Grantmakers in the Arts

(1-26-2011) From Huffington Post, Sarah Smarsh, assistant professor of English at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas writes about the proposed ellimination of the Kansas Arts Commission:

(1-26-2011) Today, Metlife Foundation and the National Guild for Community Arts Education announced 12 grants totaling more than $80,000 to National Guild member organizations providing arts programs to older adults. The grants were made through the Creative Aging Program, which was initiated in 2009 by Metlife Foundation and the National Guild in response to the rapid population growth of Americans aged 60+, as well as research demonstrating the health benefits of participatory arts programs for older adults.

(1-21-2011) Here's a grassroots giving model amazing in its simplicity.

(1-20-2011) The Kresge Foundation is webcasting an online, pre-proposal information session to assist organizations interested in applying for the Arts and Culture Program’s Facility Investments and Building Reserves Initiative, a program designed to strengthen the long-term financial health of arts and cultural organizations.

(1-20-2011) The Republican Study Committee, a group of House Republicans chaired by Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, have produced a proposal for $2.5 trillion in spending cuts over the course of a decade. The proposal includes eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the federal subsidy for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

(1-20-2011) Lois Weisberg is the first flesh-and-bones Chicagoan to be named a “Legendary Landmark” by Illinois's Landmarks Preservation Council. During and before her tenure as Commissioner of Cultural Affairs, she has been responsible for all manner of popular Chicago public arts programs, including the Chicago Cultural Center, Gallery 37, and numerous annual festivals. Now, at age 85, Weisberg is stepping down amidst controversy over Major Richard M. Daley's proposal to merge her office, the Department of Cultural Affairs with the Major's Office of Special Events.

(1-20-2011) For 25 years, the national nonprofit organization CERF+ (Craft Emergency Relief Fund + Artists’ Emergency Resources) has provided grants, loans, and brokered assistance from manufacturers, suppliers, and show promoters to craft artists who have suffered career-threatening emergencies.

(1-19-2011) ArtsFund, a Seattle-based grantmaking organization, has released a pair of Economic Impact Studies, one focused on King County, Washington (which includes Seattle) and another for the broader Puget Sound Region. A year in the making, these studies analyze the impacts of arts and cultural organizations and their patrons during 2009 and 2010. They were authored by Dr. William Beyers, University of Washington, and GMA Research Corporation of Bellevue, Washington.