Family Foundation

To California's great Central Valley they have come from the highlands of Oaxaca, the cities of eastern Pakistan, the relocation camps of Thailand—political refugees and new immigrants from around the world aspiring to build a future for their children, grands, and greats.

For three days in October these new U.S. Americans gathered in Fresno's Tower District for their second Tamejavi Festival. Everyone was welcome; the historic Tower Theatre's marquis proclaimed, “Tamejavi: It's Still Free.”

Early in 2004, the Graduate Center of the City of New York convened ten small to mid-sized arts organizations to talk about what had happened to them in an experimental, internet-based project funded by the Ford Foundation. The ten, from across the country, are community-based cultural organizations; they share a commitment to emerging and experimental artists and art forms, and a commitment—equally firm—to their local or nearby communities. Despite their similarities of mission, the ten were not familiar with each other's work.

On December 2 and 3, 2004 the University of Chicago's Cultural Policy Center held a conference on “The Future of Public Television” at the Museum of Contemporary Art in downtown Chicago. The Center convened a star-studded series of presenters and key speakers to illuminate the current condition of public television and to make some predictions about its future. The speakers and panelists included Kathleen Cox, president and CEO, Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB); Pat Mitchell, president and CEO, Public Broadcasting System (PBS); Kenneth P.

January 7, 2005. Hosted by the Ford Foundation and organized by Grantmakers in Film and Electronic Media's (www.gfem.org) Working Group on Electronic Media Policy. Co-sponsored with Grantmakers in the Arts, the Funders Network on Trade and Globalization (www.fntg.org), and the New York Regional Association of Grantmakers (www.nyrag.org).

The lines between arts and environmental grantmaking often are sharply drawn. However, in the life of thriving communities, the two are integrally linked. As part of a roundtable discussion at last October's GIA conference, it was heartening to share vivid examples of how GIA members are exploring the intersections of environment and art.

We are very pleased that Ruby Lerner, executive director of Creative Capital, took up the challenge of writing about anti-terrorism language in grant award letters. As an intermediary organization, Creative Capital is in the position of being both a funder and a grantee. This dual role, shared by many other GIA members, gives Ruby an especially wide view of the topic.

Vinay Jain, in light of recent negative PR concerning the non-profit world as a whole, examines foundations hesitancy in regards to media outreach.

Available free from the Stanford Social Innovation Review

Download:

   Off the Sidelines and into the Headlines (308Kb)

2004, 25 pages. Published by Day, Berry & Howard Foundation, CityPlace I, Hartford, CT, 06103-3499, www.dbhfoundation.org

Download pdf: http://www.independentsector.org/PDFs/counterterrorism.pdf

Alternate ROOTS is a coalition of artists and cultural workers in the Southeastern USA; addressing racism and other oppressions has been integral to our mission for a long time. At our 2004 Annual Meeting this past August a panel of ROOTS' founding members discussed the function of ROOTS as a cultural continuation of the civil rights movement - beginning with our founding at the legendary Highlander Center in New Market, Tennessee.

2002, 72 pages. ISBN 0-9676467-6-6. Published by Art International, 251 Park Avenue South, New York, NY, 10010-7302, 212-674-9744, www.artsinternational.org

Online: http://www.artsinternational.org/knowledge_base/wp/PhaseII/ica2_toc.htm