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Monica's Blog

Heron Foundation President Reflects on Investing 100 Percent of Endowment toward Mission
Posted on March 15, 2017 by Monica

The president of The F.B. Heron Foundation, Clara Miller, recently published an article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review about how Heron achieved its goal of investing 100 percent of its endowment toward fulfilling its mission, as well as seven lessons the foundation learned along the way:

We always knew that “getting to 100 percent,” while important, would be like reaching a false summit. The challenges remain, and they loom large. . . . That’s why, going forward, we will work to optimize our portfolio for mission and finance together. But beyond that, we will strive to capture and share what we’ve learned, and improve our approach to investing so that we can contribute to improving practices in the broader market.

In that spirit, we would like to share some lessons we learned on the path to our “100 percent” goal, as well as our thoughts on the significance of those lessons and our own plans for the future.

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Names Theresa Colvin as its Next Executive Director
Posted on March 15, 2017 by Monica

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation (MAAF) announced that Theresa Colvin will be its next executive director. Colvin will succeed Alan W. Cooper who is retiring after 23 years as the Foundation’s director. Colvin will begin her tenure on May 1, 2017. She comes to MAAF from the Maryland State Arts Council where she has been the executive director for the past 16 years.

MIT Media Lab ‘Disobedience Award’ to Recognize Courage and Creativity that Benefit Society
Posted on March 8, 2017 by Monica

The MIT Media Lab has opened nominations for the Disobedience Award, a one-time award of $250,000 for “a person or group engaged in what we believe is extraordinary disobedience for the benefit of society”:

We’d like to call out action that seeks to change society in positive ways and is consistent with a set of key principles. These principles include non-violence, creativity, courage, and taking responsibility for one’s actions. We’re seeking both expected and unexpected nominees. This could include–but isn’t limited to–those engaged in scientific research, civil rights, freedom of speech, human rights, and the freedom to innovate.
Mellon Foundation EVP on Why We Need the NEA and the NEH
Posted on March 7, 2017 by Monica

A recent blog post written by Executive Vice President Mariët Westermann of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation voices support for the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities. She discusses the billions of dollars in grants made possible by collaboration between private funders (including Mellon) and the Endowments and argues that many arts initiatives and programs across the country would not be possible without this collaboration. She writes:

Creative Minnesota Report Reveals the Impact and Needs of State's Arts Sector
Posted on March 7, 2017 by Monica

Creative Minnesota and Minnesota Citizens for the Arts have released their latest statewide study on the arts and culture sector. As the most comprehensive report ever done of the state’s creative sector Creative Minnesota fills in the gaps of available information about Minnesota’s cultural field and seeks to improve understanding of its importance to quality of life and the economy.

Kickstarter Releases First Annual Statement Since Becoming a Public Benefit Corporation
Posted on March 3, 2017 by Monica

Kickstarter has released its first annual benefit statement since becoming a public benefit corporation in 2015. One component of the company’s new charter is to “annually donate 5% of its after-tax profit towards arts and music education, and to organizations fighting to end systemic inequality.” An article in Fast Company explains:

The crowdfunding platform joined Patagonia and a few other companies that have accepted a legal obligation to benefit society, rather than just focusing on maximizing shareholder value. Every two years, Kickstarter is required to report on its progress in achieving a long list of objectives laid out in its charter—in other words, it has to prove the benefit that it’s providing the public.
Heinz Endowments President on the Power of Arts and Journalism, Increases Arts Spending $1.5M
Posted on March 2, 2017 by Monica

In a recent blog post, The Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant writes about the power of arts, journalism, and courage in times of political conflict. In the spirit of this idea, the Endowments have increased their arts grantmaking budget:

For our part, the Endowments has decided to increase its normal grantmaking in the arts and creativity by $1.5 million this year, an increase of nearly 17 percent. This additional investment will not go to doing more of what we already do. While still being shaped, we expect it to deepen connections with our sustainability and learning work, broaden our engagement in neighborhoods and schools, and connect us more directly with artists who are using art to promote social justice and social change.
New Dance/NYC Grant Supports Integrated Performances by Disabled Artists
Posted on March 1, 2017 by Monica

Nonprofit regrantor Dance/NYC has announced the inaugural recipients of its "Disability. Dance. Artistry. Fund" with support from the Ford Foundation. The new fund supports integrated dance performances featuring dancers with and without disabilities, aiming to bring attention to the artistic excellence of disabled dancers.

An article in the Nonprofit Quarterly discusses the recent announcement: "Visibility for performers with disabilities is decidedly lacking in the dance world. . . . Dance/NYC is changing this situation, flipping from thinking of disabled dancers as patients to thinking of their disabilities as a fount for creativity."

ArtsBuild to Change its Grantmaking Model to Fund Wider Range of Arts Organizations
Posted on March 1, 2017 by Monica

From the Times Free Press:

Beginning July 1, the leading organization for funding Chattanooga arts programming will restructure how the money it raises is disbursed and who can get it in hopes of reaching more arts organizations and more people in the community. . . . For the last 48 years, as few as five and as many as 16 arts organizations in Chattanooga could count on ArtsBuild — originally the Allied Arts Fund and later Allied Arts of Greater Chattanooga — to help raise a portion of their annual operating funds. Part of Allied Arts' original mission was to be a single fundraising body for a select few agencies, and ArtsBuild has continued that effort. . . .
Julie Fry Publishes Op-Ed on the Importance of Federal Arts Funding
Posted on March 1, 2017 by Monica

GIA member and California Humanities CEO Julie Fry recently penned an op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle urging the importance of federal arts funding:

The arts and humanities are good for the success of young people and good for the economy, and we all benefit from that. As Johnson said back in 1965, this is about more than just the money: “It is in the neighborhoods of each community that a nation’s art is born. … The arts and the humanities belong to the people, for it is, after all, the people who create them.”

Our country is richer when the federal government supports and values the arts and humanities. This is not a luxury item. This is who we are as a people.