Grantmakers in the Arts

(3-3-10) Seven of Washington’s charitable foundations want to strengthen the nonprofit sector by asking other grant makers to fund gaps in how individual nonprofit groups—and the sector as whole—operate.

Here's the text of David Byrne's TED talk on how venues influence music, earlier we posted an interview eith Byrne on this piece, and now the full text is available.

(3-2-10) The Indiana Commission on Higher Education has approved a new
Bachelor of Arts in Philanthropic Studies degree program at Indiana University. Courses will be available to undergraduates beginning with the fall 2010 semester.

(3-1-10) Artist Organized Art, Inc. (AOA) and New Observations Ltd. (NOBS) will combine their activities. Massachusetts-based AOA was formed in 2007 with a mission to support artist organized media, events and cultural education by providing strategic and logistical support to artists working in diverse communities. NOBS is publisher of New Observations magazine, which was launched in New York City in 1984.

(2-26-10) "Giving away free umbrellas in the middle of a rainstorm is not that easy," reports Steve Rubenstein in the San Francisco Chronicle. A small group of innovative funders organized by the new SF branch of the Secret Society for Creative Philanthropy provides lessons on the mainstream culture of giving and related public expectations.

(2-26-10) British Shadow Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt wants a U.S.-style culture of philanthropists to fund the arts. How is this working in recessionary America? And how are other places coping? An assertive summary of the effects of the recession on international arts funding from last Friday's Guardian.

(2-25-10) The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced on Tuesday that Ralph Remington will join the NEA as the director of theater and musical theater as of March 15, 2010.

(2-24-10) Based on her 15 year track record advising the world’s largest foundations, Lucy Bernholz of Blueprint Research and Design has published a new monograph for the industry of giving - Philanthropy and Social Investing: Blueprint 2010. Hard copy is available here and the Kindle edition here.