Few artists have in their everyday lives the luxury of concentrated time to dive deep into their work with the focus it deserves, even when granted the funds to develop new work. As such, residencies form a critical part of the artist support ecosystem by offering an environment that combines nobody’s-looking-over-your-shoulder solitude with a community of other artists engaging in the challenging R&D work that occurs during a residency. And while time and space are extraordinary, time+space+money is even better!

Lawrence J. Simpson, board chair of the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), announced that executive director Rebecca Blunk has stepped down as of March 1, 2014, for health and personal reasons. A national search will commence in the coming weeks. Ms. Blunk came to NEFA from the Nebraska Arts Council in 1985 as the director of performing arts and then served as deputy director for ten years before being named executive director in 2004.

Some thoughts on orchestras, arts organizations, and the concept of terroir by Sarah Lutman.

Aditi Kapil posts to HowlRound:

President Obama released his fiscal year 2015 budget request of $146.021 million for the National Endowment for the Arts, the same amount as the current year's budget. In fiscal year 2013 with a budget of $138.383 million, the agency awarded 2,153 grants totaling $112.734 million.

Read the full announcement.

During the month of March, our photo banner features grantees of GIA member The Herb Alpert Foundation. Founded by musician, producer, and artist Herb Alpert and his wife, Grammy-award winning singer Lani Hall, the Foundation’s mission is to support young people in the discovery and development of their creative potential, an objective they achieve through the Herb Alpert Scholarships for Emerging Young Artists, a program administered by the California State Summer School for the Arts, and support of the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, which is devoted to the performance and study of music in all of its global diversity.