In a historic move, the leaders of the country’s three leading sources of information on nonprofits – GuideStar, Charity Navigator, and BBB Wise Giving Alliance – penned an open letter to the donors of America denouncing the “overhead ratio” as a valid indicator of nonprofit performance.
GIA Blog
Posted on June 17, 2013 by Steve
Hayley Roberts analyzes the University of Pennsylvania's Culture and Community Revitalization for Createquity's Arts Policy Library series.
From 2006 to 2008 SIAP’s Mark J. Stern and Susan C. Seifert researched and compiled a set of documents that sought to investigate the real impact of the “creative economy” on community and economic development. The Rockefeller Foundation funded SIAP and The Reinvestment Fund to partner and “merge cultural data with other types of information on urban revitalization.” The project’s publications included a literature review, three policy briefs, and a community investment prospectus in addition to a range of summary materials. This project led SIAP to frame its subsequent work around the concept of “natural” cultural districts, or specific geographic areas dense with cultural assets that have evolved in grassroots fashion.
Posted on June 11, 2013 by Steve
From Sandra Tan at The Buffalo News:
The Buffalo Public Schools are dropping band, orchestra and all other instrumental music programs next year in half the schools that currently have such program, according to district teachers. That’s 14 of the 28 remaining instrumental music programs. District teachers estimate 1,300 students will be affected. Another four schools will see reductions in their instrumental music programs.
Posted on June 11, 2013 by Steve
From Open Culture:
How could David Byrne never have given a commencement address before? As an experienced public speaker, a well-known creator who has carved out his own cultural niche, an advocate of things (such as cycling) beloved among world-changing young people, the founder of a band with a surprising multi-generational appeal, and a man with no small command of Powerpoint, he’d seem to make an appealing choice indeed. His first commencement address ever came this year at the Columbia University School of the Arts.
Posted on June 11, 2013 by Steve
A new research resource from the National Endowment for the Arts gives statistical profiles of Americans who reported an artist occupation as their primary job, whether full-time, part-time, or self-employed. The dataset looks at artists in 11 distinct occupations, including actors; announcers; architects; art directors, fine artists, and animators; dancers and choreographers; designers; entertainers and performers; musicians; photographers; producers and directors; and writers and authors. Some tables offer data on employed artists in particular, while other tables measure all artists in the workforce, both employed and looking for work.
Posted on June 11, 2013 by Steve
Through its Bolder Advocacy initiative, Alliance for Justice seeks to promote an active role for nonprofits in influencing public policy and to help them navigate the rules. The following webinars are coming up this summer:
- June 18: Investing in Change: Foundation Support for Lobbying and Other Advocacy
- July 9: Federal Lobbying Disclosure Act Rules for Nonprofits
- July 25: Lobbying With Confidence: Legal Tips for Nonprofit Advocates
- August 22: Why Should Our Organization Open a 501(c)(4)?
Posted on June 10, 2013 by Janet
By Janet Brown from her blog Better Together
In my early years as an arts administrator, I remember thinking it was best to keep grant applications simple in order to limit the questions that granters might have. One line I always left blank was “indirect costs.” I did this because it just seemed a good idea to make the application financials less complicated. But how wrong I was.
Posted on June 8, 2013 by Steve
From John Butman, writing for Harvard Business Review:
There is a new player emerging on the cultural and business scene today: the idea entrepreneur. Perhaps you are one yourself — or would like to be. The idea entrepreneur is an individual, usually a content expert and often a maverick, whose main goal is to influence how other people think and behave in relation to their cherished topic. These people don't seek power over others and they're not motivated by the prospect of achieving great wealth. Their goal is to make a difference, to change the world in some way.
Posted on June 7, 2013 by Steve
Grantmakers for Education announced this week the appointment of Dr. Ana Tilton as its new executive director. Dr. Tilton brings 25 years of experience from across the educational spectrum, including serving as a superintendent, principal, director of curriculum assessment, researcher, and as chief academic officer for Denver Public Schools.
Posted on June 5, 2013 by Steve
Diana Aviv posts to her blog on the Independent Sector website five examples of artists leading society forward:
The South Africa I grew up in was a nation divided: four categories of people (“White”, “African”, “Coloured”, and “Asian”), four categories of schools and public services, a system tenaciously designed to guarantee whites the best of everything with few resources left for the others. As the ruling National Party tightened apartheid’s screws to restrict rights and prohibit protest, I watched my friends carted off, one-by-one, to jail for their resistence.