Funding Research

Under Marian Godfrey's direction, GIA held a pre-conference immediately before its 2005 conference called "New Directions in Cultural Policy Research." As part of that meeting, four well-respected individuals were asked to assess the impact and importance of research in the arts. They were asked to specify the big ideas currently in play and to speculate about the future of those ideas. Predictably perhaps, the four argued for the importance of research to the cultural sector. More surprisingly, they agreed that the platform for cultural research needs serious re-planking.

2005, 18 pages. Neighborhood Funders Group, 1301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036, 202-833-4690, www.nfg.org

Download PDF: www.nfg.org/publications/nfg_25_years.pdf

This brief report documents the work of this organization and the growth of the community development field in philanthropy since 1980.

2005, 18 pages. International Federation of Arts Councils and Cultural Agenciers. Strawberry Hills, NSW, 2004, Australia, www.ozco.gov.au

Download PDF: http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/32627/Making_Crosscountry_Comparisons_of_Cultural_Statistics__Problems_and_Solutions.pdf

The magnitude and distribution of foundation arts and culture grants in 2004 are the most significant findings of this report. Key findings of the report, based on arts grants of $10,000 or more reported to the Foundation Center by 1,010 of the larger U.S. foundations, are highlighted here.

This report also includes a brief examination of of government funding for the arts from 1992 to 2006 by Kelly Barsdate of NASAA.

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2005, 320 pages. Theatre Communications Group, New York, NY, 10018, Theatre Communications Group

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, 32 pages. Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley , 1153 Lincoln Avenue, Suite I, San Jose

2005, 256 pages. University of Illinois Press , 1325 Oak Street, Champaign, IL, 68120-6903, 217-244-4689

In the author's own words, "This book is a report card on American Culture. Not the culture of Wal-Mart and the cineplex, but culture as it is lived closer to the ground, local culture, neighborhood culture... It is about dancing, not about watching somebody else dance on television. There is a big difference.”

2005, 20 pages. The Urban Institute, The Foundation Center, GuideStar.org, Washington, DC, 20037 www.urban.org

PDF available at The Urban Institute

2004, 283 pages. Lexington Books Lanham, MD, 20706

Based on a study of thirty multi-generational Canadian and U.S. family foundations, this book looks at "stages and transitions" in the lives of these foundations. It puts them into historical context, illustrates foundation development and transition, and focuses primarily on topics of governance, continuity, and how families organize themselves to reach their goals. Academic in tone, it is more an overview of how family foundations have evolved over time than a practical guide.