Grantmakers in the Arts

Larry Kramer: Down the Rabbit Hole? Impact Investing and Large Foundations

June 22, 2017 by Monica

Larry Kramer, president of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, has recently published an article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review:

No topic in philanthropy has generated as much interest and excitement in recent years as impact investing. And while talk has so far exceeded action by a wide margin, that’s starting to change as the steady drumbeat to join the party gains momentum. Yet the very one-sidedness of the discussion—and it has been entirely one-sided—gives me pause. For there are good reasons to hesitate before jumping down the for-profit rabbit hole, particularly for large grantmaking foundations like Hewlett.

June 21, 2017 by Monica

Insights, a service of Foundation Center, has announced the launch of the Columbus Survey Dashboard – the most up-to-date, comprehensive dataset reflecting the current financial state of community foundations in the United States. The research, which has been conducted annually since 1988, is available for the first time in an online, interactive format. The data show that community foundation assets reached a total of more than $76 billion in 2016, after a year of negligible growth in 2015.

June 20, 2017 by Monica

From Philanthropy News Digest:

The F.B. Heron Foundation in New York City has announced that Clara Miller will step down as president at the end of December. Miller, who has served as director and president of Heron since 2010, will assume the role of president emerita and will continue to write, speak, and undertake research aimed at advancing the foundation's mission.

The widely respected Miller launched a strategic review of the foundation's grantmaking in the aftermath of the 2008 economic crisis that led to the adoption of a new operating model focused on impact investments in enterprises that create reliable income streams for people striving to lift themselves out of poverty.

June 19, 2017 by Monica

The Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA) board of directors voted unanimously on June 9, 2017 to appoint Todd Stein as its new chief executive officer.

Stein will lead M-AAA, the nation’s first regional arts organization that fosters and serves artists, cultural organizations, and communities in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, and beyond. He has been serving as the organization’s interim CEO since August 2016 and before that as its chief operating officer.

June 14, 2017 by Monica

An article in the PhilanTopic blog highlights the work of the CrossCurrents Foundation to support films that explore social issues:

Soon after [co-founders Ken Grossinger and Michelíne Klagsbrun] created their foundation, the couple contacted Gittens with a proposal to establish the Justice Matters film series and award.

"Over the past eight years, Justice Matters has featured forty-one films," Blackaby told me. "And thanks to the Wyncote Foundation, we've been able to create that community connection, too: taking films out to schools and other settings, using social media to reach new audiences, and bringing the filmmakers and resource people to post-screening discussions."

June 14, 2017 by Monica in Racial Equity

With funding from the Ford Foundation, Dance/NYC has launched a $500,000 fund to make operating grants to “small dance makers” with annual operating budgets between $25,000 and $1 million, with priority given to groups led by ALAANA artists. As reported by Crain’s New York Business:

June 13, 2017 by Monica

From The Chronicle of Philanthropy:

Charitable giving hit a record high for the third straight year in 2016, reaching $390.1 billion, according to "Giving USA," an annual study that estimates American philanthropy. However, donations rose at a slower rate than in recent years — 1.4 percent — as key economic indicators grew modestly and a divisive election season sowed uncertainty.

Foundation and corporate giving saw modest gains, with each increasing by a little more than 2 percent, to $59.3 billion and $18.6 billion, respectively. Giving to arts and culture groups grew by 5.1 percent, the second-biggest jump [by giving category], reaching $18.2 billion.

June 12, 2017 by Monica in Racial Equity

Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation has selected sixty New York City arts and cultural organizations to participate in their Racial Equity in the Arts Innovation Lab, a year-long training program to improve racial equity in the arts and culture sector.

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