GIA Blog

(02-12-2011) My dear friend Donna died last week. She was 72. She lived in Pierre, South Dakota. She was a force of nature…an actor, director, writer, community organizer and volunteer, feminist, facilitator, mediator, leader and much more. But, mostly and always, Donna was a teacher. It’s how she started her illustrious career. She spent years in the classroom where she made students feel special, especially those students who didn’t fit the small town norm.

(2-11-2011) Next Thursday, February 17, the Washington State Arts Commission and The Wallace Foundation present a free forum at McCaw Hall (Seattle) on community engagement through digital media. Professor Hanson Hosein, an award-winning documentary filmmaker and director of the Master of Communication in Digital Media at the University of Washington, is the featured presenter. The following day, workshops (also free) will be held in Seattle and Tacoma, with instruction for organizations on filming our stories and reaching constituents through digital media.

(2-10-2011) This week, LINC and the Ford Foundation announced awards of up to $100,000 to 12 nonprofits seeking start-up funds for arts and cultural facilities. The grants were made through the Space for Change program, which is designed to help grantees deepen their planning processes and leverage a stronger position as collaborative partners with municipalities, developers, and local stakeholders, while also expanding their national network of peers.

(2-10-2011) British research shows that consumers and do-it-yourselfers surpass what UK businesses invest in R&D for consumer products. What might the organizational equivalent be? Is there an untapped wealth of innovative practice developed by "amateur" nonprofit managers who are making it up as they go along?

(2-9-2011) Miller-McCune reports on The State of State Arts Agencies:

(2-9-2011) Just in time for GIA's upcoming Web Conference on retaining emerging arts leaders in the field—stay tuned; registration for this opens on Friday—is Maureen Walsh's article on the challenges of effectively engaging the next generation of arts professionals.

(2-9-2011) Robert Lynch on Huffington Post:

One of the largest arts audience activities of the year happened earlier this week. Thousands of artists from around the United States and throughout the world prepared for months for this single event on one night in February. It's called the Super Bowl...

(2-8-2011) There are two GIAs: Grantmakers in Aging and Grantmakers in the Arts. Two weeks ago, we came together to sponsor "Discovery in the Desert: Creativity and Healthy Aging," a daylong regional workshop for funders in Phoenix, AZ.

(2-8-2011) The GIA website now features a new Arts Funding Topic, Arts & Aging. Like other Arts Funding Topics, online content is available in one easy location, www.giarts.org/arts-and-aging. GIA is sponsoring a thought leader forum on the subject April 6, in Washington, D.C. So more is to come soon on this Arts Funding Topic.

(2-8-2011) The Professional Development for Arts Educators (PDAE) Grant Program at the U.S. Department of Education seeks application reviewers for its upcoming grant competition, scheduled to begin in late April or May 2011. Reviewers will receive an honorarium based on the number of applications reviewed.