Philanthropic practice

To better support Black artists and cultural communities, arts philanthropy should increase its focus on stability and resilience in creative practice. Covid has fully revealed its long-standing fragility, leaving 63% of all artists unemployed and 66% unable to access the infrastructure necessary for their work.¹

Vu Le writes in Nonprofit AF about “sunsetting” in philanthropy and how he appreciates "when funders have the courage to do this. So many societal problems could be resolved more effectively if more foundations would spend more now to solve these problems instead of hoarding resources, which allows entrenched issues to persist."

An article in Impact Alpha reflects on building a personal portfolio of impact investments in the creative economy.

An article in Westword tackles how nonprofit leaders relate to foundations and power imbalance, among other obstacles they face.

In "Cultural institutions start to put their assets to work for mission," published in ImpactAlpha, Dennis Price discusses Upstart Co-Lab's new research on "what cultural institutions need to know about investing for values and mission is the first primer on impact investing specifically for leaders of museums and other cultural institutions."

In a recent podcast, Michelle Coffey, executive director of Lambent Foundation, has a conversation with facilitator Gibrán Rivera, Lambent’s “network theory” guide, about "how arts organizations can lead with consciousness, culture, and action through relentless experimentation" in this historic moment.

In the midst of this year’s crisis, Forbes writes about companies born in the creative economy.

The Trust-Based Philanthropy Project published recently a guide centered on the responsibilities of a trust-based project.

"The Movement for Black Lives and the broader conversation about the value of arts and culture in our society and its role in amplifying the voices of Black, Indigenous, and people of color is opening opportunities for profound change," states Shelley Trott, director of the Arts Strategy & Ventures at the Kenneth Rainin Foundation.

A report from Council on Foundations, Philanthropy California, and Dalberg Advisors delves into how the US philanthropic sector is responding to the 2020 public health, racial justice, and economic crises of 2020.