Corporate Philanthropy

Early in 2004, the Graduate Center of the City of New York convened ten small to mid-sized arts organizations to talk about what had happened to them in an experimental, internet-based project funded by the Ford Foundation. The ten, from across the country, are community-based cultural organizations; they share a commitment to emerging and experimental artists and art forms, and a commitment—equally firm—to their local or nearby communities. Despite their similarities of mission, the ten were not familiar with each other's work.

On December 2 and 3, 2004 the University of Chicago's Cultural Policy Center held a conference on “The Future of Public Television” at the Museum of Contemporary Art in downtown Chicago. The Center convened a star-studded series of presenters and key speakers to illuminate the current condition of public television and to make some predictions about its future. The speakers and panelists included Kathleen Cox, president and CEO, Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB); Pat Mitchell, president and CEO, Public Broadcasting System (PBS); Kenneth P.

January 7, 2005. Hosted by the Ford Foundation and organized by Grantmakers in Film and Electronic Media's (www.gfem.org) Working Group on Electronic Media Policy. Co-sponsored with Grantmakers in the Arts, the Funders Network on Trade and Globalization (www.fntg.org), and the New York Regional Association of Grantmakers (www.nyrag.org).

The lines between arts and environmental grantmaking often are sharply drawn. However, in the life of thriving communities, the two are integrally linked. As part of a roundtable discussion at last October's GIA conference, it was heartening to share vivid examples of how GIA members are exploring the intersections of environment and art.

I believe it is time to begin a conversation about a new model for building a vibrant arts landscape. Since I left federal service in the fall of 2001, I have had an opportunity rare for former chairmen of the National Endowment for the Arts—the chance to create a research center engaging the very issues that fascinated me during my tenure with the endowment.

During the 2002 Council on Foundations annual conference, Kent (Oz) C. Nelson, the former chairman and CEO of United Parcel Service, said that he believed that all giving, even corporate giving, should come "from the heart." Several people cheered; some groaned. But, Reatha Clark King, then president of the General Mills Foundation, remarked that finding a corporation's heart is the real problem.

Recently, while sitting in a coffee shop in Chicago, I overheard a language that sounded familiar. Being a folklorist I'm sensitive to occupational language. You can blindfold me in front of conversations of cowboys or farmers and I will be able to pick out a number of things that distinguish their talk. And having a private language is not bad, it's a reality.

Alternate ROOTS is a coalition of artists and cultural workers in the Southeastern USA; addressing racism and other oppressions has been integral to our mission for a long time. At our 2004 Annual Meeting this past August a panel of ROOTS' founding members discussed the function of ROOTS as a cultural continuation of the civil rights movement - beginning with our founding at the legendary Highlander Center in New Market, Tennessee.

Americans for the Arts

This unique study combines Dun & Bradstreet data (as of January 2004) and geo-economic analysis to quantify and map business activity in six creative industries: museum/collections; performing arts; visual/photography; film/radio/TV; design/publishing; and schools/services. Creative industry reports on major metropolitan areas are on the Web site and reports on each of 437 congressional districts are available by request. Custom reports on specific geographic areas are also available for a fee.

2004, 14 pages. Published by Nonprofit Finance Fund, 70 West 36th Street, 11th floor, New York, NY, 10018, 212-868-6710, www.nonprofitfinancefund.org

Download pdf: www.nonprofitfinancefund.org/docs/NMAI_WebVersion.pdf