Community Foundation

When the Council on Foundations meets in Toronto this April, GIA members in attendance will have the chance to meet a fledgling affinity group of Canadian arts funders that is putting together the 1st Canadian Arts Funders Forum.

The Animating Democracy National Exchange on Art and Civic Dialogue
Flint, Michigan, October 9-12, 2003

2002, 127 pages. The Center for an Urban Future, New York, NY, 212-479-3344, www.nycfuture.org.

What can evaluation accomplish for grantmakers and grantees? What roles should each play in the design and execution of the evaluation process? Recent briefings from The Conservation Company and the Neighborhood Funders Group examine these questions from different vantage points.

Evaluation: The Good News for Funders
Andrew Mott

2003, 15 pages. The Urban Institute/Wallace Foundation, www.wallacefoundation.org or www.urban.org

Many grantmakers express a heightened interest in learning more about cultural participation. Research about who participates, what motivates people to participate and the barriers to participation provides valuable data to cultural organizations and funders seeking to broaden, deepen, and diversify audiences for these offerings.

2002, 20 pages. Americans for the Arts, 203.371.2830, www.AmericansForTheArts.org

"When we hear talk about reducing support for the arts," writes Robert Lynch, president of Americans for the Arts, "we should ask: Who will make up for the lost economic activity?" The gist of the message of that group's Arts & Economic Prosperity report is simple and catchy: "the arts mean business."

July 2003, 25 pages. Project on Regional and Industrial Economics, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, 301 S. 19th Avenue, room 231, Minneapolis, MN 55455, (612) 625-8092

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April 2002, 47 pages. Supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, and the Urban Institute. (Research conducted by the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy at the Urban Institute with assistance from the Center for Survey Research at Ohio State University and the Center for Survey Research at Indiana University, Bloomington.) 202-833-7200, paffairs@ui.urban.org

The Eiteljorg Fellowship for Native American Fine Art is a biennial program honoring five Native American fine artists with unrestricted awards of $20,000. The fellowship program was launched in 1999 by the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art. Museum staff implements the program under the direction of Jennifer Complo McNutt, curator of contemporary art.

One of the fastest growing affinity groups in philanthropy, the Association of Small Foundations serves trustees, staff, and consultants working with "foundations with few or no staff." Most of its members have assets of $50 million or less, and many of them depend on consulting groups to manage investments and assist with grantmaking. These consultants were well-represented at the conference as speakers, exhibitors, and general participants. As of August 2002, the Association had 2,801 members with assets totaling $47.8 billion.