Jaime Sharp's Blog

From Arts Engines with Aaron Dworkin: Welcome to this week's episode of Arts Engines which now reaches over 100,000 weekly viewers in partnership with Detroit Public Television, Ovation TV, The Violin Channel and American Public Media including Performance Today and YourClassical. Arts Engines seeks to share the most valuable advice and input from arts administrators who tell their stories of creative problem-solving, policy, economic impact, crisis management and empowering the future of our field.

From NeuroArts Blueprint: In the 15 months since releasing the NeuroArts Blueprint in December 2021, the NeuroArts Blueprint initiative has made important strides in our shared understanding of how the arts can be used to expand the boundaries of medicine. The March 2023 Progress Report updates our collective efforts to implement the recommendations and action steps detailed in that foundational document.

This work and plans for future action steps were the focus of our March 13, 2023 webinar, Building the Field of Neuroarts, presented by the initiative’s codirectors, Susan Magsamen (Johns Hopkins University International Arts + Mind Lab Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics) and Ruth J. Katz (Health, Medicine & Society Program of the Aspen Institute).

The Trust-Based Philanthropy Project is pleased to announce a six-part webinar series addressing common questions, clarifying misconceptions, and exploring ways to overcome obstacles in implementing trust-based philanthropy.

Trust-based philanthropy is a philosophy and approach rooted in values of relationship-building, mutual learning, and systemic equity – with a vision of advancing a healthier and more impactful nonprofit sector. While this approach is generally associated with six core grantmaking practices such as multi-year unrestricted funding and streamlined paperwork, the day-to-day work of trust-based philanthropy is very nuanced and dynamic. In fact, funders who have embraced this approach are finding that it requires ongoing self-reflection and rigor with regards to how they think about – and evolve – many of the deeply embedded practices and assumptions of traditional philanthropy.

From the Philanthropy News Digest: The Open Society Foundations has announced the 2023 recipients of its Puerto Rico Youth Fellowships.

Launched in 2018, the program supports Puerto Rican leaders between the ages of 21 and 35 working to elevate climate justice and food sovereignty, promote human rights, and advance decolonization efforts in Puerto Rico.

The third cohort of eight fellows will each receive $45,000 over 18 months to work full-time on their projects, which include teaching young people about food sovereignty, community farming, archival initiatives aimed at documenting the histories of the archipelago, strengthening support for trans and nonbinary people, and launching an art project around menstrual and HIV awareness.

From Helicon: Artists have specialized skills and capacities, but their basic needs are not unique. They need stable and affordable housing; access to health care and unemployment insurance; time off when they are sick or have a family crisis; fair wages; legal protection from exploitation; and opportunities and resources to turn their ideas into reality.

From Education Commission of the States: For decades, racial, ethnic and socioeconomic inequities and gender stereotypes have prevented students from accessing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. These barriers have negatively impacted high school STEM advanced placement course access, postsecondary persistence and entrance into STEM occupations.​ However, early STEAM education — which adds the “A” for arts — presents opportunities to improve access, equity, inclusion and outcomes.

The Jerome Foundation has named Eleanor Savage, a highly-respected and experienced arts and philanthropy leader, as its new president and CEO charged with furthering the organization’s commitment to innovative and flexible grantmaking programs for early career artists and arts ecosystems that focus on equity and the role artists and culture bearers play in societal change. Eleanor is also the current Vice Chair of GIA's board.

From American Alliance of Museums: Over the past several years, museums have faced widespread and systemic challenges that have fundamentally changed the way our institutions serve their communities.

We're pleased to share the release of Reopenings: What Museums Learned Leading through Crisis, a special series of in-depth reports with case studies and multimedia examining some of the long-term lessons, mindsets, and practices museums have learned and adopted from their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Join United Philanthropy Forum and the broader philanthropic sector in support of the Charitable Act (S.566), a bill that would implement a Universal Charitable Deduction (UCD). For private foundations, advocacy and lobbying activities in support of the universal charitable deduction falls under the self-defense exception. Private foundations may participate in direct lobbying activities for this legislation and other legislation designed to protect the charitable deduction.

On March 1, 2023, Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Chris Coons (D-DE) introduced the Charitable Act. The bill allows individual taxpayers who do not otherwise itemize their tax deductions a deduction in taxable years beginning in 2023 or 2024 for charitable contributions. The deduction is limited to one-third of the standard deduction allowed to such taxpayers.

This bi-partisan bill currently has 13 co-sponsors, 7 Democrats and 6 Republicans.

From the Kentucky Arts Council: Disasters and emergencies are among the largest threats to the careers of artists and livelihood of arts organizations across the country. Yet addressing these issues falls to the bottom of the to-do list when skies are blue and danger is out-of-sight. Join a 5-part series from the Kentucky Arts Council exploring important topics and issues related to emergency and disaster readiness, response and recovery in the arts. The series will culminate with an online event hosted by the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies.