Grantmakers in the Arts

Fusing Arts, Culture and Social Change at 15 Months

February 3, 2013 by Steve

Talia Gibas reexamines the NCRP report “Fusing Arts, Culture and Social Change” for the Createquity blog. Discussion naturally ensues.

“Fusing” contains a number of such arguments – about the role of philanthropy and of art in society – that are more values-driven than data-driven. In many cases those values align with my own. I believe, for example, that the arts provide concrete social benefit beyond simple aesthetic pleasure. I believe that all members of our society do not have equal access to that benefit, and that is a problem the private funding community can and should address. “Fusing” does a very good job of affirming those beliefs for me, both by calling attention to organizations doing some very compelling work with arts and social change, and by raising important questions about the extent to which entrenched inequities in early arts philanthropy continue to the present day.

February 2, 2013 by Steve

A new guide aims to provide information, tips, best practices, and tools for arts education in the state of Washington. smARTS for Students was developed through a partnership of ArtsEd Washington, a nonprofit organization dedicated to systemic change in arts education, and the Washinton State PTA.

February 1, 2013 by Tommer

Funders, technologists, media makers and social innovators came together for a daylong meeting to explore the next stage of media and technology funding. A nicely produced report in text and video can be found here.

January 31, 2013 by Steve

From The NonProfit Times:

The current top-down approach to strategic philanthropy limits its overall effectiveness, leading to a widening disparity between the amount of money invested in communities and what is actually being accomplished. That was the conclusion of a new study by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP), which pushed for a greater emphasis on social justice philanthropy.

The report, “Real Results: Why Strategic Philanthropy is Social Justice Philanthropy,” was written by Niki Jagpal, NCRP’s research and policy director, and Kevin Laskowski, the organization’s senior research and policy associate. The two authors argued that today’s strategic philanthropy practiced by nonprofits favors short-term metrics and is largely disconnected from the communities these organizations serve.

January 29, 2013 by Steve

The Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (FAIC) announced in late December the opening of the Cultural Recovery Center (CRC) in Brooklyn, New York. The CRC is offering space and to help owners of artworks damaged as a result of Superstorm Sandy. The CRC will offer volunteer assistance and work space to museums, libraries, archives, historic sites, galleries, collectors, and artists. The goal is not to provide free conservation treatment, but to provide guidance and assistance in the cleaning and stabilization of art and cultural materials.

January 29, 2013 by Tommer

The Frey Foundation Chair for Family Philanthropy at the Johnson Center for Philanthropy, in partnership with the New York-based consulting group 21/64, has just released a major report, #NEXTGENDONORS: Respecting Legacy, Revolutionizing Philanthropy, that provides an in-depth study of next generation donors, those who are inheriting an unprecedented $40 trillion and are poised to be the most significant philanthropists in history.

January 27, 2013 by Steve

From Christopher Knight at the Los Angeles Times:

The arts in Oklahoma generate about $29 million in annual tax revenue for state coffers, according to a 2010 study by Americans for the Arts. So what does 23-year-old State Representative Josh Cockroft (R-Tecumseh) want to do? Eliminate the $4-million annual state subsidy to the Oklahoma Arts Council.

January 24, 2013 by Steve

From Jillian Steinhauer at Hyperallergic:

Nonprofits across the US are stuck in a cycle that hinders their ability to raise money, a new report says. Commissioned by the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund and conducted by CompassPoint, the study examines fundraising issues at nonprofits nationwide, and the results aren’t pretty. The authors of the report, which is titled “UnderDeveloped: A National Study of Challenges Facing Nonprofit Fundraising,” conducted their research by interviewing 2,700 nonprofit executive directors and development directors.

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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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