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August 18 Web Conference on Racial Equity

Advancing Racial Equity in Arts Philanthropy will be presented on August 18. GIA Racial Equity Board Committee chair Maurine Knighton, senior vice president for grantmaking at the Nathan Cummings Foundation, will begin this session by sharing what GIA has been and is working on towards racial equity in arts philanthropy. Then, Kelly Brown, director of the D5 Coalition, will discuss the coalition’s research on diversity, equity, and inclusiveness (DEI) in philanthropy; identify areas in DEI where the field of philanthropy is still lagging; and share what other grantmaking networks are doing to tackle these issues.

Register to attend this Web Conference.

LA Conference Sessions Online

Full descriptions of the sessions being offered at the GIA 2015 Conference in Los Angeles, including scheduling and presenter information, are now available on the conference website. Visit the Conference Sessions page to learn more about the wide variety of session content on topics including racial equity, arts education, environment, and individual artists, as well as other areas of interest to funders.

Register for the conference today!

New from the GIA Reader: Building Equity and Inclusion by Assessing Demographic Data: Two Case Studies

Building Equity and Inclusion by Assessing Demographic Data looks into work being done by the Leeway Foundation and the Kentucky Foundation for Women for equitable grantmaking. Denise Brown and Judi Jennings represent their respective organizations in authoring the article.

Member Spotlight on Arts Council New Orleans

For the month of August, GIA's photo banner features work supported by Arts Council of New Orleans. Founded 40 years ago to support the arts and cultural community of New Orleans, Arts Council New Orleans is the region's largest funder for the arts.

Nancy Fowler of St. Louis Public Radio, writing for The St. Louis American: When new Regional Arts Commission (RAC) executive director Felicia Shaw, who currently sits on the GIA Board of Directors, realized her job at a San Diego foundation might be eliminated, she wondered what that might mean for her life…

Over the past few months, D5 has joined other champions of diversity, equity, and inclusion in celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) — landmark legislation that provides access and protections for those with disabilities…