A Message from GIA Board Member Carlton Turner on the Climate Crisis in Mississippi
Thank you to everyone that reached out to check on us down here in Mississippi after the devastating tornadoes Friday night. My family and Sipp Culture are safe and were not directly impacted by the storms. However, as you have seen on the news, our extended community has been severely impacted and will be in relief and recovery mode for years to come.
Sipp Culture is part of the MS 4 Green New Deal coalition of organizations working for climate justice in the Gulf States. We have organizations on the ground in Rolling Fork, Anguilla, and the surrounding areas throughout Issaquena, Sharkey, Holmes, Monroe, and Montgomery counties.
Welcome Grantmakers in the Arts’ New Members!
GIA is pleased to introduce our new members, Cypress Fund, Latino Theater Company, Arabella Advisors, City of Wichita, Sahm Family Foundation, Greater Flint Arts Council, Music Export Memphis, PEAK Grantmaking, Appalachian Community Fund.
Welcome!
President’s Blog: Cultural & Economic Self-Determination in Memphis
GIA President Eddie Torres reflects on the Memphis board meeting in his latest blog.
“In Memphis, the murder of Tyre Nicols by the police is part of a larger pattern of the dehumanization of people of color. GIA believes that the establishment and financing of a cultural hierarchy with BIPOC at the bottom is another part of this dehumanization. As we state in our Racial Equity Theory of Transformation, these forms of dehumanization facilitate economic exploitation. The economic exploitation in Memphis manifests in a deliberate strategy of cultivating low-wage jobs not worth having, resulting in a poverty rate that is almost twice the national average.”
Photo by April Freeman courtesy of Memphis Music Initiative.
GIA Webinar: Puerto Rico – The Diaspora, The Island
Puerto Rico and its people shape, and are shaped by, place and environment, history and geopolitics. The island has a complex colonial history, and ever-lasting political situation which defines its status as a US territory. The diverse social and cultural narratives of the island are known well by natives to the island but remain a mystery to most.
Join us on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, at 3p ET/12P PT for a 75-minute webinar and hear from Pam Breaux (National Assembly of State Arts Agencies); Alexis Ortiz (Office of the President, Mellon Foundation); and Carlos Rodríguez Silvestre (Flamboyan Foundation). They will not only discuss general misconceptions about the island of Puerto Rico and its culture, but how the nuances of the local philanthropic sector present a unique opportunity for investment.
We have seen more broad anti-LGBTQ bills and specific anti-trans bills introduced in the last three months than in the whole of 2022. And while fewer than ten percent of last year’s bills were passed into law, the escalating number and severity of harmful legislation is a harbinger of things to come...
Launched on March 21, 2023, the $250 million Yield Giving Open Call is an initiative focused on elevating organizations working with people and in places experiencing the greatest need in the United States: communities, individuals, and families with access to the fewest foundational resources and opportunities. The registration period is now open...
From NEA: President Joseph R. Biden will present the 2021 National Medals of Arts in conjunction with the National Humanities Medals on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at 4:30 p.m. ET in an East Room ceremony at the White House. First Lady Dr. Jill Biden will attend...
Join Unbound Philanthropy for the second session of our Narrative Learning Series March 27, 2023 from 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM EDT featuring Ai-jen Poo (National Domestic Workers Alliance), Cristina Jimenz (United We Dream & United We Dream Action), and moderator Bridgit Antoinette Evans (Pop Culture Collaborative)...
