Grantmakers in the Arts

CERF+ (Craft Emergency Relief Fund + Artists' Emergency Resources), a national artists’ service organization, has produced a useful new tool for artists. The Business Insurance Guidebook for Artists distills the key points of business property, liability, and disaster insurance into a pocket-sized booklet.

The booklet responds to information gathered by CERF+ in a national survey of nearly 3,000 craft artists that found that:

President Barak Obama has nominated Maria López De León, executive director at the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC), to become a member of the National Council on the Arts. The fourteen-member National Council advises the chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, who acts as chair of the council, on agency policy and programs.

In April, The David and Lucille Packard Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation jointly launched a free online training for program staff at private foundations to help them navigate the rules of advocacy and lobbying. Authored by the legal staff at these foundations, Learn Foundation Law, is a three-part course that take less than hour to complete.

Trends in Northwest Giving is Philanthropy Northwest's biennial report on organized philanthropy in our six state region (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming). The 2012 edition analyzes over $1.08 billion in grants made to Northwest nonprofits in 2010, offering the first in-depth look at the recession's effect on giving to the region.

While Kansas plans to overhaul its arts agency this summer to focus it on generating new jobs, state funding for arts programs remained uncertain as legislators continued discussing budget issues Saturday.

An update on the state of arts education, a primer on how to engage in public policy and an inspirational speech by GIA's Janet Brown about the rewards of doing so were on tap in Trenton on Thursday, where nearly 200 artists and arts, civic and political leaders came together for "ArtsDay 2012."

The Obama administration has proposed new rules designed to encourage foundations to spend money to promote the social good in ways other than grants, for example through low-interest loans or stock purchases in for-profit companies.

With concerns over job creation and business growth holding a prominent—and persistent—position on policy agendas today, governors are increasingly finding innovative ways to support economic growth, according to a new report, New Engines of Growth:  Five Roles for Arts, Culture, and Design  from the National Governors Association (NGA).