Grantmakers in the Arts

Utterly Clueless: Cultural Policy San Francisco Style
by Steve

Arlene Goldbard's comprehensive report on the situation facing the San Francisco Arts Commission's Cultural Equity Grants (CEG) program:

The city creates a special initiative to respond to residents’ deep desire for cultural equity, one small step toward equalizing access to resources. It is housed at the Arts Commission, along with many other programs and initiatives. This initiative supports artists and groups—mostly grounded in communities of color or other marginalized categories—who have not been able to obtain meaningful resources from mainstream sources. As the story unfolds, the host organism falls into disarray, rotting from the head. Supposedly objective (i.e., astoundingly under-informed and therefore unprepared) auditors are summoned to diagnose and recommend, but they are given a brief that covers only a few questions. Their recommendations are mostlly administrative and general, but they single out the special initiative for significant cuts.

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There's A Glitch in the Matrix
by Janet

Equity is at the core of this moment in our country's history.  Occupy America continues to remind us of the inequities that have become the reality of the American dream.  Once held in esteem because it was within reach of all Americans, the dream is fading in a country where poverty continues to increase, jobs are at a premium and politicians don’t realize their “team” is not one party but an entire country, and it’s losing.

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Wanted: Philanthropy CEOs Who Can Shift Out of Neutral
by Steve

Aaron Dorfman writes for Stanford Social Innovation Review:

Philanthropy frequently justifies its independence by invoking capacities it seldom displays. Philanthropy, we are told, is the vaunted passing gear. “Social action is usually a slow process,” wrote Paul Ylvisaker, who championed the poor through his long career in government, philanthropy and the academy. “Foundations by stepping in can speed up the process, acting as ‘society’s passing gear.’” But where Ylvisaker saw potential for grantmakers to be catalysts and agents for change, we too often today see foundation leaders who prefer to be neutral conveners.

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GIA's Online Forum on Equity in Arts Funding
by Steve

Today, Grantmakers in the Arts launches a two-week Online Forum on Equity in Arts Funding. GIA designed the Forum to expand the dialogue around funding equity in the arts and to encourage a response to the systemic issues of equity identified during sessions at the recent GIA national conference and in Fusing Arts, Culture and Social Change, a 2011 report published by the National Committee on Responsive Philanthropy. Bloggers represent an exciting cross section of the country's arts funding, service, and equity thought leaders. Beginning today, new blogs will be posted and announced daily. The Forum is designed to run through December 16 and the discussion is open to all who wish to participate.

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Why the public should fund the arts, after all
by Steve

Kelly Kleiman, principal of NFP Consulting, posts in her blog The Nonprofiteerabout the public benefits of art-making and the framing of an argument for arts subsidies around real-estate values:

The Nonprofiteer had a fascinating conversation with Margy Waller, a special advisor to Cincinnati’s ArtsWave, which leads the nation in evidence-based approaches to advocating for arts funding. Ms. Waller had reached out to correct The Nonprofiteer’s misunderstanding (and therefore misreporting) of ArtsWave’s efforts, noting that the argument is not that the public should fund the arts to promote economic recovery but that it should fund the arts to promote neighborhood vibrancy. This nuance turns out to make all the difference.
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NEA Announces Challenge America Fast-Track grants
by Steve

The National Endowment for the Arts Challenge America Fast-Track (CAFT) program supports projects from primarily small and mid-sized arts organizations that extend the reach of the arts to underserved audiences—those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability. Chairman Landesman announced today that 162 Challenge America grants totaling $1,620,000 will be awarded to organizations in 46 states, plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

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USA Fellows Announced
by Steve

United States Artists has announced its 2010 Fellows. Every year, 50 USA Fellowship grants of $50,000 each are awarded to outstanding performing, visual, media, and literary artists. Nominators submit names of artists they believe show extraordinary talent and commitment to their craft. To be considered for fellowships, artists must be at least 21 years of age and U.S. citizens or legal residents in any U.S. state.

See the 2010 USA Fellowship recipients here.

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Foundation Center's Larry McGill on Measuring Impact
by Tommer

VP for Research at the Foundation Center, Larry McGill, shares some cogent thinking on the limits of measuring impact.

In an op-ed piece in the Chronicle of Philanthropy earlier this year, William Schambra asserted that "measurement is a futile way to approach grantmaking." He further argued that foundations' track record when it comes to outcome and impact measurement has been unimpressive over the years, and that the costs and burdens such measurement places on both foundations and nonprofit organizations heavily outweigh any benefits gained.
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