GIA Blog

ArtPlace America Releases Field Scans on Public Safety, Housing
Posted on April 19, 2016 by Monica

ArtPlace America has released its first two “field scan” documents looking at the intersection of the arts and culture with other sectors of community development. The first two reports examine public safety and affordable housing. Each represents an exploratory first step that aims to surface:

  • Key goals or needs in that community development sector that arts and culture might address,
  • A typology or framework for understanding the ways that arts and culture has and might partner with that community development sector,
  • Barriers to integrating arts and culture within that community development sector, and
  • Strategies or tactics to advance collaborations with arts and culture in that sector.
The Nathan Cummings Foundation Selects Loren Harris as Vice President of Programs
Posted on April 19, 2016 by Monica

From The Nathan Cummings Foundation:

The Nathan Cummings Foundation today announced that Loren S. Harris, a philanthropic leader with more than 20 years experience challenging structural barriers to equality and creating economic opportunity and social inclusion, will join the Foundation as Vice President of Programs. Harris, who will begin work on May 18, will report to the Foundation’s President and CEO, Sharon Alpert.

United States Artists Receives $20 Million Operational Endowment from Ford Foundation, Others
Posted on April 19, 2016 by Monica

By Serge F. Kovaleski, writing for The New York Times:

The Ford Foundation, other philanthropic groups and some private donors have given nearly $20 million to United States Artists, an organization that makes grants to artists. … The money will serve as an operational endowment to support United States Artists’ staffing, conferences and the cultivation of nominators and the administration of grants, among other things. It will cover everything except the grants to artists themselves, which are financed separately.
A Cultural Equity Approach to Arts Leadership Development
Posted on April 15, 2016 by Monica

In an article published on Creativz.us, Carlton Turner, executive director of Alternate ROOTS, advocates for an alternative model of arts leadership development for organizations that serve communities of color. He argues that a top-down, “one-size-fits-all leadership development program” does not meet the unique needs of these communities and offers the Intercultural Leadership Institute (ILI) as an example of a community-generated peer learning approach.

New from the GIA Reader: Crowdsourcing Cultural Policy
Posted on April 14, 2016 by Steve

In Crowdsourcing Cultural Policy: The U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, Arlene Goldbard explores the mission of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, which is not a government agency, but an action network of artists and cultural workers mobilizing creativity in the service of positive social change.

Artists, Investors, and Innovators Join Together to Launch Upstart Co-Lab
Posted on April 13, 2016 by Monica

A new organization called Upstart Co-Lab aims to increase opportunities for artists as innovators, catalyze more capital for creativity, and enable artists to support themselves sustainably.

From the press release:

Rooted in the conviction that artists are social entrepreneurs and that a sustainable future depends on a creative economy, a group of artists, impact investors, philanthropic funders and social innovators today announced the launch of Upstart Co-Lab.
LA County Arts Commission Launches Capacity Building Assessment Toolkit
Posted on April 12, 2016 by Monica

LA County Arts Commission, in partnership with LA County Quality and Productivity Commission and Harder+Company Community Research, has launched an online toolkit to help funders assess their capacity building programs aimed at intermediary organizations:

In order to ensure the public is receiving the best possible services, public agencies and funders often spend a significant amount of time supporting their grantees and contractors through technical assistance, capacity building and professional development services.

But does this work actually work?

This interactive toolkit offers a four-step process public agencies, grantmakers and others can use to assess your efforts to build the capacity of your intermediaries.

Hewlett Report Evaluates Impact and Reach of its Performing Arts Grantmaking
Posted on April 11, 2016 by Monica

In a blog post by John McGuirk, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation has announced a report assessing the progress of their Performing Arts Program:

2015 marked the mid-point of our current Performing Arts strategic framework, which runs from 2012-2017, and lays out the goals of our grantmaking, as well as measures for how we’ll evaluate our progress. … A key question for us in commissioning this assessment was which geographic and demographic communities have benefitted from Hewlett Foundation support and where are the gaps?
Strategies for Philanthropic Organizations to Address Workplace Diversity
Posted on April 8, 2016 by Monica

By Vikki N. Spruill and Diana Campoamor, writing for Nonprofit Quarterly:

In philanthropy, creating a workforce that reflects the rich diversity of backgrounds and experiences of the communities we strive to serve builds public trust in our field, helping to counter skepticism about philanthropy’s value. … Yet the latest data from the Council on Foundations Grantmakers’ Salary and Benefits research confirm that the rate of underrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities and, to a certain extent, women in leadership roles, in our field has not significantly improved over the past five years.
Neal Cuthbert of The McKnight Foundation to Retire this Year
Posted on April 7, 2016 by Monica

In an email sent to colleagues this morning, The McKnight Foundation president Kate Wolford announced that Neal Cuthbert will retire from his position as vice president of program at the end of the year. Cuthbert served on the board of Grantmakers in the Arts from 1999 to 2003. The following letter is republished here with permission from The McKnight Foundation.