From CNN: “In the United States, we are now treated to regular announcements about benevolent billionaires pledging to share their wealth. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, for instance, recently told CNN that he would be giving away the majority of his $124 billion fortune in his lifetime. Further back in 2015, Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced he would give away what he makes from 99% of his Facebook shares.”

“At this point, we should assume a skeptical posture. The truth is, pledges like these may take years, decades or even generations to reach their nonprofit destinations – if ever. That’s why we need more public scrutiny of billionaire philanthropy – and much clearer rules to make sure donations actually support real, working charities.”

“…billionaire charity is our tax dollars at work. For every dollar a billionaire gives to charity, we the taxpayers chip in up to 74 cents of that dollar in lost federal tax revenue as donors claim deductions in their income, estate and capital gains taxes, among others. That makes it even more outrageous that much of this money may never reach a real, on-the-ground charity.”

“Because our tax dollars subsidize this system, charity needs to be more transparent, with clear disclosures of when donations reach their recipients. Payout requirements should be increased, with more oversight to ensure that philanthropic money reaches real working charities. Components of these reforms are included in the Accelerate Charitable Effectiveness (ACE) Act, which has bipartisan backing in the Senate, although a vote has yet to be been called since it was introduced in 2021.”

Read the full article here.

From Common Field: “The Los Angeles Contemporary Archive (LACA) and Common Field are glad to invite you to join us on the arrival of the Common Field archival collection at LACA. Common Field has worked to support a nation-wide network of independent artists and arts organizations. Following an organizational audit and an internal financial survey process in 2021, Common Field announced its decision to intentionally sunset, or close, as an organization in 2022.”

“Common Field believes that their struggles are not novel ones and have generously agreed to share their vulnerabilities and learning with us through their archival collection. The evening’s aim is to engage the collection with questions so that we may all better know ourselves.”

“We will be having a group discussion led by writer, curator, and educator Anuradha Vikram, with gloria galvez, artist, organizer and co-director in the art program at the California Institute of the Arts and Sheetal Prajapati, Executive Director of Common Field. Together we will reflect on larger institutional concerns within the arts nonprofit sector, including the challenges of sustainable fundraising and the exclusionary structures of whiteness in leadership.”

“LACA Executive Director Hailey Loman and Common Field Archives Transition Coordinator and LACA Archivist Zach Whitworth will share an overview of the collection with insights from their engagement with these materials.”

The event will take place at the Los Angeles Contemporary Archive on December 8 at 7pm PT. Learn more here.

From Common Field: “As a national network, Common Field served as a catalyst for work happening on the ground by increasing access and sharing of resources across regions. As we come to the end of our time as an organization, we are reflecting not only on the life of Common Field, but also on the future that lies ahead for our work and communities. When Common Field decided to close, we wanted to commit to a process that would leave the field with tools to shape the possibilities ahead. And with that in mind, we are so pleased to share our final two sunset initiatives with you!”

“We are excited to share our final organizational project, Common Work: Learnings for the Future from Common Field, a podcast and writing series exploring the history of our field, Common Field’s organizational journey and the work that is shaping the future today.”

“This four-part series pairs podcast episodes, produced in partnership with Jack Straw Cultural Center, with commissioned essays around four themes: Foundations, Common Field in Practice, Community Building is Culture, and Sustainability for the Future. Contributors include artists and leaders across the sector including Roberto Bedoya, Vashti DuBois, Mary Bordeaux, Lorie Mertes, and Anaïs Duplan as well as former and current Common Field staff and board members. Alongside this thematic series, the project will also offer a selection of related resources and a timeline of Common Field’s life and work.”

“In December, we’ll be launching the writings, resources, and timeline with Episodes 1 and 2 of the podcast on CommonField.org. In early 2023, episodes 3 and 4 of the series will be released on our site, which will remain online through April 2023. All podcast episodes and additional materials will also be released on JackStraw.org, and will remain online after our site closes in May 2023.”

Learn more about their offerings here.

From Upstart Co-Lab: “Impact investors have been missing the 5% of the U.S. economy comprised of creative industries including film & TV, video games and fashion. Museums and cultural institutions are lagging foundations and universities in aligning their endowments with values and mission. This session will highlight strategies to invest in the creative economy that drive financial inclusion and quality jobs, and demonstrate how cultural institutions can align their endowments with their role as community anchor institutions.”

The panel features Laura Callanan (Upstart Co-Lab), Chris Crothers (Jessie Ball DuPont Fund), Caroline Jacobs (UTA Ventures), Michelle Rhodes-Brown (The Walters Art Museum), and Patrick Robinson (Paskho). Learn more about how Upstart Co-Lab tracks the impact of investments in the creative economy in their 2021 Impact Report: Investing for an Inclusive Creative Economy.

Learn more about the event and register here.

“A lucky group of artists in New York will get guaranteed income as part of an ambitious pilot program,” said Jo Lawson-Tancred for artnet news. “The Creatives Rebuild New York (CRNY) initiative has announced that it is spending $43.2 million to distribute monthly payments of $1,000 to 2,400 to artists and other creatives living across the state. Lasting for 18 months, these cash payments come with no strings attached.”

“CRNY is a three-year $125 million initiative of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support artists with guaranteed income and employment opportunities.”

“The recipients were selected from more than 22,000 applicants according to a weighted, randomized process that ensured the funding was distributed equally across the state and took into account systemic barriers.”

“This means that 62 percent of the roster identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color, 51 percent as LGBTQ+, 34 percent as trans, nonbinary, or gender-nonconforming, and 34 percent as caregivers.”

“Some months are lucrative and others are not,” said dancer and choreographer Kristen Brooks Sandler, who is a recipient of the funding. “Scrambling at the end of the month to make rent because a gig’s check hasn’t come in the mail yet has become my reality. I didn’t realize how stressful that was until I received this funding. The relief isn’t just financial; it’s emotional, physical, mental, and artistic.”

Read the full article here.

“Who will tell the stories that shape our future? These days, in the United States, this is a matter of fierce disagreement. On one side, a multiracial majority of people believe the US is destined to become a flourishing democracy. On the other, a white nationalist movement steadily advances its vision for a white Christian ethno-state,” said Bridgit Antoinette Evans and Tracy Van Slyke for Nonprofit Quarterly. “To say that the project of US democracy is at risk is far from hyperbole. White nationalists have amassed a political and narrative infrastructure that churns out a toxic pool of ideas and stories, spreading disinformation ever more widely.”

“In its first five years, the Pop Culture Collaborative—a philanthropic fund co-founded and led by BIPOC, women, and queer funders and field leaders—has taken steps to learn about this white nationalist movement. We now sit with a hard truth: the social justice sector is being outspent and outpaced by a movement that is rapidly gaining ground.”

“To turn this around requires understanding that securing democracy in the US will take more than tolerating difference. In our work, we draw on concepts of democracy first developed by the Iroquois Confederacy and other Indigenous societies—political theories that connect the democratic systems and pluralist cultural norms that together make societies resilient.”

“Given the stark realities of generational trauma and structural inequities, building a pluralist democracy in the US requires a multifaceted strategy—coordinated across many movements, industries, and fields—that is accountable for and seeks to repair past injustices. This strategy requires centering narrative and cultural strategy and prioritizing BIPOC leaders as stewards of this work.”

Read the full article here.