Funders Statements

In The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s latest annual report, foundation President Elizabeth Alexander explains how the foundation works to support arts and humanities projects that advance a better world. Alexander writes that it is her aim to help Mellon adopt “a broader programmatic lens” and play “an even greater leadership role in higher education and the humanities” considering our rapidly changing … Continue reading Elizabeth Alexander, Mellon Foundation President, Reflects on Centering Community and Taking Diversity as a Value →

In a recent letter, the board of directors of Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA) requested that Congress support appropriations of $167.50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) respectively, as well as $262 million for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and $480 million for the … Continue reading GIA Board Responds to the Trump Administration Budget Proposal Cuts for FY 2020 →

One of philanthropy’s responses to the horrific Oct. 27 shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that left 11 people dead came from Grant Oliphant, president of The Heinz Endowments, in a blog post called We are the Cure.  We are becoming so inured to these moments that we risk forgetting the totality of … Continue reading “Coming Together in Community is the Cure”: Grant Oliphant Writes After the Tree of Life Shooting  →

Grantmakers in the Arts, the national association of private and community foundations, corporate funders, and government agencies that support communities across America by funding nonprofit arts organizations and artists, is writing to express our strong concerns about the proposed changes to the 2020 decennial census, including the Administration’s addition of a question on citizenship status. … Continue reading GIA’s Board Writes to Congress Expressing Concerns on the Proposed Changes to the 2020 Census →

The board of directors of Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA) has requested that Congress support appropriations funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) at the highest levels proposed by either the … Continue reading GIA’s Board Asks Congress to Support Cultural Agencies at Risk in the President’s 2019 Proposed Budget →

Tim Delaney, president and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits, has published an open letter against the tax bill currently under consideration in Congress: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act changes personal exemptions and the standard deduction in a way that effectively denies 95 percent of taxpayers any tax incentive for giving back to … Continue reading Open Letter from Tim Delaney: Tax Bill Will Hurt Nonprofits and Communities →

At the closing plenary of the 2017 GIA Conference, Rip Rapson spoke on how The Kresge Foundation has reasserted its values and called on arts funders and cultural workers to continue to put their own values into action. “In no time in my memory has it been more important for arts and culture to become … Continue reading Arts and Culture in Dangerous Times: Rip Rapson’s Address to the 2017 GIA Conference →

The Chronicle of Philanthropy has compiled a list of statements from nonprofit and foundation leaders following the events in Charlottesville, VA, including GIA member Grant Oliphant of The Heinz Endowments. In addition to these, other arts foundation leaders have voiced their responses: “Even as brazen displays of hatred rightfully appall us, subtle, everyday acts of racism … Continue reading Funders Respond to Charlottesville →

Barr Foundation President James Canales wrote a statement in response to recent news of racist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia and President Trump’s subsequent comments: We at the Barr Foundation add our unequivocal voice to the growing chorus that explicitly renounces the violent expressions of hate and the vile racism and bigotry that we witnessed in … Continue reading James Canales on Charlottesville: We Must All Speak Out →

The CEO of Kickstarter, a crowdfunding platform which is “arguably the largest arts funding organization in the private sector,” published an op-ed in support of the National Endowment for the Arts: When a Washington Post headline [in 2013] declared “Kickstarter raises more money for artists than the NEA,” I felt both humility and apprehension. We … Continue reading Starving the Arts: How the White House Budget Threatens Creativity →