From Wallace Foundation: “​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Arts ​organizations founded by, with and for communities of color are relatively underrepresented in research, with limited information available about their founding histories and how these histories might shape an organization’s purpose, culture and work. That’s why, when we launched o​ur latest arts initiative beginning with 18 organizations rooted in communities of color, we commissioned the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) to create a fellowship that could not only ​help document the organizations’ history and culture, but could also build research capacity in the field through the support of early career scholars​.”

“SSRC has now selected a group of research fellows, who will receive funding to conduct 12-month qualitative ethnographic studies in collaboration with the organizations in the initiative. The fellowship program seeks to support early career researchers who are deeply engaged with the arts organizations of color. The group will participate in conversations with one another and with the broader network of researchers and practitioners in the Wallace initiative.”

“Each research fellow will be paired with a specific organization to help explore its unique history, culture and context. The goal is to produce useful information for the organization itself and for other arts organizations of color. Collectively, through cross-cutting analyses, the fellows’ research could also contribute novel insights to the broader body of research and public policy.”

Meet the cohort of fellows here.

“Long before the pandemic hit, Americans living in rural areas have faced a daunting list of problems—a diminishing number of hospitals, limited transportation options, population decline, lack of broadband access, high levels of poverty, and more.”

“According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “Rural America at a Glance 2021” report, about 46 million people—or 14% of the total U.S. population—live in rural areas. The report found that people who live in these areas “often face greater difficulties accessing provisions and services or commuting to work, among other economic challenges.” These challenges have made it all the more difficult for rural Americans to cope with and recover from shocks and stresses, including but not limited to the pandemic.”

“One of the major reasons a significant funding gap exists between rural and urban areas is that most big funders are located in, and are therefore often focused on, large cities like Los Angeles and New York. As Eric Nee recently outlined in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, despite the fact that the poverty rate is significantly higher in rural America than in urban regions, philanthropists give far more money to urban areas, largely because that’s where the money is based.”

“’Most of our members are place-based foundations in that, unlike the large national foundations, they give and work mostly in their immediate community or the state,’ Carroll said. Because these are local foundations, they have a greater understanding of their communities and can better serve their needs.”

“According to Carroll, these organizations make a big impact in ways beyond providing funding. They serve as conveners. They often provide technical assistance and capacity-building to nonprofits. They commission research and data from local universities to gain a better understanding of the problems and issues their communities face. They even engage in policy advocacy, bringing together organizations and residents to push for policy change.”

“’That’s a powerful role that they play, and it ends up being highly invisible work, because they’re not out in front,’ Carroll said. ‘They’re doing the quieter but really important connective work that really builds communities and builds capacity.'”

“In addition to collaboration between small and large foundations, partnerships between the public and private sectors are also a way forward. The recently signed infrastructure bill will allocate $65 billion to increase broadband access in rural areas, $55 billion to improve water and wastewater infrastructure, and $110 billion to repair the nation’s bridges, highways and roads. While philanthropy cannot address all of rural America’s needs, it can play a crucial role in filling the gaps left by public resources and helping to guide incoming funds.”

Read the full article here.

The Indigenous Solidarity Network (ISD), a community collective group of indigenous people and their allies seeking social justice, issues an invitation to a free on-line webinar titled for “Rethinking Thanksgiving: From Land Acknowledgement to LANDBACK” on Sunday, November 20 at 1pm PT/4pm ET.

According to ISD, “This webinar is an invitation to interrogate so-called Thanksgiving and move beyond the myths of America’s history with Indigenous People on Turtle Island. This ‘Thanksgiving’ let’s look at the myths and lies the US is founded on and get aligned with Indigenous self-determination and land stewardship.”

Register for the webinar here.

“In 2016, the New Orleans-based National Performance Network (NPN) launched Leveraging a Network for Equity (LANE) to support arts organizations of color and rural arts organizations. In the ensuing years, the network provided its cohort members with general operating support, technical assistance, and consulting services ‘to ensure these organizations can thrive in ways that are consistent with their values.'”

