“Last year, Charlotte city government, business executives, and The Foundation For The Carolinas developed a plan aimed at boosting arts funding,” reported Erik Spanberg in the Charlotte Business Journal. “It included the addition of an arts and culture officer — Priya Sircar, hired last summer — and the creation of an 18-member advisory board made up of arts, civic, and philanthropic leaders.” $4.4 million remain uncommitted from this inaugural grantmaking period, and as organizations and communities face increased challenges due to the Covid-19 Omicron variant, the advisory board are opening new possibilties for how it could be allocated.

Sircar said the board is exploring working with the Arts & Science Council (ASC), Charlotte-Mecklenburg region’s lead resource hub and cultural advocate, “to administer a portion of the remaining $4.4 million in grants later this year, principally for individual artists and grass roots groups.” Sircar added that ASC has some funding opportunities coming up and “the advisory board is looking at whether some of these funds could plug into these programs.” The current public-private collaboration will end after three years, and the intent is for companies and private donors to contribute to preferred arts organizations and events on an individual basis going forward. The potential relationship to fund individual artists in partnership with ASC offers a unique opportunity to inform the long-term potential for boosting arts funding in the region.

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Is philanthropy ready to commit to racial equity? The sector “doesn’t have a reputation for radical transformation,” reports Generocity. “Progress on racial equity is a challenging case study. Leaders in philanthropy now commonly cite the injustice of race serving as an effective predictor of economic, health and other social outcomes.”

Dwayne Wharton, a founding member of the Philadelphia Black Giving Circle and a veteran of nonprofits including Project H.O.M.E. and The Food Trust and Sidney Hargro, formerly of Philanthropy Network of Greater Philadelphia and now of the LeadersTrust, both offer analysis for the sector, arguing that philanthropy needs a new endgame in order to stop perpetuating systemic racism. “You certainly are further supporting racialized outcomes,” Wharton said. The people who are “really burdened by [philanthropy] are folks of color and who benefits from that are typically White, educated folks.” Speaking on racial equity beyond a grantmaking portfolio, Hargro said, “It’s about your organizational culture, it’s how you operate, how you use your platforms, how your endowment is invested, how you’re involved and/or, at minimum, aware and involved in policy that actually affects the people that you’re trying to serve.”

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“Music works in both magical and clinically substantiated ways in communities with rich musical traditions that span bluegrass, country, gospel, and more,” writes Taylor Sisk in a long-form piece in National Geographic about how music and health are intertwined and inextricably linked throughout the Applachian region.

In a region that is home to a rich musical tradition, Sisk writes, for Dr. Joe Smiddy of the Remote Area Medical pop-up clininc, to be “well aware that health outcomes are shaped by where you work, where you live, how you live, and your access to services, and healthy food – the social determinants of health” – is not surprising, but a welcomed approach. “For Smiddy, a song is a potential connection, one that allows him to gain insight into what’s brought this person to this moment of need.”

“This region faces some significant healthcare challenges. The four westernmost counties of Virginia–Buchanon, Dickenson, Lee, and Wise–all rank near the bottom in the state in health outcomes, including higher instances of asthma, COPD, and emphysema. Black lung disease remains prevalent; most alarmingly, an advanced stage, progressive massive fibrosis appears to be on the rise.” Sisk continues, “Music reaches deep.” Throughout the region, the Sisk explores the many ways music and health are linked in service of healthier communities, physical, mentally, and emotionally.

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