GIA Blog

Posted on September 13, 2009 by Tommer

Fox News seems to think so (Or as some are calling it, Faux News). See commentary from Ian David Moss and Arlene Goldbard. And more in the LA Times.

Posted on September 8, 2009 by Janet

Recently, I attended a meeting of Seattle-based funders and Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser. One of Kaiser’s points as he travels around the country on an “Arts in Crisis” tour, is the need for greater competency in management of nonprofit arts organization. His point that we spend a great deal of resources training artists in this country but very little on the training of managers rang pretty true to me.

Posted on August 26, 2009 by Tommer

“I think the worst thing in the world would be going around with the message, ‘I’m going to shake things up.’ That would be a huge mistake,” he said yesterday in the NEA conference room, even as his office was … Continue reading

Posted on August 25, 2009 by Tommer

FWIW, Barry Hessenius has posted his annual list of the “Non profit Arts Sector’s 25 Most Powerful and Influential Leaders.” Our own Janet Brown is #8, surrounded by a number of past and present GIA board members and members. Read … Continue reading

Posted on August 25, 2009 by Janet

August 28, 2009 is the deadline for early bird registration for the GIA conference in October. Join our “community of practice” and register today.

“Community of Practice” is a term created by anthropologists Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger in the 90s. Wenger defines it as “Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.” There is, of course, more to this than one sentence, but that’s the essence of it.

Posted on August 21, 2009 by Tommer

Not sure how this might apply to cultural philanthropy, but it is a great story. Thomas Siebel does philanthropy differently from other donors. As the founder of the software company Siebel Systems Inc., he is one of a handful of … Continue reading

Posted on August 19, 2009 by Tommer

Technical problems Tuesday sabotaged the Community Foundation Challenge, an online $1-million matching grant program for about 75 cultural groups in metro Detroit. Scores of donors were prevented from making gifts and others wasted hours in front of their computers. Some … Continue reading

Posted on August 17, 2009 by Tommer

From her blog… I find myself feeling for Rocco Landesman, the newly confirmed Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts. It’s hard to think of smaller quantum of political power than that presidentially appointed post, but he’s been in … Continue reading

Posted on August 13, 2009 by Tommer

John McGuirk, a veteran Bay Area grantmaker and a former officer in The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s Performing Arts Program, will rejoin the Foundation as director of that program, officials announced today. For the past three years, McGuirk has … Continue reading

Posted on August 12, 2009 by Janet

In the total scheme of things, last week was darn exciting for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Rocco Landesman was confirmed by the Senate as the new Chairman and Joan Shigakawa, past Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA) board member most recently with the Rockefeller Foundation, was appointed Senior Deputy Chairman. To top it off, I was in a meeting with Anita Decker at the NEA when she received the Senate committee confirmation notice.