Public Agency

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

2003, 253 pages. Praeger, Westport, Connecticut, London, England, ISBN: 0-275-97013-2, hardback, $62.95

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

2002, 19 pages. City Limits Community Information Service, Inc., Center for an Urban Future 120 Wall Street, 20th floor, New York, NY 10005 (212) 479-3344, www.nycfuture.org

Speak Up is a simple, clear booklet that outlines the basics of advocacy techniques used by nonprofit organizations. Only nineteen pages, it assures readers of the positive consequences of advocacy, provides supportive commentary, and offers tips and suggestions on how to approach the advocacy process.

2003, 2 pages. Alliance for Justice, 11 Dupont Circle, NW, second floor, Washington, DC 20036, (886) 675-6229 or (202) 822-6070, fax: (202) 822-6068, advocacy@afj.org, www.allianceforjustice.org

A handy supplement to Speak Up is a pamphlet produced by the Alliance for Justice. The cover poses the question: Lobby government officials, advocate for legislation, and you know what will happen? The answer is eye-catching: better public policy.

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.

November 2002, 36 pages. Center for an Urban Future, 212-479-3338, www.nycfuture.org

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."