501(c)(3) non profit grantmaker

A few years ago, Laura Penn, managing director of Intiman Theatre in Seattle, met me for coffee at the Saint Francis Hotel. I was between sessions of the Independent Sector's (IS) national conference in San Francisco. Laura had never heard of IS and was curious about it. The Independent Sector is a coalition of corporations, foundations, and private voluntary organizations that works to strengthen nonprofit organizations and is committed to advancing the common good in the U.S.

May 2005, The Urban Institute, 2100 M Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20037, (202) 833-7200, www.urban.org

"The idea that expressive activities contribute to building and preserving communities has become an increasingly important part of economic development and community revitalization discourse in cities, towns and nations around the world."
Carole Rosenstein, Ph.D.

2005, 32 pages. The Boston Foundation, Boston, MA, 02116

This study reports on the impact and roles of arts service organizations (ASOs) in the Boston area and nationwide. Considered "the unacknowledged gems of the cultural ecosystem," ASO services help other nonprofits to achieve certain economies of scale and to function as if they were larger operations. At the same time, many ASOs themselves do not have the budgets or staff capacities to make a real impact. The study outlines a strategy for supporting this segment of the cultural sector.

2005, 242 pages. University Press of New England, Lebanon, NH, 03766

2005, 24 pages. Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, 1413 K Street, NW, 2nd floor, Washington, DC, 20005

Download pdf: Grantmakers for Effective Organizations

This report examines current topics in philanthropic evaluation and showcases innovative approaches to evaluation being used by grantmakers, both large and small. Through three essays and concise, informative case studies, evaluation is shown to be an opportunity to learn about one's grantmaking and to increase its effectiveness.

As grantmakers, we have choices. Finding the right tool for the job and experimenting with tools to learn the range of their usefulness is what grantmakers do.

Immigrant and refugee communities historically have played key roles in the Bay Area's growth and rich diversity. As California enters the twenty-first century, demographic figures reflect significant increases in immigrant pop-ulations. Amongst these communities are myriad performance ensembles, in-dividual artists, teachers, and participatory arts events that strengthen comm-unity ties, reinforce a vibrant cultural heritage, and enrich the lives of Bay Area residents.

The summer 2005 issue of the GIA Reader contained an article consisting of excerpts from a group blog discussion on ArtsJournal.com titled, "Is There a Better Case for the Arts?"² The blog was inspired by Gifts of the Muse: Reframing the Debate about the Benefits of the Arts, a study commissioned by the Wallace Foundation "to improve the current understanding of the arts' full range of effects in order to inform public debate and policy."³ Twelve individuals participated in the online d

As Tia Oros Peters so eloquently states in her essay that follows, there is no particular word for art in the thousands of Indigenous languages of the world. While there are hundreds of Native American languages, the same holds true; Native Americans do not and cannot separate the importance of art and culture from everyday life. It is one goal of GIA's Indigenous People's Network to bring this important way of life to the fore of grantmakers' thinking.

August 2004, 14 pages. The Urban Institute, 2100 M Street NW, Washington, DC, 20037, 202-833-7200, www.urban.org

Download pdf: www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/311043_Arts_Nonarts.pdf