Here’s a project supporting artists to the tune of $500,000 that is waaaaaaay out of the box. Too soon to say what the results might be, but is generating a lot of interest, and making use of all the social networking tools. Does this increase its reach or limit it?
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A late amendment inserted in the Washington state capital budget by Sen. Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens orders the Washington State Arts Commission to “restrict the purchase of works of art to artists residing in Washington state.”
Were other states to follow his lead, and given the fairly small scale of Washington’s public art budget – roughly [...]
A new report, the second in the series, examines youth involvement in the arts.
Two years ago we commissioned and presented a report on “Involving Youth in Non Profit Arts Organization” that illustrated how the recruitment and retention of the next generation’s “best and brightest” was critical to the future of all nonprofit arts organizations. Although [...]
The 2009 Nonprofit Technology Conference was entirely sold out, but content is available online in several media.
Read, listen, tweet, blog, and stream more.
The Foundation Center has created an interactive map of resources for non-profits seeking information on resources for gaining access to stimulus package funding. The act includes new or expanded government grant programs designed to provide assistance to communities or individuals affected by the economic crisis. Nonprofit organizations interested in applying for grants provided by the [...]
At least since the early 1990s, the cultural field has lamented the fact that it is a disaggregated and distributed policy field. Policy agendas and new practices emerge in specific contexts, pushed along by actors and organizations that have particular interests. Leaders have increasingly become aware of the need for a consistent and [...]
Three articles in the current issue of Dance USA Journal address aspects of evolution and change in dance companies that also have application in other arts organizations and will be of interest to dance funders as those who fund in other disciplines.
Sorting it Out: Founder Dynamics and Transitions
by Gregory Kandel and David Mallette
Navigating Change: Succession [...]
This new research advisory from the FOundation Center, the latest in a series that sheds light on the impact of the economic downturn on the nonprofit sector, examines how U.S. foundations are coping with the crisis. The findings are based on early 2009 survey responses of more than 1,200 U.S. foundations. Close to two-thirds of [...]
From the New York Times
Even as arts groups around the country are cutting back because of declining endowments and donations, a new foundation to support the work of American Indian, Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native artists is being established with an initial $10 million from the Ford Foundation.
Called the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, the [...]
In the Louisville Courier Journal ( Photo Louisville Shakespeare Company)
Amid the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression, Louisville’s principal arts organizations are being challenged as never before.
Approaches once considered sacrosanct, realities thought etched in concrete, are giving way to a host of novel strategies. Some are based on cutting back; others are grounded [...]
From The Australian ( image courtesy of the National Library of Australia)
“The time has come to bring Australia in line with the civilised parts of the world as far as arts education is concerned,” leading music educator Richard Gill says. “For too long our children have been deprived of serious well-planned arts education. If we [...]
Wisdom of Jeff Chang in The Nation…
…Artists played a largely unheralded role in Obama’s victory. But they had been tugging the national unconscious forward for decades, from the multiculturalist avant-gardes of the 1970s and ’80s to the hip-hop rebels of the ’90s and 2000s, plying a fearless, sometimes even unruly kind of polyculturalism. By the [...]
From the Philadelphia Inquirer.
At a time when the flow of outside funding seems to be slowing relentlessly, the Pew Heritage Philadelphia Program has awarded a little more than $1 million to seven area cultural organizations.
The grants, ranging from about $56,000 to $200,000, will be used to implement capital projects, explore new interpretive programs, install innovative [...]
Taking Part, a new report from Arts Council England, makes the case that childhood arts experience plays a major role in adult arts participation.
Findings include:
• being encouraged to get involved in the arts as a child increases the chances of being an active arts consumer as an adult
• the effect of childhood experience is very strong, nearing [...]
From the Chronicle of philanthropy
It’s now official: Sonal Shah, former head of global development at Google.org, the search-engine company’s philanthropic arm, is head of the new White House Office of Social Innovation.
Shin Inouye, a White House spokesman, today confirmed Ms. Shah’s appointment—which has not been formally announced, although it is an open secret in nonprofit [...]
Project Streamline, a collaborative effort of grantmakers and grantseekers working to streamline grant application, monitoring, and reporting practices.
One of Project Streamline’s four recommended principles is right-sizing application and reporting requirements to be proportional to the grant amount. But what does right-sizing look like in practice? From two-page summaries to accelerated grant cycles, read about [...]
As reported in the Boston Globe.
Those involved in the nonprofit sector say such deals have increased in the last decade, but are accelerating now as organizations face a drop in donations and cuts in funding due to the recession. While many groups are still operating with funds from last year, they anticipate feeling the full [...]
In December 2008, Fiscal Management Associates (FMA) and the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) joined together to present a workshop that offered nonprofit leaders concrete tools to lead their organizations during this challenging time. The sponsors of the event, The Clark, Robin Hood, and Tiger foundations, have agreed to allow the tools and presentation for public [...]
The National Endowment for the Arts today announced $19.8 million in one-time grants under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) to the state arts agencies and regional arts organizations to support the arts sector of the economy. Potential recipients include organizations in the performing, visual, and literary arts.
List of grants awarded.
Luis A. Ubiñas, president of Ford Foundation, announced the results of Ford’s year-long evaluation and planning process today.
“A year ago, we set out to ensure that the Ford Foundation’s grant making was addressing the challenges of the next generation. Our aim was to produce a set of strategies that look forward but that also draw [...]
