Abigail's Blog

From the August 21 National Endowment for the Arts press release:

It is with great sadness that the National Endowment for the Arts acknowledges the passing of 2000 NEA Jazz Master Marian McPartland. As host of the renowned public radio show Piano Jazz, McPartland played a key role in helping to popularize jazz through her intricate knowledge of the art form and her prowess on the piano. NEA Senior Deputy Chairman Joan Shigekawa said, "Marian McPartland faced many challenges playing jazz as a woman in the 1940s. She was one of the first women to lead her own band, landing an eight-year residency at the historic Hickory House in New York City before going on to a career as the host of Piano Jazz where she was integral to raising the profile of jazz nationwide."

In a Huffpost Arts & Culture post titled "The Private Sector's Secret Weapon," Americans for the Arts' president and CEO Robert Lynch responds to The Conference Board's list of the top five global challenges for CEOs by linking the challenges–human capital, operational excellence, innovation, customer relationships, and global political economic risk–to arts-related practices, skills, and outcomes.

Writing for Huffington Post, Agnes Gund responds to the U.S. House Appropriations Committee's recent vote to cut the budgets of the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities by 49% in 2014, including arguments made for and against the cuts by House members:

I want to suggest that we must mount a braver defense of the arts, a more vigorous, vital, real-life defense. I have thought a lot about the true, deep and telling, urgent importance of the arts to Americans. In this time of financial trouble and international turmoil, the arts and the humanities provide more than 'enhancement,' more than 'benefit.' They provide insight; they provide incentive; they inspire. They give us answers.

During the months of July and August, the photo banner features grantees of GIA member the Colburn Foundation. Based in Los Angeles, the Foundation was established in 1999 by Richard D. Colburn. Below, in their own words, Colburn Foundation staff discuss their strategy of providing general operating support, as well as non-grant support through Foundation-organized grantee convenings.

In June, the photo banner features groups and projects supported by GIA member Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. CAC was approved by Cuyahoga County voters in 2006, and since 2007, has invested over $95 million in more than two hundred Cuyahoga County arts and cultural organizations. CAC’s vision for its first ten years of public funding is to help build stronger, more resilient arts and culture organizations, create vibrant and energetic neighborhoods infused with culture, and establish Cuyahoga County as a hub of creative activity and a destination for artists.

In May, the photo banner features groups and projects supported by GIA member the Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA). Founded in 1997 by cultural workers, arts administrators, and traditional artists, ACTA is the only nonprofit organization in California dedicated to supporting and sustaining folk and traditional arts at the statewide level.

In April our photo banner will feature projects and exhibitions supported by GIA member The Coby Foundation, Ltd. Located in New York City, the foundation funds projects in the textile and needle art fields throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic. Below, Coby Foundation executive director Ward Mintz, describes the outset of the foundation and its 2012 grantees:

Of the nearly six thousand respondents to Nonprofit Finance Fund's fifth annual survey of the nonprofit sector, nine hundred represented arts and culture organizations. The data is posted to NFF's website in the form of an online data analyzer, with arts-specific results here. Some of the highlights:

• 42% of arts organizations reported a surplus in 2012, but only 28% anticipate ending 2013 in the black.

• 64% reported an increase in program demand in 2012, with 75% predicting an increase this year.

• 40% of arts organizations reported some level of comfort talking to their funders about the need for reserves. This is 30% higher than for the entire nonprofit sector. Arts organizations, more than other sectors, also report greater comfort discussing with supporters cash flow, facilities, and working capital needs.

• Still, the sector remains split between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’: 60% of orgs have three months of cash or less.

• Only 37% of arts groups report regularly collecting data on the impact of their programs. This compares to 53% for all nonprofits nationally. 

Throughout March our photo banner will feature organizations, initiatives, and individuals supported by GIA member the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. The Commission provides leadership in cultural services for Los Angeles County, including information and comprehensive resources for the community, artists, educators, arts organizations, and municipalities. Below, in their own words, Commission staff reflect on past successes and future promises:

Throughout February our photo banner will feature organizations and individuals supported by the Rozsa Foundation, a family foundation located in Calgary. The foundation's broad strategic categories include building administrative capacity in arts organizations, supporting the arts and arts education, and positively influencing public opinion of and support for the arts.