Philanthropic practice

In light of challenging times, Grant Oliphant, president of The Heinz Endowments, examines the role of the courageous leader and the power to make change happen within the philanthropic field and our own culture.

Stories can make us connect in unsuspected ways. A piece by the Stanford Social Innovation Review makes the case for the power of stories to make, prop up, and bring down systems.

Borealis Philanthropy launched the Racial Equity in Philanthropy (REP) Fund, a funding effort of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Ford Foundation. The inaugural round of grants totaling $14 million over three years will support 19 philanthropy-serving organizations committed to advancing racial equity within the sector through research, learning opportunities, and the dissemination of best practices, according to Philanthropy News Digest.

After the state of Florida dropped its funding to only $2.65 million for all arts organizations statewide (a dramatic decrease from the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs’ recommendation of more than $41.6 million), a Tampa foundation seeks to sustain local arts organizations as they're facing catastrophic effects from the cuts in funding.

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts announced it will award $3.6 million to 42 cultural organizations as part of its spring 2018 grant cycle.

In partnership with 15 Massachusetts arts organizations, the Barr Foundation has announced a $30 million, six-year initiative to amplify the organizations’ leadership to nurture more culturally vibrant communities.

The arts and culture sector continues to have conversations on multiple levels about how to advance the causes of equity, inclusion, and diversity. The discussion is not new, but the momentum toward implementing clear action steps is building. A new level of understanding of the ways in which racial and social inequities are the result of complex systemic issues has given rise to a realization that the path to truly effective solutions will require deep, and deeply challenging, institutional change.

How MAP took concrete steps to enact greater racial equity in our grantmaking by incorporating Agile practices in our application processes

In this moment of upheaval, challenge, and resistance for our country, the phrase “speaking truth to power” has taken on a new urgency. Rarely asked amid the fervor pervading the corner offices and Twitter feeds of so many of our foundations and other civic institutions in recent months, however, is an important question: Where does our “truth” come from? How do we make judgments about truth in so subjective a field as arts and culture?

As arts funders, we know that extensive research has shown that the presence of arts and culture activities at the neighborhood level can improve health and safety and promote a sense of well-being among residents. But how do we identify what activities already exist in a community and, as important, where there are gaps so we can be proactive in advancing a community’s livability?