Visual arts

Art collector, philanthropist, and software entrepreneur Peter Norton, inventor of Norton Utilities, established his family foundation with his wife Eileen Norton in 1989. Based in Santa Monica, California, the Foundation has an endowment of approximately $33 million; its giving last year was close to $4.5 million. The primary focus of the Foundation is on contemporary visual arts nationwide.

The Allen Foundation for the Arts is one of six foundations that make up the Paul G. Allen Foundations, a family of foundations established by Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul G. Allen. The other Allen foundations focus on medical research, health and human services, forest protection, virtual education, and most recently, music.

The Rhode Island Foundation, founded in 1916, is one of the oldest and largest community foundations in the United States. It is also one of a small number of statewide community foundations. In 2000, the Foundation's assets exceeded $400 million. RIF's grantmaking areas are children & families, economic/community development, education, and arts. The arts grantmaking area has several program foci.

We just returned from yet another community gathering where arts leaders sought the support of their business and civic counterparts by documenting the "economic impact" of arts spending and employment in their region.

As a company built on creative expression, Hallmark Cards has maintained a longstanding commitment to supporting the arts. Hallmark's charitable contributions come from the profits of Hallmark Cards, Inc., and from the Hallmark Corporate Foundation, an endowed foundation funded solely by Hallmark Cards. During the year 2000, arts and culture philanthropy totaled $2,173,897 or 23 percent of the company's overall charitable program.

On November 12, 2000, a headline on the front page of the Atlanta Journal/Constitution read, "Study finds Atlanta arts community trailing peers." A full-page story in Section A followed. This one headline challenged the city's cherished self-assessment as "cultural jewel of the South" and quietly affirmed the suspicions of many of its artists and cultural workers.

This is the story about the headline, the study, and the volunteer efforts of an incorporated ad hoc group that calls itself the Atlanta Arts Think Tank and that commissioned the landmark study.

Two streams of thought come together here. On the one hand, we want the Reader to reflect the continuing impact on our lives of the events of September 11, 2001. On the other, we want to follow an emphasis in GIA's current plan on the organization's second purpose — to increase the presence of arts philanthropy within philanthropy in order to strengthen support for arts and culture.

January 2002, 19 page pamphlet. Western States Arts Federation, 1543 Champa Street, Suite 220, Denver, CO 80202, 303-629-1166.

2001, 157 pages, $25. The New Press, New York.

• An Artist's Guide to September 11 Relief Efforts
• A Non-Profit's Guide to September 11 Relief Efforts

November 2001, 29 pages (artist's guide), 19 pages (nonprofit's guide). The New York Foundation for the Arts, 155 Avenue of the Americas, 14th floor, New York, NY 10013, 212-366-6900.