Carmen Graciela Díaz's Blog

After a yearlong process of introspection and conversations with grantee partners, the Surdna Foundation recently announced its refined program strategy, "Radical Imagination for Racial Justice."

The Rockefeller Foundation views impact investing as a core aspect of its strategy. Describing the concept as "investments made with the intention of generating both financial return and social and/or environmental impact," Saadia Madsbjerg, managing director of The Rockefeller Foundation, wrote: "We see traditional asset managers as bringing to the table something the traditional impact investing community has thus far lacked: scale."

A discussion tool to encourage racial equity in the review and selection process of artists and arts organizations was recently launched to interrogate and apply a racial equity lens to every step of the grantmaking process.

For the month of October, GIA’s photo banner features work supported by Akonadi Foundation.

Founded in 2000, Akonadi Foundation is an Oakland based family foundation that invests in place-based organizing, racial equity policy advocacy, and culture shift to dismantle structural racism and build community power. A large part of Akonadi Foundation’s work focuses on the intersection of culture and racial justice.

Northwestern University performance studies professor and department chair Ramón H. Rivera-Servera initiated an outreach initiative, with the support of The Andrew Mellon Foundation, to assist Puerto Rican artists in the aftermath of hurricanes Irma and Maria.

The National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC) released recently a report that showcases funding disparities for Latino arts and cultural organizations in Houston, Texas during the period 2010-2015.

An artist's work offers design solutions for coastal cities to adapt to climate change and rising sea levels. Profiled by Food Tank, Mary Mattingly mentions, "We absolutely need more public spaces for foraging and stewardship-building, and we need larger-scale participation."

As September 20 marked the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria hitting Puerto Rico and, on the other hand, the death toll from Hurricane Florence has climbed to 37, the question of how to help with long-term recovery is key. Recently, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) launched its 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season Recovery Fund.

Before doing a routine demolition in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, one artist was inspired by the stories and the personal belongings of those who lived in that house before it was abandoned, reported Next City.

The University of Southern California’s (USC) Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and Time’s Up collaborated back in June to examine the scarcity of critics of color in film journalism and its impact on which movies reach the top. Three months later, in September, the initiative continued to explore the issue in “Critic’s Choice 2,” a follow-up report created with the Time’s Up initiative’s entertainment arm.