“Fast-forward to July 2022. With the initiative set to wind down, the NPN announced the formation of the Department of Racial Justice and Movement Building to continue and expand the work. In doing so, the network named Sage Crump, who led and helped shape LANE since its inception, as the department’s director.”

“What makes me optimistic is the wide range of experiments that I’m watching people try. I am seeing deeper relationships between funders and grantees. I’m seeing a deeper exchange of information and learning,” said Crump when asked about what makes her optimistic and pessimistic about philanthropy.

“I get to work with program officers from a wide range of foundations. Some are beginning their learning curves and others are doing all the things that we’re supposed to do and want to be sure they’re aligned with that which is just and right. Going back to what Boggs said about context, more people now are asking important questions about philanthropy — ‘What role could and shouldn’t it be playing? What does the road toward its obsolescence look like?’”

“But one of the things that feels haphazard in our field is our political development — where we are doing good things, but not changing the underlying structure. I think doing something good is laudable, but if it doesn’t have a long-term vision, that can still be a stumbling block for us.”

Read the full announcement here.

From the Center for Effective Philanthropy: “In late July 2020, MacKenzie Scott shocked the philanthropic and nonprofit worlds with the announcement that she had given $1.7 billion to 116 nonprofit organizations. The gifts came in the form of massive, unrestricted grants, with a significant proportion targeted to organizations focused on issues of equity, and were made with no restrictions – only an expectation of an annual three-page letter back to the donor for the three years following their receipt.”

“Since then, she has continued the approach, giving nearly $13 billion as of spring 2022.3 To put that in context, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation made $6.7 billion in grants in 2021.4 Scott’s grants are frequently the largest ever given to recipient organizations and are made without a formal proposal or application process.”

“Often, recipient organizations received word of the grant out of the blue. In other cases, organizations were asked to meet with consultants who represented the donor to answer some vetting questions before a grant was made. Scott’s giving has been influenced by advisors at her family office, Lost Horse LLC, and by consultants at The Bridgespan Group, a nonprofit management consulting firm, and channeled through donor-advised funds (DAFs) at institutions including Fidelity Charitable, the National Philanthropic Trust, and community foundations.”

Read the full report here.

“A new virtual event will bring together Indigenous designers, artists, illustrators, and other practitioners to discuss the challenges and triumphs involved in designing typefaces for Native language,” said Julianne Aguilar for Hyperallergic. “Co-curated by Ksenya Samarskaya and Neebinnaukzhik Southall (Chippewas of Rama First Nation), Ezhishin is the first-ever conference on Native North American typography.”

“There aren’t many typefaces available for Native scripts — and nearly all of the ones that are widely available aren’t made by Native practitioners,” Type Directors Club Managing Director Samarskaya told Hyperallergic. “When there aren’t a lot of options we get really conservative, safe, and limited styles. There’s not a lot of visible dialogue about the possibilities, or about how people want to see their scripts evolve. I wanted to see what Native practitioners were making, I wanted to hear what they’re needing or wanting.”

“I want to know what other Natives are up to. Am I on the right path here? What are people doing with design? Their typography is who they are. This is mainstream. This is modern. This is us now. We are here, we are thriving, and we are creating,” said Duncan.

Samarskaya hopes that Ezhishin will demystify type design for those who are curious about getting involved, and that the conference is merely the beginning of a larger conversation.

“For a long time, type has been seen as this ‘nerdy’ thing where someone is off whittling away in a remote corner—as something purely official and technical, where there’s a right way and a wrong way of doing things,” she said. “But I see it more like food, or fashion, or culture. I see it as one of our cultural beacons that indicates how heritage and history are passed down. I want to make sure things like we’re doing with Ezhishin are not a one-off event. I want this to be an ongoing conversation.”

Read the full article here.