U.S. National Deadline: January 14, 2022 – In observance of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day in March, the Berkeley Arts Council will present a collection of works about women…
BLOG
International Deadline: Ongoing – Smithsonian magazine accepts unsolicited proposals from established freelance writers for features and some departments. Smithsonian magazine places a lens on the world…
December 15th saw the death of the legendary author, activist, and professor bell hooks. An impassioned proponent of intersectional feminism and fearless critic of racist and classist societal frameworks, hooks succumbed to kidney failure at the age of 69. Immediately after her passing, an outpouring of commiserations and messages of gratitude towards bell hooks’ work filled social media and news sites—an indication of just how strongly this radically kind and wise mind has affected the public.
A child of small-town, southern segregation, hooks carried a passion for literature and poetry forward into her education, receiving both a BA and MA in English at Stanford University and the University of Wisconsin-Michigan respectively. Shortly after this, she began her career as a professor and lecturer, covering such fields as ethnic studies, African and Afro-American studies, and English.
Perhaps hooks’ most recognized work was her first book Ain’t I A Woman: Black Women and Feminism. Almost a decade in the making, Ain’t I A Woman covered the intersections of the civil rights movement and feminist movements, honing in on the oppression perpetuated by these idealistic movements by not regarding the way in which they affected black women in their pursuits. Tying together a history of oppression and boldly critiquing still ongoing socio-political structures, hooks pushed against traditional academia to make black feminist history accessible to a broad audience.
Through appearances in documentaries, her work as an academic mind, and her dozens of books, bell hooks has become a keystone in the modern discourse of feminist theory and practice. With her thoughts covering everything from culture and art to masculine identity and self-love, the moral compass that guided hooks mind throughout life was clear. But it was not only her ability to passionately express her opinions on the pressing matters of female and racial equality, but the deep level of care and concern hooks’ works swelled with that made her writing—and her self—so relatable and so important.
International Deadline: March 10, 2022 – A Studio in the Woods invite artists to face the severity of the climate crisis and be agents of change to guide our collective understanding, response, and vision as we shape…
U.S. Regional Deadline: Ongoing – Manifest recognizes how important it is to support the education of artists, students, and art-lovers. Our goal is to be a hub of creative research for both creatives and our…
Submitted by Nadia Elokdah on December 17, 2021
Angelique Power, president and CEO of the Detroit-based Skillman Foundation, speaks with eJewishPhilanthropy on the power — and necessity — of centering trust within grantmaking. “What’s complicated about philanthropy is that money and power are often synonymous,” Power says, “And so while the sector is directed at helping, being the arbiter of how capital moves makes you — in some ways, it jeopardizes trust, just in that act right there. It creates this uneven scenario where people are coming to you asking for funding.”
Through the interview, Power lifts up long-recommended practices: providing unrestricted general operating support; releasing burdens on grantmaking and grantee reporting; removing metrics that are strenuous. Knowing how grantmaking has changed during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Power offers funders an opportunity to reflect on why and how these have been possible and the power trust can have in creating a future we want for the field.
Submitted by Steve on December 16, 2021
Victoria Foundation announced yesterday that Sharnita C. Johnson will serve as the Foundation’s Vice President of Strategy, Impact and Communications. In this new position, Johnson will provide oversight and management of all programmatic activities and ensure alignment with the Foundation goals and values.
This expansion of the leadership team comes as Victoria Foundation last month announced its new framework to support power-building and self-determination of Black, Brown and other communities pushed to the margins in Newark, New Jersey.
Previously, Johnson served as the Arts Program Director at the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, where she led a statewide grantmaking portfolio focused on arts, equity, and creative placemaking and played an integral role in the Dodge Foundation’s transformation of its mission to address the root causes and repair of structural racism and inequity.
Since 2017, she has served on the Board of Directors for Grantmakers in the Arts, and will become Chair of the Board in January 2022.
Submitted by Steve on December 16, 2021
Earlier this month, Candid and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) released the eighth edition of its annual Measuring the State of Disaster Philanthropy report. In it, they examined available 2019 data on global disaster-related philanthropy, analyzing funding from foundations, bilateral and multilateral donors, the U.S. federal government, corporations, and donations through donor-advised funds (DAFs) and online platforms.
“Philanthropy plays a crucial role in helping communities prepare for and respond to global disasters and supports the long-term recovery that individuals and communities face after disasters,” the authors share, “several recommendations to help funders maximize their philanthropic impact” are offered for the future planning and resilience.
Read about their findings, actionable takeaways, and the full report here.
Submitted by Nadia Elokdah on December 16, 2021
In a recent review in Elle Decor, art critic Kimberly Drew surveys the first-of-its-kind period room that presents an imagined Black home in New York City. “The exercise coined by [Saidiya Hartman, Ph.D.] is the work of overlaying historical gaps with imaginative narrative building,” Drew writes. “This practice stems from the reality that the everyday lives of Black people have often been underdocumented or plainly ignored.”
Submitted by Nadia Elokdah on December 14, 2021
In a new report series, “Overlooked: AAPI and Native American communities in philanthropy,” Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) offers data and insight from AAPI and Native American nonprofit leaders and communities are shared that elucidate these concerning trends.
Even as philanthropy has turned greater attention toward issues of racism and systemic inequality since early 2020, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) and Native American nonprofit leaders and communities appear not to have received much increased support from foundation funders. Most foundations continue to overlook nonprofits that serve AAPI and Native American communities, despite evidence that these communities have suffered disproportionately from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
AAPI and Native American nonprofit leaders report having less positive experiences with their foundation funders than nonprofit leaders of other races/ethnicities. This has been the case during, as well as prior to, the pandemic.
Despite the significant challenges facing AAPI and Native American people, most foundations continue to overlook nonprofits that serve these communities.