Monica's Blog

Posted on December 12, 2017 by Monica

The latest annual report from the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP) reveals the results of a survey of arts graduates conducted in 2015 and 2016. Responses from over 65,000 arts alumni show that 67% currently work in the arts. The survey also asked how skills acquired at their institutions compared to those needed for their jobs, what resources those institutions provided for career advancement, and how satisfied respondents were with those institutions.

Read the report from 2017 SNAAP.

Posted on December 7, 2017 by Monica

The Center for Effective Philanthropy has published a report examining funder-grantee relationships and how program officers can support and strengthen these relationships. The report also recognizes 10 highly rated program officers based on a survey of grantees, including Sarah Lovan of The McKnight Foundation, Elizabeth Love of the Houston Endowment, and Emiko Ono of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Posted on December 6, 2017 by Monica

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, in partnership with the Ford Foundation, The JPB Foundation, and the Open Society Foundations, have announced the launch of the African-American Cultural Heritage Action Fund (AACHAF). The multi-year national initiative is aimed at uplifting the largely overlooked contributions of African-Americans by establishing a grant fund for the protection and restoration of African-American historical sites. From the protection of Shockoe Bottom in Richmond to Fort Huachuca Black Officer’s Club in Arizona, the fund will help to support direct action needed to protect threatened sites of historic significance, address critical funding gaps for the preservation of African-American historic sites, and help uncover hidden stories of African-Americans connected to historic sites across the nation.

Posted on December 5, 2017 by Monica

The Chronicle of Philanthropy has published an easy chart comparing the current US House and Senate tax bills and how they could affect nonprofits. Click to enlarge.

Posted on December 5, 2017 by Monica

ArtPlace America has announced $8.7 million in grants to 23 creative placemaking projects in communities of all sizes across 18 states and one US territory. ArtPlace has a deep commitment to funding in rural America, with almost 52% of this year’s funded projects working in rural communities.

Its National Creative Placemaking Fund has invested in communities across the country in which artists, arts organizations, and arts and culture activity help drive community development change across 10 sectors of community planning and development.

Posted on December 4, 2017 by Monica

Jim Kelly has announced that he will retire as 4Culture’s executive director as of March 31, 2018. 4Culture is an independent public agency supporting arts, heritage, preservation, and public art in Seattle and surrounding municipalities in King County.

Under Kelly’s leadership, 4Culture has become the largest cultural funder in Washington State. During his tenure, over $130 million has been distributed into the sector to 2,800 individuals and groups.

Posted on November 30, 2017 by Monica

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

Posted on November 29, 2017 by Monica

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 their communities. The amount to which tax incentives drive donations can be disputed, but surely it will cut revenues some. Indeed, economists at the Tax Policy Center at the Urban Institute report that the tax change would reduce giving by $13 billion to $20 billion every year. The same group estimates that changes in the estate tax will reduce giving to charitable purposes by another $4 billion.
Posted on November 28, 2017 by Monica

From Crain's Cleveland Business:

The board of trustees of Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, the public agency that parcels out money from the 30-cent-a-pack Cuyahoga County cigarette tax, on Monday, Nov. 13, approved parceling out $12 million to 258 organizations for 2018, an 18% decline from grants totaling $14.6 million for 2017.

The reduced grantmaking for 2018, first announced in October, triggered objections by some in the arts community about the steepness of the drop in funding.

Posted on November 28, 2017 by Monica

A new report from the National Endowment for the Arts finds that rural arts organizations draw more non-local audiences to their venues and report greater civic leadership and customer connectedness than their urban peers. The report is based primarily on 2014 data from the US Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS). The ERS’s Rural Establishment Innovation Survey examines the type and breadth of innovation within rural businesses.