Grantmakers in the Arts

NYC Reconsidering Arts Funding Formula to More Equitably Support Smaller ‘Marginalized’ Groups

May 9, 2017 by Monica

From The New York Times:

Mayor Bill de Blasio and his lieutenants are deep into a re-examination of New York City’s $178 million arts budget and other cultural resources to try and give a higher profile — and perhaps more taxpayer money — to smaller institutions in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

The proposed new approach, with an emphasis on greater equity, has some major arts organizations fearful they will end up with less of the municipal-funding pie, while more marginalized groups are hopeful about finally receiving more.

May 5, 2017 by Monica

Congress has passed, and President Trump has signed into law, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017, which funds the federal government through the end of the current fiscal year. Included in the spending bill is increased funding for the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities, an additional $2 million more than the 2016 budget for each agency.

From The Washington Post:

Republicans and Democrats who negotiated the measure Trump signed Friday had successfully defended other accounts Trump had targeted for spending cuts, such as foreign aid, the Environmental Protection Agency, support for the arts and economic development grants, among others.

May 4, 2017 by Monica

Eloise Damrosch, the executive director of the Regional Arts & Culture Council (Portland, OR), has announced her plans to retire on June 30, 2017. Damrosch has earned a local and national reputation as a respected arts administrator while helping create one of the best-known public art collections in the country.

May 3, 2017 by Steve

In an article in the latest issue of the GIA Reader, “How to Invest in the Arts without Buying a Picasso,” Laura Callanan of Upstart Co-Lab writes about the emergence of impact investing and how it can support the creative economy.

May 1, 2017 by Monica

From The Washington Post:

The new federal spending bill would spare — and even slightly increase — funding for three arts-related agencies that President Donald Trump has proposed eliminating: the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities.

The agreement announced Monday calls for the CPB’s budget to remain the same, at $445 million. Spending for fiscal 2017 would go up for the NEA and NEH, each from $148 million to $150 million.

May 1, 2017 by Monica

In a letter to friends and colleagues, Executive Director Rose Ann Cleveland of The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation announced that she will retire at the end of October. Cleveland also served as chair of the Grantmakers in the Arts board of directors from 2013 through 2014.

"Working at the Foundation has been such an honor and a blessing—I am astonished when I do the math and realize that I will have been here for over twelve years.

It is hard to leave a job that I love and all my colleagues here in the office and in the wider social sector community. Yet, while I still have energy and some wits about me, I hope to be able to spend more time pursuing my own writing and other projects."

May 1, 2017 by SuJ'n

For the month of May, GIA’s photo banner features work supported by The George Gund Foundation. The private foundation was established in 1952 by George Gund to provide intelligent underwriting of creative solutions to the issues and for the institutions that were important to him. Areas of focus include the arts, economic development and community revitalization, education, environment, and human services.

April 27, 2017 by Monica in Arts Education

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has released its “report card” assessment of student learning and achievement in visual arts and music. From NPR:

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