Readings

September 30, 2006 by giarts-ts-admin

This article is dedicated by the author to the memory of Mois Cruz Sánchez. Moisés, like Filemon, was a native of San Juan Mixtepec in La Mixteca in Oaxaca. He was a migrant farmworker. His dream was that Mixteco citizens in his village elect one of their own to the village governing body, independent of the local caciques [political bosses]. He fulfilled that dream and was elected mayor of his village four years ago. He also worked for the transnational organizing of the Mixteco people and founded an organization for that work.

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September 30, 2006 by giarts-ts-admin

At the close of its May 2006 meeting, GIA board members and staff participated in a forum discussing some of the dynamics of power and grantmaking. Board member Dudley Cocke (trustee, the Bush Foundation and director, Roadside Theater) led a story circle in which participants shared their personal experiences. Peter Pennekamp (former GIA board member and executive director, Humboldt Area Foundation) and Craig McGarvey (philanthropic consultant), were each asked to make provocative opening comments that would "stir the pot" for the story circle and discussion that followed.

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September 30, 2006 by giarts-ts-admin

The following article was first presented as an address at "Selling Yarns — Australian Indigenous Textiles and Good Business in the 21st Century,” a conference hosted by the Australian National University and held at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in Darwin, Australia on August 13, 2006.

As is often the custom among Native peoples of the Americas, I want to share a story with you that serves as deep background for everything I will be talking about today.

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September 30, 2006 by giarts-ts-admin

Grantmakers in the Arts has been in existence for a brief two decades, and yet even within the ranks of long-time GIA conference attendees and the veterans who are among GIA's leaders today, there is no common recollection of the organization's prehistory and the moment of its founding. History generally belongs to the domain of the humanities rather than the arts, but nonetheless it is slightly embarrassing that a professional arts philanthropy organization, which has come to exercise substantial influence it its field, has no record of its founding.

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September 30, 2006 by giarts-ts-admin

Walking to my office in the financial district of San Francisco, I was stopped by a man who asked me if I remembered him. The man, Rick Hood, reminded me we were both students at Harkness Ballet in New York. We had not seen each other in more than thirty years.

At lunch a few weeks later we reminisced about the early days. Those were heady times for my twenty-year old self. I had arrived from Chicago and was in David Howard's class alongside Gelsey Kirkland. Once doing jumps, she landed badly and had to be carried out. Of course the class continued...

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September 30, 2006 by giarts-ts-admin

Jim Collins says that greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, he says, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline. In his 2001 book, Good to Great 1, Collins articulated the principles he believes differentiate companies that become great from those that do not. In his recently published monograph, "Good to Great and the Social Sectors" 2, Collins addresses how these principles of greatness apply to nonprofits. Collins' framework for greatness in the social sectors encompasses five areas:

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    September 30, 2006 by giarts-ts-admin

    As arts funders, we often perceive our capacity to direct financial resources to worthy arts organizations as the most valuable tool at our disposal. That's probably correct and, indeed, as it should be. After all, most of our institutions have been established by donors for the core purpose of grantmaking, and the law mandates that we award grants for public benefit.

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    September 30, 2006 by giarts-ts-admin

    Background
    The cultural sector does not exist in a vacuum. It is being challenged by major demographic, economic, technological, and social factors outside its immediate control. While the commercial arts and individual artists are also struggling to adapt to these changes, for a variety of reasons the nonprofit arts sector has been particularly slow to respond effectively.

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    September 30, 2006 by giarts-ts-admin

    The past year has brought forward several thoughtful investigations into the future of nonprofit leadership. Among other commentaries, Investing in Leadership by Betsy Hubbard (Volume 1) and Kathleen P. Enright (Volume 2) — published by Grantmakers for Effective Organizations — and Daring to Lead, 2006, by Jeanne Bell, Richard Moyers, and Timothy Wolfred — published by CompassPoint and the Meyer Foundation — are thoughtful and meaty.

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    August 31, 2006 by giarts-ts-admin

    "I believe that if we can keep our values close, our imaginations open, and our stories fierce, we can and will win." - Thenmozhi Soundararajan

    Introduction

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