“On Inauguration Day in January 2021, many were left spellbound by Amanda Gorman’s ‘The Hill We Climb.’ As the youngest inaugural poet and first national youth poet laureate, Gorman’s words were both poignant and powerful.” said Marissa Gutierrez-Vicario, Word in Black, for Afro News. “However, as the social media buzz surrounding her delivery began to subside, a critical question arose: how can we ensure that the next generation of Amanda Gormans have the resources they need to succeed?”

“Through the work of artists, cultural institutions, and community-based art organizations like our own, young people’s lives are continuously enriched; be it through the development of a new skill, the creation of their own piece of artwork, or the beautification of a public space after the completion of a youth arts program.” 

“We believe that beyond the pandemic, arts and cultural experiences are going to be the bridge to a vibrant New York City — and to cities and small towns nationwide. Yet in order for all students to get the creative opportunities they need and deserve, cultural agencies need sustained funding for the arts.

According to a March 2023 Bronx News 12 report, the New York City Council has promised a $3 million dollar investment in public schools, which will be split between 120 schools in five boroughs.” 

“It is estimated that principals from each school would receive roughly $24,000 which could go directly into teacher salaries or funding for art materials and art workshops in the classroom.” 

“According to the Daily News, the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens will receive nearly two-thirds of this funding. While this is promising, arts advocates within the city say that the fight is not over yet and that we must continue to advocate for the arts in our community.” 

“While organizations like the New York City Arts in Education Roundtable, which ‘improves, advances, and advocates for arts education,’ [with the purpose to ‘elevate, enhance, and sustain the work of the arts education community’] applaud the current efforts of the New York City Council to prioritize arts education, the final Fiscal 2024 Budget will truly determine the city’s support for the arts.” 

“Even though there has been financial support put into place in the short term, our communities have to advocate to maintain annual funding that is specifically geared towards arts in New York Public Schools. This includes future artists, creatives, visionaries, and cultural workers in a city that regards culture and community as an integral part of our lived experiences.” 

Read the full piece here.

From Integrated Rural Strategies Group: Foundations are increasingly considering impact investing as a philanthropic strategy to complement their grantmaking and more fully align their philanthropic assets with their mission-based work. Indeed, supporting foundations to “liberate philanthropic assets” is at the core of NFG’s Theory of Change. Impact investing is a powerful tool to do so, and is a focus of praxis within the NFG and Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions foundation CEO cohort program, Philanthropy Forward. Rural America is home to the highest rates of persistent poverty in the United States, coupled with a history of low philanthropic investment. 

Amongst rural regions, Appalachia, along with the Mississippi Delta and Native American/tribal lands, is one of the highest regions of intergenerational poverty. Invest Appalachia, a new “blended capital” impact investment platform, aims to increase investment into Central Appalachian communities that have been historically impacted by the extraction of the region’s natural resources, underinvestment, and generational poverty. IA’s infrastructure connects community-aligned projects and businesses to creative, flexible capital to absorb risk and leverage additional investment into rural communities. 

IA seeks to circumvent investment and philanthropic practices that often associate rurality with risk, using trust-based philanthropy, creative financing tools, and a partnership-based investment approach to spark transformative change in rural communities. Join us for Part 1 of this two-part series as we explore the who, what, how, and why of impact investing in Appalachia. Part 1 will offer an interactive learning experience about Invest Appalachia’s unique community-centered model and how and why foundations are partnering with IA to liberate their philanthropic assets to bring critical resources to this region.

The webinar will take place on June 6 at 2pm. Learn more and register here.

From Bonfils Stanton: In her artist statement for her work “Minding the Cycles” (commissioned for the Foundation’s offices) Jandel Allen-Davis says “Where are we now and how do we know? We are experiencing some of the greatest turmoil we have had in centuries, perhaps millennia. The sense of insecurity that this evokes can leave us unsettled and unmoored…Our task is to discern where we are and what is required of us in this time.” We as a foundation have thought deeply about what is required of US in this time, and our new Strategic Framework charts that course.  

Foundations – and for that matter, virtually all enterprises (nonprofit and for-profit) – engage in strategic planning to ensure their work still makes sense in the context of a changing world and that they are creating the desired impact. These plans generally have a lifespan – three years, five years – and by these standards, Bonfils-Stanton Foundation was due for a new strategic plan. The changes in the world, from COVID to the urgent need to combat racism, inequity, and injustice, to evolving perspectives on how best to practice equitable philanthropy, have reshaped our current thinking around the foundation’s potential in a unique and transformational way. 

The board and staff are very aware of the privilege of being the current stewards of resources entrusted to the benefit of the public by Ed Stanton. And we aspire to use those resources to provide the most impact. We know we can’t do it all, but we also know we can do better. 

Bonfils-Stanton Foundation invests in inclusive, diverse, and equitable arts and culture organizations and nonprofit leaders to create a thriving and just Denver. We have been on a journey of transformation for ten years, first through implementing a targeted philanthropic focus on arts and culture, a commitment to continue our focus on nonprofit leadership, and, overarching both, a steady evolution of our operations to prioritize equity in every aspect of what we do. For both the Board and staff, this has been a highly rewarding and inspiring learning experience.  

