501(c)(3) non profit grantmaker

In June 1998 the New York Regional Association of Grantmakers held a forum on "Conflicting Visions of Philanthropy" and I was invited to place the recent criticism of the field of philanthropy in historical perspective. [See page 44 for a short report on the session as a whole.] My objective at the forum, and in this revision of those remarks, is to put the problem in bold historical relief and to provide a context for understanding the long tradition of criticism of foundations and philanthropy. In doing so, I want to make five basic points.

1.

1999, 10 pages, Institute of Museum and Library Services, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W., Washington, D.C. 20506.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services has issued a companion piece to its 1997 publication "True Needs, True Partners: Museums and Schools Transforming Education." The earlier publication profiled fifteen successful museum education projects and suggested factors that form the foundation for successful school-museum partnerships.

During the summer of 1996, the National Association of Artists' Organizations (NAAO) conducted a series of "regional think-tank sessions" with NAAO members and their constituencies in twelve cities across the country. A concern heard throughout "A Dozen Dialogues" was the need to develop, nurture, and support artists and arts professionals who are new to the field. As an initial response, NAAO brought together ten young people under the age of thirty who were identified by NAAO members as emerging leaders.

Kudos to Retiring Board Members
The fall 1998 conference in Chicago will signal the end of GIA board service for a remarkable group of leaders. Each one of the six individuals leaving the board, along with Ben Cameron who departed mid-year, has given magnificently of themselves in building GIA into a much richer and more participatory provider of services to its membership.

As they return to regular membership in GIA, these individuals leave a board far more responsive to its members, supported by a wonderfully facilitative staff, and serving many more arts grantmakers.

Classical musics are comparatively rare; they seem to need for their existence not only a leisured class able to command a quantity of surplus resources but also a situation where that class is to some degree isolated from the majority of the people and possesses the social power to represent its own tastes as superior.

1997, 107 pages, Dance/USA, 1156 Fifteenth Street N.W., Suite 820, Washington D.C. 20005-1704, 202-833-1717, fax 212-833-2686, danceusa[at]artswire.org

Arts Loan Fund: The Northern California Grantmakers Arts Loan Fund (ALF) is conducting a survey of Bay Area arts organizations to determine the reasons for a marked reduction in applications to the Fund. Through the survey, ALF would like to learn: How often have organizations used the program in the past and why have they not applied for loans in the past twelve months? What is the current financial environment for arts nonprofits in the region? How do organizations see themselves evolving during the next several years? Do they encounter obstacles in applying for an ALF loan?

At Target Community Relations, our weekly staff meetings culminate with the presentation of the week's "Pepper Grinder Award." Any staff member who has made a gaffe of significance is encouraged to self nominate, disclosing his or her outlandish act of stupidity to the rest of the staff. The winner (or loser, depending on your point of view) is presented with a gauche pepper grinder that must be prominently displayed in his or her office until the next meeting.

1997, 24 pages (executive summary), The Getty Education Institute for the Arts, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 600, Los Angeles, California 90049-1683

Intersections
This report began as a standard travelog, factual, but listless. The GIA conference title, Intersections, seemed appropriate, but irritating as it pricked at some memory I could not grasp.