Nadia Elokdah's Blog

Posted on January 24, 2022 by Nadia Elokdah

"We’re moving beyond DEI (bodies at the table), racial equity (measuring POC against white people), and perhaps even racial justice (the righting of racial wrongs), to an actual focus on what Black people need to thrive (building pro-Black)," Cyndi Suarez writes in the latest issue of NonProfit Quarterly (NPQ). "These parallel realities exist right now. But there is a gap between the leaders of color and radical white conspirators at the edge—and the funders who claim to be."

Posted on January 21, 2022 by Nadia Elokdah

"Last year, Charlotte city government, business executives, and The Foundation For The Carolinas developed a plan aimed at boosting arts funding," reported Erik Spanberg in the Charlotte Business Journal. "It included the addition of an arts and culture officer — Priya Sircar, hired last summer — and the creation of an 18-member advisory board made up of arts, civic, and philanthropic leaders." $4.4 million remain uncommitted from this inaugural grantmaking period, and as organizations and communities face increased challenges due to the Covid-19 Omicron variant, the advisory board are opening new possibilties for how it could be allocated.

Posted on January 21, 2022 by Nadia Elokdah

"Music works in both magical and clinically substantiated ways in communities with rich musical traditions that span bluegrass, country, gospel, and more," writes Taylor Sisk in a long-form piece in National Geographic about how music and health are intertwined and inextricably linked throughout the Applachian region.

Posted on January 20, 2022 by Nadia Elokdah

In a new report, "Trading Glass Ceilings for Glass Cliffs: A Race To Lead Report on Nonprofit Executives of Color," from the Building Movement Project, experiences and challenges of nonprofit leaders of color who have attained the top position in their organizations are explored, addressing the struggles of often increased racism on the path to leadership.

Posted on January 19, 2022 by Nadia Elokdah

Is philanthropy ready to commit to racial equity? The sector "doesn’t have a reputation for radical transformation," reports Generocity. "Progress on racial equity is a challenging case study. Leaders in philanthropy now commonly cite the injustice of race serving as an effective predictor of economic, health and other social outcomes."

Posted on January 18, 2022 by Nadia Elokdah

The Barr Foundation has awarded $545,000 to the Worcester Cultural Coalition (WCC) to support the arts community, with an emphasis on uplifting historically marginalized and underrepresented groups. In particular, the Jean McDonough Arts Center (JMAC) will receive funding to expand equitable use and access.

Posted on January 17, 2022 by Nadia Elokdah

Following an extensive national search, United States Artists’ (USA) Board of Trustees announced this month the appointment of Judilee Reed as its new President and CEO.

Posted on January 14, 2022 by Nadia Elokdah

“In an effort to work toward undoing longstanding racial and cultural inequities in the arts, and in life, the city now has a formal Cultural Equity Plan that maps out how to go about doing that,” the New Haven Register reported today.

Posted on January 14, 2022 by Nadia Elokdah

Native Voices Rising, a community-driven partnership between Native Americans in Philanthropy and Common Counsel Foundation, announced $2 million in grants to 88 Indigenous and Native-led advocacy, organizing, and cultural groups.

Established in 2013, Native Voices Rising supports Native-led grassroots and advocacy efforts that empower American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities across the United States. Native Voices Rising is one of the few participatory grantmaking initiatives in the country led by Native people. Through a transparent and community-driven decision-making model, Native Voices Rising uplifts and amplifies the voices and experiences of Native people.

Posted on January 13, 2022 by Nadia Elokdah

Germany’s new culture minister, Claudia Roth, has taken office pledging to continue her predecessor’s work in decolonising museums, to set up a central “green culture” desk, to boost funding for the arts and to rethink both the Humboldt Forum and a planned new 20th-century art museum in Berlin.