The Kentucky Foundation for Women announced today that executive director Judi Jennings will retire at the end of this fiscal year. Her last day will be June 30. The organization, a private foundation which supports feminist art and social change, is currently searching for its next leader.
Grantmakers in the Arts
by Tommer
by Steve
The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation announced today that long-time Vice President Sue Coliton is leaving her role effective March 26, 2014. During her 15-year tenure, the Foundation awarded more than $494 million to more than 1,400 nonprofit groups in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. She also played a significant role on the teams that created the Allen Institute for Brain Science, EMP Museum and Flying Heritage Collection.
by Steve in Arts Education
From Asheley McBride, Management and Program Analyst for the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement:
The Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination (AEMDD) grant program released its Notice Inviting Applications for new FY 2014 grant awards on Tuesday, February 25, 2014 in the Federal Register.
by Tommer
The 2013 Otis Report on the Creative Economy of California, Los Angeles Region, is now available online. The report was carried out by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), a lobbying organization funded by LA businesses. There's also some great commentary on the Hyperallergic blog.
by Steve
On Tuesday, March 4, President Obama released his FY 2015 budget proposal, which outlines priorities that could have a profound effect on both our nation’s fiscal policy and the work of our sector. On Thursday, March 13, 2pm EDT / 11am PDT, Independent Sector will host a webinar featuring tax experts along with a panel of sector policy specialists including Rob Collier, Council of Michigan Foundations; Jennifer Ney, City Year/Voice for National Service; and Brandon Gryde Dance USA and OPERA America as we analyze and discuss the impact of the spending provisions in the president’s plan and potential actions by Congress.
by Steve
The Citizens' Institute on Rural Design (CIRD) has issued a request for proposals to rural communities facing design challenges such as Main Street revitalization, how to manage and direct growth, design community-supportive transportation systems, preserve natural and historic landscapes and buildings, protect working agricultural lands, and provide adequate and affordable housing who are interested in hosting a local workshop in 2014-2015. Successful applicants will receive a $7,000 stipend and in-kind professional design expertise and technical assistance valued at $35,000. The Request for Proposals is posted on the CIRD website.
by Supporting Today's Artists
Posted to Supporting Today’s Artists by Caitlin Strokosch, executive director, Alliance of Artists Communities
One of the reasons I love serving on Grantmakers in the Arts’ Individual Artists Support Committee is that every conversation centers on how we can do more to support artists. Again and again we ask: What else do artists need (besides more money)?
For the Alliance of Artists Communities—an international coalition of artist residency programs—our currency is time and space. Few artists have in their everyday lives the luxury of concentrated time to dive deep into their work with the focus it deserves, even when granted the funds to develop new work. As such, residencies form a critical part of the artist support ecosystem by offering an environment that combines nobody’s-looking-over-your-shoulder solitude with a community of other artists engaging in the challenging R&D work that occurs during a residency. And while time and space are extraordinary, time+space+money is even better!
by Tommer
Lawrence J. Simpson, board chair of the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), announced that executive director Rebecca Blunk has stepped down as of March 1, 2014, for health and personal reasons. A national search will commence in the coming weeks. Ms. Blunk came to NEFA from the Nebraska Arts Council in 1985 as the director of performing arts and then served as deputy director for ten years before being named executive director in 2004.