What Philanthropy Trends Do Arts Leaders Need To Be Aware Of?

Gary Steuer leading a roundtable at the Americans for the Arts Convention in Nashville, 2014 (c) Americans for the Arts

At this year's Americans for the Arts convention in Nashville, which ended on Sunday, I had the pleasure of hosting two roundtable conversations on trends in philanthropy. As often happens with such occasions it provided the impetus for me to give some thought to what was I seeing in the philanthropic field that arts groups need to be aware of. This is of particular interest to me because I think all too often arts leaders are not watching closely enough overall philanthropic trends and thinking, and therefore are taken by surprise when a funder shifts course in a way that affects prospects for support. Yet these course shifts are often predictable if you are watching the winds, and if you understand where they are coming from, you may have an opportunity to make a persuasive case that your arts program can help get them where they want to go (rather than being left in the wake, to stretch the nautical metaphor further).

To help guide the conversation I prepared a list of recent articles on philanthropic trends/strategies that I felt would be helpful: Strategic Philanthropy, Effective Altruism, Collective Impact, Mission Investing, Giving While Living, and Emergent Philanthropy. I am sure there other "buzz-words" or trends I could have included - feel free to share your own in the comments. I was also informed by a recent talk by Sterling Speirn, former head of the Kellogg Foundation, who spoke at a luncheon for the Colorado Association of Funders - very informative and thought-provoking! (Here is a link to a TedX talk he gave on mission investing.) Here is my reading list:

Strategic Philanthropy (Outcome-Oriented Philanthropy) -

https://nonprofitquarterly.org/philanthropy/24337-strategic-philanthropy-so-yesterday.html

http://www.ssireview.org/blog/entry/strategic_philanthropy_and_the_risk_of_certainty

http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/a_decade_of_outcome_oriented_philanthropy

Effective Altruism -

http://milehighculture.blogspot.com/2013/11/what-does-effective-altruism-mean-for.html

http://www.ssireview.org/blog/entry/the_elitist_philanthropy_of_so_called_effective_altruism

Collective Impact –

http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/collective_impact

http://philanthropy.com/article/Collective-Impact-to-Solve/145441/

Impact Investing/Mission-related Investing -

http://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/our-work/current-work/impact-investing

Giving While Living – Limited Life Foundations –

http://www.guidestar.org/rxa/news/articles/2014/high-speed-trends-in-philanthropy.aspx

Emergent Philanthropy –

http://www.ssireview.org/up_for_debate/article/strategic_philanthropy

The Greatest Sacrifice Arts Workers Make for the Arts

With all the financial challenges arts workers are facing these days - struggling to balance the budgets of their organizations, or dealing with salary and benefit cuts on compensation that was modest to begin with - it is easy to view the sacrifices people make to work in this field as being entirely financial. Not to minimize the financial sacrifices - they ARE significant - but I would argue they are probably no more significant than a wide array of professions where people choose to devote themselves to the pursuit of "making the world a better place". This includes early childhood workers, teachers, social workers, the whole world of NGOs working in challenged communities, both domestically and abroad. And the sacrifices all these workers make are also not just financial. We all work long hours, and often under trying and unglamorous circumstances (though to outsiders arts work can seem glamorous). No, I think the more significant - and unique - sacrifice arts worke...

UPDATED: A Guide to Arts and Culture Gift Shops in Philadelphia (Museum Shops and Beyond!)

Note: This was originally posted about six months ago, and with the holiday season upon us, I figured it was time to update and repost! The tourism web site UWISHUNU (from the Greater Philadelpia Tourism Marketing Corporation) has also recently published its guide to Philadelphia Museum gift shops, which is available here . Happy shopping! I have been a huge fan of museum and other arts organization gift shops for years. My work has given me the opportunity to explore lots of organizations, in NY, Philadelphia, and to some extent all across the country. Some are well known - others are hidden gems. The best ones have excellent buyers that find products relevant to the exhibitions, collections or presentations of the institution, but also stock unique artisinal creations by artists, craftspeople and designers that have a sense of place or direct connection to the organization's artistic focus. I am not talking about t-shirts and other logo-emblazoned merchandise, or touristy ...

Inside/Outside - Art by Prison Inmates and Ex-Offenders

Leon Jesse James, "Space Modulator", acrylic on board. SCI Graterford The Art in City Hall program of the City of Philadelphia has just opened a new exhibition, INSIDE/OUTSIDE - Art by Prison Inmates and Ex-Offenders . This is a wonderful, powerful, and thought-provoking new show and I encourage everyone to see it. It is open until October 29th, on the secod and fourth floors of City Hall. More information is available here . The show involves participating artists from SCI Graterford, The Philadelphia Prison System, Art for Justice , Snyderman-Works Galleries , Connection Training Services , and the Mural Arts Program 's Youth Violence Reduction Partnership Guild Program, as well as local ex-offenders. Thomas Schilk, "Beetle", melted plastic spoons, paint. When I came to my position in 2008 as Chief Cultural Officer, one of the appeals of the position was the fact that the administration of Mayor Michael Nutter viewed the arts as being integral to virt...

Chrissy DealJune 18, 2014 at 9:13 PM
Another area of growth - giving circles in communities of color - such as those supported by the Community Investment Network (www.thecommunityinvestment.org). Everyday folks redefining philanthropy on their own terms and making in impact in the process.
Gary SteuerJune 19, 2014 at 3:43 PM
Thanks Chrissy! Great point. And I think giving circles in general are an impprtant trend. Donors - especially those with smaller giving capacity - love the idea of pooling resources for greater impact, and to meet and work with other like-minded donors. The Arts Affinity Group at the Denver Foundation is a great local example of this.

Mile-High Musings on Arts, Culture, Creativity and Philanthropy

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