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Charitable Deduction Not Touched in Debt-Ceiling Deal
Posted on August 3, 2011 by Steve

From Lisa Chiu and Suzanne Perry at The Chronicle of Philanthropy:

A new law to increase the debt-ceiling limit does not make any changes in the tax deduction that donors receive for making charitable gifts...

“We assume that the new committee will certainly consider the cap on deductions,” said Jason Lee, a lawyer for the Association of Fundraising Professionals, a trade group that is opposed to reducing the value of the charitable deduction. “So we’re working under the premise that we still have our work cut out for us.”

Arts Funding Fosters Bi-partisanship in South Carolina
Posted on August 3, 2011 by Steve

From Robin Pogebrin in The New York Times:

Who knew that government funding for the arts would represent the kind of common ground where Republicans and Democrats could meet?

But when Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina tried to zero out money for the arts in her state budget last month, both parties said no. The House and the Senate, both controlled by Republicans, voted to override the Republican governor’s veto of $1.9 million in funding for the South Carolina Arts Commission. The House vote was 105-8; the Senate 32-6.

Field Building in Arts Education Now the Topic on Barry's Blog
Posted on August 1, 2011 by Steve

Barry Hessenius has a new panel and a new topic, Field building, to talk about for week 2 of his 4-week examination of Arts Education. Todays question:

What are we doing to help parents and the public understand: a) Why arts education is essential to their child’s future, and b) What constitutes a high level arts education component?
Arts Education Gets White House Attention
Posted on August 1, 2011 by Steve

From U.S. News & World Report:

Officials from President Obama's administration met with arts education activists in late July, including nonprofit executives, actors, and school administration officials, to discuss the impact of arts education and express concerns about its diminished role in school curricula.
Tucson Pima Arts Council Receives $225,000 in National Grants
Posted on August 1, 2011 by Steve

From Tucson Citizen:

The Tucson Pima Arts Council has received grants from two national foundations totaling $225,000 to support local projects that use the arts as a tool to address social issues in the community.

The Nathan Cummings Foundation awarded TPAC $75,000 and the Open Society Institute $150,000. Both awards support the Arts in Tucson P.L.A.C.E initiative launched by TPAC two years ago with $200,000 from The Kresge Foundation. P.L.A.C.E stands for People, Land, Arts, Culture and Engagement.

The Nathan Cummings Foundation Names Simon Greer as President and CEO
Posted on August 1, 2011 by Steve

The Nathan Cummings Foundation announced today the selection of Simon Greer as its new President and CEO. Simon will succeed Lance Lindblom, who is retiring from NCF after more than a decade at the helm of the family foundation. Greer will be coming from the Jewish Funds for Justice where he has served as president and CEO since 2005. He brings more than 20 years of experience as a leader in the movement for social change.

Arts Education Discussion on Barry's Blog: Week 1
Posted on July 29, 2011 by Steve

The first week (theme: practice) of a four-week focus on Arts Education is wrapping up with follow-up questions. See the latest post at http://blog.westaf.org/2011/07/arts-education-blog-forum-follow-up.html.

Starting Monday, the focus shifts to field building, with a new panel including

Barry's Blog Digs Into Arts Education
Posted on July 27, 2011 by Steve

Today Barry Hessenius poses the third and final question of the first week in a month-long examination of Arts Education. Today's question: What is the role of artists and arts organizations in the wider arts education paradigm?

The rest of the week will allow for discussion on the three questions already posed and their responses. Be sure to join in. The focus of next weeks discussion will be “Field Building” with an all-new panel of respondents.

Keep up with the discussion at Barry's Blog.

Arts in Education Highlighted on White House Blog
Posted on July 26, 2011 by Steve

The White House Champions of Change blog features statements from advocates of Arts Education this week. Among the featured advocates is Aaron Dworkin, a keynote speaker from the 2010 GIA conference in Chicago. Here is the statement from the White House on Arts in Education:

Knight's Random Acts of Culture
Posted on July 26, 2011 by Steve

From Christopher Levenick at PhilanthropyRoundtable:

The Knight Foundation is bringing artists out of performance halls and into people’s everyday lives. Random Acts of Culture is a project of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The Knight Foundation has as its mission the goal of helping create informed and engaged communities by supporting transformational projects in journalism and media innovation, community engagement, and the arts. These “random acts of culture” accomplish all three goals