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‘Strategic Philanthropy’ Shifts Too Much Power to Donors
Posted on by Steve

From Pablo Eisenberg, writing for The Chronicle of Philanthropy:

The debate over whether “strategic philanthropy” is a good idea was ignited again this month when the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation — a key pioneer and promoter of the approach — invited William Schambra, head of the Hudson Institute’s philanthropy center, to visit the fund and give an unvarnished view of whether it works.

Mr. Schambra, who is a Chronicle columnist, is not a fan. But the debate on nonprofit blogs and elsewhere that ensued after his remarks were published by Nonprofit Quarterly fails to grapple with the real issues raised by strategic philanthropy: It marks a fundamental shift in control and power by donors to call all the shots and exclude nonprofits with great new ideas.

NEA Webinar: Building Collective Impact Initiatives
Posted on by Steve

The National Endowment for the Arts will host a public webinar on how to begin and build collective impact initiatives on Wednesday, September 11, 2013, at 3:00 p.m. EDT. NEA Arts Education Director Ayanna Hudson will be joined in the conversation by two leaders in the field: Giselle “Gigi” Antoni, president/CEO of Big Thought in Dallas, Texas, and Denise Grande, director of Los Angeles County’s Arts for All initiative. Presentations will be followed by a Q&A discussion.

MacArthur Fellows Program Increases Stipend to $625k
Posted on by Steve

The MacArthur Foundation has released its latest review of the Fellows Program that includes a decision to increase the no-strings-attached stipend from $500,000 to $625,000, beginning with the next class of Fellows scheduled to be announced on September 25.

Webinar: The Role of Philanthropy in Disaster Relief Legislation
Posted on by Steve

Environmental Grantmakes Association will host a webinar on Wednesday, August 28 entitled “The Role of Philanthropy in Disaster Relief Legislation.” The presentation will have a specific focus on the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act (RESTORE Act), which dedicates 80 percent of all Clean Water Act penalties paid by those responsible for the 2010 Deep Water Horizon oil disaster to “Gulf Coast restoration.”

My Turn: For a humane tax reform
Posted on by Steve

John R. Killacky, writing for the Burlington Free Press:

As our legislators debate implications of a tax overhaul, I hope they remember that nonprofits serve a triple bottom line, all subsidized by donations: they deliver programs in a fiscally balanced, cost-effective manner, their double bottom line makes programs accessible to serve those less fortunate, and their triple bottom line is achieved when those they reach contribute to society.
How Video Games and Social Media Fuel Students’ Passion for Art
Posted on by Steve

From Katrina Schwartz, for the blog Mind/Shift:

The average teenager consumes about 10 hours of media per day according to a Kaiser Family Foundation report, and that’s often through a gadget like smartphone or tablet. But depending on what we choose to focus on, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The same devices that are used to consume art have also allowed students to create on their own, often with little instruction or direction.
Cleveland Museum of Art Hits the First Target for Federal Challenge Grant
Posted on by Steve

By Steven Litt, The Plain Dealer:

The Cleveland Museum of Art is scheduled to finish its eight-year, $350 million expansion and renovation in December. Already, however, it’s getting kudos for the new educational framework it’s wrapping around its world-renowned collection.
As Detroit Flounders, Its Art Scene Flourishes
Posted on by Steve

From Courtney Balestier, for The New York Times:

Detroit’s dismal financial situation has been a subject of minimal regard for many artists, who said that their city is far from the ghost town some might assume from the news. They point out that a rich cultural undercurrent has grown only stronger in recent years, with a rise in contemporary art. They say that the arts, in the end, may propel economic development in Detroit, as it has from Asheville, N.C., to Bilbao, Spain.
SnaapShot Updates Annual Data on Arts Graduates
Posted on by Steve

The Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP) has released SnaapShot 2012, updating the annual report with 2011 data on arts graduates careers, salaries, and other data from over 33,000 arts alumni in America. SNAAP has also produced the report, An Uneven Canvas: Inequalities in Artistic Training and Careers, that details findings from more than 65,000 arts alumni of all ages from 120 institutions in the United States and Canada.

Nonprofit Membership Associations: Serving Members Today or Shaping the Field for Tomorrow?
Posted on by Steve

The latest post from Angie Kim’s blog Private Foundations Plus:

As the nonprofit sector has had to shift in response to “small government” by diversifying revenues and responding to greater social needs, there is one type of nonprofit entity that has remained largely overlooked as a potential change agent. I’m talking about membership associations that support groups of nonprofits unified by a common geography, type of entity, or cause.