Our strategic framework is extensive, bold, and will be exciting (and, yes, challenging) to execute. This is not a “check-the-box” plan, not a dense tome that will end up on a shelf or in a drawer. We use the term Strategic Framework to reflect that we must be fluid and nimble to be effective; this plan must be concise, clear, and adaptable as we continue to learn – a framework for our work, not a rigid blueprint. It is informed by the community, deeply rooted in equity, self-reflection and humility, as well as a sense of urgency around the importance of our work, and the role that arts and culture and leadership play in creating a community in which all people can thrive, can soar, can belong. 

Click here to view the strategic framework. We look forward to keeping you informed on more ways you can engage with us at Bonfils-Stanton Foundation. 

From A Blade of Grass: We are pleased to announce and welcome Lu Zhang as the organization’s new Executive Director. Zhang will officially assume the position on June 20, 2023.

Zhang currently serves as the Initiatives Director of United States Artists (USA) , a national arts funding organization headquartered in Chicago, where she launched a department dedicated to expanding holistic support for artists and their communities. Prior to joining USA, Zhang was Deputy Director of The Contemporary , a nomadic, non-collecting art museum in Baltimore, Maryland, where she provided strategic and operational oversight, and led resource initiatives for local artists.

In addition to her leadership roles, Zhang has spent her career building services for artists across the country through careful listening, deep research, and community building. Her extensive work across the arts and philanthropic sectors has helped mount national acclaim for initiatives like Artist Relief and Ford Foundation and Mellon Foundation’s Disability Futures .

“Lu has spent her career devoted to centering artists, and, in her work across initiatives like Disability Futures, she is reshaping the next generation of arts through a social lens,” said Margaret Morton, Ford Foundation’s Director of Creativity and Free Expression . “She is an active collaborator, participant, and thought leader for the creative sector, and we look forward to her bringing an informed advocacy and passion to this new role.”

As an artist and arts worker herself, Lu considers artists first and leads from the belief that artists are essential to societal transformation. Among her many skills is her capacity for deep listening and her commitment to learning and growth. Both growing her understanding of specific community needs and the systems that impact those communities. Her creative leadership and willingness to imagine new structures and systems in partnership with artists make her an excellent match for where we are as a board and organization right now.

Much like A Blade of Grass, artists, social justice, and community are at the center of Lu’s value system, adding to the list of reasons that she is the ideal candidate to lead this organization into the future. We look forward to seeing the direction that Lu takes this work and how its indelible mission continues to unfold.
 

Read the full announcement here.

Former GIA Board Member Ken Grossinger announced his new book, Art Works: How Organizers and Artists Are Creating a Better World Together: An inside look at the organizers and artists on the front lines of political mobilization and social change.

An artist’s mural of George Floyd becomes an emblem of a renewed movement for racial equality. A documentary film injects fuel into a popular mobilization to oust a Central American dictator. Freedom songs course through the American civil rights movement.

When artists and organizers combine forces, new forms of political mobilization follow—which shape lasting social change. And yet few people appreciate how much deliberate strategy often propels this vital social change work. Behind the scenes, artists, organizers, political activists, and philanthropists have worked together to hone powerful strategies for achieving the world we want and the world we need.

In Art Works, noted movement leader Ken Grossinger chronicles these efforts for the first time, distilling lessons and insights from grassroots leaders and luminaries such as Ai Weiwei, Courtland Cox, Jackson Browne, Shepard Fairey, Jane Fonda, Elizabeth Alexander, Bill McKibben, JR, Jose Antonio Vargas, and more.

Drawing from historical and present-day examples—including Black Lives Matter, Standing Rock, the Hip Hop Caucus, the Legacy Museum, and the Art for Justice Fund—Grossinger offers a rich tapestry of tactics and successes that speak directly to the challenges and needs of today’s activists and of these political times.

Learn more about the book here.

From Philanthropy Together: Addressing injustices in our giving circles and in our communities is complex, challenging, yet necessary work — and we need each other to keep learning and growing, wherever we are in our journeys.

The Equity and Justice in Collective Giving Webinar Series offers monthly content to explore themes that deepen our field’s shared commitment to equity.

Learn more and register for upcoming sessions here.

From Integrated Rural Strategies Group: Foundations are increasingly considering impact investing as a philanthropic strategy to complement their grantmaking and more fully align their philanthropic assets with their mission-based work. Indeed, supporting foundations to “liberate philanthropic assets” is at the core of NFG’s Theory of Change. Impact investing is a powerful tool to do so, and is a focus of praxis within the NFG and Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions foundation CEO cohort program, Philanthropy Forward. 

Rural America is home to the highest rates of persistent poverty in the United States, coupled with a history of low philanthropic investment. Amongst rural regions, Appalachia, along with the Mississippi Delta and Native American/tribal lands, is one of the highest regions of intergenerational poverty. 

Invest Appalachia, a new “blended capital” impact investment platform, aims to increase investment into Central Appalachian communities that have been historically impacted by the extraction of the region’s natural resources, underinvestment, and generational poverty. IA’s infrastructure connects community-aligned projects and businesses to creative, flexible capital to absorb risk and leverage additional investment into rural communities. IA seeks to circumvent investment and philanthropic practices that often associate rurality with risk, using trust-based philanthropy, creative financing tools, and a partnership-based investment approach to spark transformative change in rural communities. 

Join us for Part 1 of this two-part series as we explore the who, what, how, and why of impact investing in Appalachia. Part 1 will offer an interactive learning experience about Invest Appalachia’s unique community-centered model and how and why foundations are partnering with IA to liberate their philanthropic assets to bring critical resources to this region.

Learn more and register here.