Jaime Sharp's Blog

“A new effort to help grant makers change the way they work so they can better support Black-led nonprofits was announced today. Abundance is a collaboration between three Chicago-area grant makers, Chicago Beyond, the Grand Victoria Foundation, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.”

“Change is an act of creation, and that’s what artists do: Through a process of imagining, trying and building, artists create experiences that connect us to our own agency and power,” said author Laura Zabel who serves as the executive director of Springboard for the Arts. “We are in a moment when we urgently need these artists, culture bearers and creative workers who can help us envision and build a future of justice, health and wholeness.”

“The right way to expand a nonprofit’s impact is to build programs on three pillars: breadth, depth, and durability. Scaling means advancing all three of these dimensions simultaneously. And while the specific metrics an organization uses will vary, some version of each of those elements must be measured and advanced together to stay on track,” said author Mona Mourshed.

“The Summit brought together thought leaders and creative economy experts to discuss opportunities and challenges for creative workers and entrepreneurs, as well as building a more community-centered creative economy. Topics ranged from opportunities for, and threats to, creative workers and entrepreneurs, in addition to impact investing and building creative economy infrastructure through networks and policy.”

Launched in 2015, Common Field - a national network of independent visual arts organizations and organizers that connects, supports, and advocates for the artist-centered field - announced that, “after a comprehensive auditing and strategic visioning process in 2021, Common Field has made the decision to begin an intentional sunsetting process and will close as an organization in December 2022.”

From National Endowment for the Arts:
"We invite you to join us in sending the below letter to the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee in support of funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)."

"Yesterday, the National Endowment for the Arts joined more than 90 federal agencies in releasing its Equity Action Plan to the public, and shared the plan with stakeholders and partners."

The Barr Foundation seeks a Learning and Evaluation Consultant to support the newly launched cohort, Powering Cultural Futures (PCF), a new six-year initiative that provides funding, technical assistance, peer networking, and other supports to a diverse cohort of 15 BIPOC-rooted organizations in Massachusetts.

The new grant from Basic Income for the Arts, “will give 2,000 artists €325 (~$354) a week with no restrictions on spending.” This pilot program will be tested over the course of three years (2022-2025).

The Packard Foundation’s Bioenergy strategy is issuing a request for project proposals to grassroots organizations based in the U.S. South or Canada that have programs focused on frontline community organizing and power-building around social, environmental, or climate justice in one of the following issue areas: Forest protection, Community land rights, Combating extractive energy industries.