Funding Research

2005, 36 pages. Alliance of Artists Communities, 255 Main Street, Providence, RI, 02903, 410-351-4320.

This report documents an initiative of the Alliance of Artists Communities to answer the question, "What does California look like to its artists?" Reflections and work of seven artists in different residency programs provide a snapshot of the state from a range of cultural perspectives. Engaging photographs by Kim Harrington supplement the text.

It is very unusual for any urban renewal plan not to include reference to the role that arts organizations and arts buildings can potentially play in regeneration. Most recently, in Hurricane Katrina's wake, both have figured prominently in discussions about the future of New Orleans and Biloxi. But the discussions about arts organizations and those about arts buildings are curiously and uncomfortably divorced.

This time it was the catastrophic devastation in the Gulf States. Last time it was the 9/11 attack. Before that were the floods in North Dakota, the earthquakes in San Francisco and Seattle, and Hurricane Hugo in South Carolina, and then

Each time disaster strikes — whether natural or man made — communities face inestimable emotional and economic suffering. When artists, arts organizations, and cultural institutions are affected by these disasters, the confusion and bewilderment about what to do and how to help extends very directly to us as arts grantmakers.

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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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, 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