Grantmakers in the Arts

(3-31-2010) Last week I attended Katrina@5, a conference for funders sponsored by the Association of Small Foundations. Grantmakers in the Arts was one of the several association partners that helped plan and promote the conference. The goal was to share the successes and mistakes of the philanthropic response to the catastrophe that was hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the breaking of the levies.

(3-30-10) Poking around on the White House website, I actually found a brief statement about the administration's position on the arts. Interesting that arts is listed among "Additional Issues" - apparently the B-list issues, including "Faith, Arts, Child Advocacy, Katrina, Science, Sportsmen (by which they mean those who hunt and fish, apparently all male) and Transportation.

(3-29-10) The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation announced today that Christopher J. Daggett will assume the position of President and CEO of the Foundation on June 14, 2010. He will succeed David Grant, who has led the Dodge Foundation since 1998. Since 2004, Mr. Daggett has been a Principal with JM Sorge, Inc. (JMS), a full service environmental consulting and management firm providing assessment, investigation and remediation services to the public and private sectors. Mr.

(3-26-10) On March 21, The Chronicle of Philanthropy released the results of their survey of 80 large private foundations. While this select group is only a small percentage of the nation's grantmakers, The Chronicle estimates that it represents 20% of the foundation world's wealth and can therefore be considered an indicator of major trends in giving.

The survey results, in short:

Here's a concise description of cloud computing - get ready for it, it is in your future - by Lucy Bernholz at Philanthropy 2173, along with some insights on its use by nonprofits and funders.

(3-24-10) The Arizona arts budget has been reduced by approximately 60% since the start of the state's fiscal crisis, according to Robert Booker, Executive Director of the Arizona Commission on the Arts. The Arizona state budget enacted last week included an additional 25% reduction to the Arts Commission's already reduced resources, as well as a complete sweep of the remaining $10 million in the 14-year old Arizona ArtShare Endowment.

(3-24-10) L.A. Times:

The slashing of Los Angeles' municipal arts offerings is underway, with seven layoffs to take effect April 1 and eight more expected when the fiscal year ends June 30, as City Hall tries to cope with a budget crisis.

...And the City Council may get an earful at its meeting Wednesday from supporters of four neighborhood arts centers

Read more.

(3-24-10) L.A. Times: