GIA Blog

By Janet Brown from her blog Better Together:

Over the past few years, Grantmakers in the Arts has identified four content areas that reflect core values and are the basis for much of our work. They are:

• Arts education
• Racial equity in philanthropy
• Financial health of the nonprofit arts sector (capitalization)
• Support for individual artists

The Center for Cultural Innovation announced last month that Angie Kim will serve as Interim President and CEO as of July 15, 2014. Kim transitions to this position from her current role as Board Chair, and she will succeed Cora Mirikitani. Kim joined the CCI Board in 2009 and was elected Chair in 2010. She was Director of Programs at Southern California Grantmakers, where she served networking, knowledge, and public policy needs of independent, family, community, corporate, and operating foundations.

The National Endowment for the Arts has announced the latest Research: Art Works funding opportunity. This program supports research for projects that investigate the value and/or impact of the arts on individuals and communities. To assist potential applicants, the NEA will hold a grant guidelines webinar on September 3, 2014 at 3:00 PM ET. To join the webinar, you must register in advance. The NEA is interested in value-oriented research that will measure or clarify one or more factors, characteristics, and conditions of the U.S. arts ecosystem, as well as impact-oriented research that will investigate the direct and indirect benefits of arts participation on health and well-being, cognitive capacity, learning, creativity, community livability, or economic prosperity.

The National Network of Consultants to Grantmakers is looking for a new Project Director to work with a dedicated group of volunteer members to continue growing the organization and serving the organization’s mission. The project director will work with members and a virtual office staff to:

• Expand the visibility and use of our Directory of Consultants as a vital resource to grantmakers
• Achieve organizational growth by increasing membership, creating business partnerships and successful grant funding
• Assist the professional consultant members in developing thought leadership via programs and networking
• Work with a part-time administrative team (contracted firm) to manage routine financial processing and routine communications

By Kinsee Morlan, at San Diego City Beat:

The Creative Work Fund is celebrating its 20th anniversary on September 1, 2014. The fund has announced the awarding of 13 grants totaling $518,000 to literary and performing artists throughout California’s Bay Area to create new works through collaborations with nonprofit organizations. The 2014 grantees, each receiving grants ranging from $30,000-$40,000, will create poetry installations, interactive websites, music, theatrical and dance performances, as well as books and multi-disciplinary works.

Ernest Tollerson will serve as interim CEO at The Nathan Cummings Foundation, according to the foundation’s board chair Adam Cummings. He will formally begin his work with the Foundation on Monday, August 4. The board will launch a search for a permanent CEO later this year.

From Emilia David, writing for DNAinfo New York:

Bill O'Brien, NEA Senior Adviser for Program Innovation, reports from the Santa Fe Institute:

An initiative is underway to stimulate a broader conversation within the field of philanthropy to articulate the values and practices of justice funders. This conversation is being facilitated through a weekly blog series that seeks new voices for inspiration, stimulation, and provocation that will “generate contemplation and discussion now, as well as serve to generate content for a framework for social justice philanthropy that we can begin layering with examples of existing practice over the course of the next year.” Do join this conversation and tag your social media with #justicefunder.