Jaime Sharp's Blog

"Across the country, students and teachers are heading back to school. Eager to reconnect, they are also ready to learn new concepts, discover unexpected insights, and be challenged by complex ideas," said Elizabeth Alexander for TIME Magazine.

But not everyone in American lecture halls or library stacks this fall will be allowed to learn and read freely. Due to recent bills and legislative efforts throughout the U.S., half our states censor the teaching of race and gender in public colleges and K-12 schools – especially any teaching that examines them in the context of our collective history. At the same time, books are being banned at the highest rate in our country since the American Library Association first began documenting those numbers. For students entering college, five times as many books are being challenged as when they started high school.

What will we sacrifice as a country by letting these bans stand? We cannot navigate our multicultural American society if we are operating from myth and stereotype instead of fact and shared experience – and its democratic workings slow when the education our students are taught is inaccurate and incomplete.

From National Performance Network: During NPN’s annual Board of Directors meeting this month, Caitlin Strokosch, NPN’s President and CEO, shared reflections on three key topics shaping our organization’s operations: 

From Disability and Philanthropy Forum: In this excerpt from the Disability & Philanthropy Forum’s Learning Series webinar “Grantmaking for Disability: Where Are the Dollars?”, Jen Bokoff, Director of Development for the Disability Rights Fund, provides three examples of where she’s seen ableism play out in philanthropy and how the exclusion of disabled perspectives creates a “marginalization gap.” Click here to view the full webinar.

From the Intercultural Leadership Institute: We are excited to announce the guidelines and application for the sixth cohort of the Intercultural Leadership Institute (ILI), a collaborative program of Alternate ROOTS, First Peoples Fund, National Association of Latino Arts & Cultures (NALAC) , PA’I Foundation, Sipp Culture, 

From A Collaborative Blog Presented by CERF+, NCAPER, and NYFA: The COVID-19 pandemic and other emergencies, including severe storms, drought, wildfire, and theft, require us to change how we work and communicate. That makes preparedness more critical now than ever before for artists to protect their practice. But what exactly is preparedness? It’s taking steps NOW to help protect yourself and your assets before an emergency so you’re more resilient and able to bounce back quickly. Artists in ALL disciplines have assets to be protected!

From Ford Foundation: Join us on Tuesday, October 31 from 6-8pm for an artists’ talk with Stephanie Dinkins and Mimi Ọnụọha. The artists will speak about their work featured in What Models Make Worlds: Critical Imaginaries of AI in conversation with moderator Salome Asega, director of NEW INC. 

From Pam Breaux for NASAA: "I recently joined state arts agency leaders for the NASAA 2023 Learning Series session, Leading in the Face of Disaster. We all know that unexpected disasters are often devastating for communities, and the arts community is certainly no exception. Whether we’re thinking about weather and climate disasters like floods, fires and hurricanes or about other kinds of emergencies, in the aftermath of catastrophe there are important roles state arts agencies can play, especially to help the arts community connect to resources and pertinent information needed to begin recovering."

From Surdna Foundation: Join us at the Surdna Foundation for light bites and a panel discussion with Nonprofit Quarterly.

You'll hear from NPQ editors, authors, and movement leaders exploring themes from NPQ's latest economic justice issue about how movements today are advancing economic justice, and how grassroots efforts can be amplified by resourcing a national media platform.

Panelists will be in conversation with NPQ editors Steve Dubb and Rithika Ramamurthy:

Lifetime Arts is thrilled to announce that its Co-Founder/CEO, Maura O’Malley, has been named 2024 AARP Purpose Prize Award Fellow. The AARP Purpose Prize Award is a national recognition that honors a select group of people aged 50-plus who have proven that they are using their knowledge and life experience to make a difference. As part of this award, Lifetime Arts will receive $10,000 and a year of technical support to help deepen and expand its creative aging work nationally. 

From Justice Funders: A new model for philanthropy, the Just Transition Integrated Capital Fund offers foundations a learning vehicle to move endowed assets to BIPOC and working class controlled funds and grassroots projects through non-extractive financing in the form of 0% loans and catalytic grants.