Dance

A discussion of “The Grasshopper or the Ant: A Review of Endowment Giving Policy Options,” a paper by Russell Willis Taylor that challenges assumptions, examines costs and benefits of raising and managing an endowment, and considers the capacity and expertise needed to do it well.

Russell Willis Taylor, National Arts Strategies (presenter, moderator); Ben Cameron, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; Gene Lesser, Hans G. and Thordis W. Burkhardt Foundation; Gayle Morgan, Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust (interlocutors).

Is a trend developing that favors drawing foundation leaders from the for-profit sector rather than from philanthropy or the nonprofit sector? If so, does it change senior grantmaking staff's challenges and opportunities? Would a more corporate view of private philanthropy affect how foundations view the arts?

When assessing the results of the work of arts organizations, do we measure the right things? Can we measure whether the art itself is good? This continues a dialogue that began in GIA Reader, Vol. 17, No. 3.

Bruce Sievers, Skirball Foundation; Diane Ragsdale, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (co-presenters, moderators); Suzanne Callahan, Dance USA (interlocutor).

A conversation between essayist John Rockwell and Linda Breneman (Breneman Jaech Foundation) about cultural patronage today, from the perspectives of a journalist and an individual donor. Funders with varying relationships to living patrons, donors' estates, and philanthropic institutions chime in on how risky, enduring art is—or might be—supported.

Are we helping nonprofits prepare themselves for the challenges of future leadership transition?

Jennifer Hill, Ruth Mott Foundation (moderator); Lauren Renee Hayes, Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund; Lisa Mount, Alternate ROOTS (interlocutors).