Jaime Sharp's Blog

Today U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) joined Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) to announce the first bipartisan, bicameral push in decades to reform the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, which has not been updated in nearly 40 years and currently punishes older and disabled Americans for saving for emergencies and their futures.

From Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona: The Pima County Health Department and the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona are partnering on a series of five free art and wellness events this September and October to promote community healing through art.

These family-friendly “Celebrate SaludArte” events will bring together public art and public health and feature community-inspired artwork, live performances, food trucks, raffles for prizes, and health resources. Artists also will unveil their temporary art installations at each celebration, which will be held in each of Pima County’s five supervisory districts.

SaludArte is a collaborative project between the Health Department and the Arts Foundation to find ways in which community engagement, health, and art can intersect to amplify the voices and experiences of the community, while also helping to increase health equity, access, literacy and COVID-19 mitigation across the region.

With the end of year 2023 soon approaching, we at Humanidades Puerto Rico (HPR) find ourselves looking back at a period of intense activity. As we do so, we're excited to share news of recent work that represents what we are passionate about and that show the ways in which our humanities-based programs support work that truly makes a difference. 

This briefing on [Thursday, September 28, 2023 at 2pm EDT] is co-sponsored by the ABFE, a Philanthropic Partnership for Black Communities, and Grantmakers in the Arts. Join Funders for LGBTQ Issues for a powerful conversation with Black TGNC artists about cultural organizing in the midst of hate, misinformation, and anti-LGBTQ backlash. Webinar link shared with approved registrants.

Learn more and register here.

From CCS Fundraising: For 12 years, CCS Fundraising's Philanthropic Landscape reports have compiled and analyzed the latest research from Giving USA and other leading sources to provide an in-depth look at current trends in U.S. philanthropy. To help inform your fundraising strategy, our 2023 Philanthropic Landscape reveals key industry insights and answers questions like...

"Sometimes when we’re living inside a system, it’s hard to imagine what an alternative could look like. In our desire to make progress — to improve the way things work — we focus on a tweak here, a shift in implementation there," said Althea Erickson, former director of Center for Cultural Innovation's research and advocacy work. "And to some extent, that can be a good and pragmatic strategy. But it has its downsides."

"This summer there’s been a steady stream of articles about American theaters in jeopardy, with headlines like 'Theater Is in Freefall' (Washington Post) and 'American Theater Is Imploding Before Our Eyes' (New York Times). Prestigious theaters around the country are pausing and terminating programs and laying off staff," said Ariel Fristoe for Saporta Report. "Meanwhile, my theater company is booming. Out of Hand Theater has landed on a model that has tripled our income in four years while moving our neighbors to action on important issues and elevating the role of theater in our community. It’s a win for art, a win for business, and a win for our community, and I want to share it in the hopes that other arts organizations can benefit from it in this time of crisis."

"Pairing theater with information and conversation leads to a culture shift towards social justice, increases visibility, and provides new income streams, making theater financially viable and increasing its community value while serving the greatest community needs." 

A majority of Black-led and Black-benefiting nonprofits operate on less than $500,000 a year, a report released by the Young, Black & Giving Back Institute finds, said Candid.

Supported by the Nielsen Foundation through its Data for Good grant program, the report, Grassroots, Black & Giving: How Philanthropy Can Better Support Black-led and Black-Benefiting Nonprofits (25 pages, PDF), found that Black-led and -benefiting nonprofits are often grassroots, hyper-local, and founder-led, with deep connections to the communities they serve.

From Artist Communities Alliance: ACA welcomes you to our upcoming Field Conversation, There is No Safety Net: Protections, Relief and Advocacy [on Thursday, September 14 at 12pm CT]. Artists and cultural workers who have been historically under-resourced in areas of pay, protections and direct support are more vulnerable than ever.

From New England Foundation for the Arts: The New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) today released a comprehensive evaluation of the National Theater Project (NTP).

NTP functions as a full system of support for devised theater, which in addition to funding, animates an informed, interactive network of producing theaters, presenters, and ensembles. Since the first round of NTP grants in 2010, NEFA has infused over $11 million into the field through the program. To date, 96 new theater works have been supported through Creation and Touring grants; touring of those works has reached 43 different states across the U.S. NTP projects have toured in-person and virtually to large and small arts presenters, military bases, universities, regional theaters, and festivals.