Private Foundation

For classical music lovers in East Texas and Western Louisiana, KTPB-FM has been the only source of classical music programming for the past fifteen years. From its first broadcasts, KTPB has offered the live presentations of the Metropolitan Opera alongside concerts of the Longview Symphony and the East Texas Symphony Orchestra.

2006, 114 pages. Published by the University of Minnesota, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, Project on Regional and Industrial Economics (PRIE). Funded by the McKnight Foundation and the Fesler-Lampert Chair in Urban and Regional Affairs, University of Minnesota.

2005, 65 pages. Institute for Innovation in Social Policy, Vassar College, Box 529, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604, 845-452-7332. For copies contact opdycke@earthlink.net

The second in a series based on a national survey (the first was 2002), this report looks at participation in artistic and cultural experiences in the US in quantifiable terms as well as in ways such experiences affect the well-being of participants. One key finding is that 78 percent of respondents "believe that attending art events helped them to see things from other people's perspectives."

2005, 78 pages. McKnight Foundation, 710 Second Street South, Suite 400, Minneapolis, MN 55401, 612-333-4220

Beginning with an honest appraisal of the way changing economic factors have reshaped Minnesota's rural communities, this elegant publication highlights artistic projects and the individuals who have helped maintain or restore cultural vitality to different towns throughout the state.

122 pages. Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), 1743 Wazee Street, Suite 300, Denver, CO 80202, 888-562-7232 or 303-629-1166, staff@westaf.org

2006, 36 pages. The Meyer Foundation, 1400 16th Street, NW, Suite 360, Washington, DC 20036, 202-483-8294, meyer@meyerfdn.org

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   Daring to Lead 2006 (643Kb)

2005, 197 pages plus CD. Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, 1413 K Street, 2nd floor, Washington, DC 20005, 202-898-1840

Everything you wanted to know about organizational assessment but were afraid to ask. This guidebook is written for grantmakers and grantees alike. Each chapter includes practical advice, success stories, and lessons learned.

For those of us who are passionate about the arts, it has been disheartening to see so many schools cut back on arts education. I am happy to report on a new initiative by the American Architectural Foundation that hopes to boost interest in teaching kids about architecture and design.

A few years ago, Laura Penn, managing director of Intiman Theatre in Seattle, met me for coffee at the Saint Francis Hotel. I was between sessions of the Independent Sector's (IS) national conference in San Francisco. Laura had never heard of IS and was curious about it. The Independent Sector is a coalition of corporations, foundations, and private voluntary organizations that works to strengthen nonprofit organizations and is committed to advancing the common good in the U.S.

We live in a world of "widespread hostility toward the United States and its policies."1 This antipathy is not limited to the countries and peoples that are directly affected by the U.S. "war on terror" and its attendant pol-icies, but includes many of our former allies and fellow democracies. A friend who just returned from a year in Spain reports that she spent a significant amount of time and energy convincing people she met there that the U.S.