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

2020 was a year unlike any other in my lifetime, and I have been through growing up during the 60’s civil rights struggle, the anti-war movement of the 60’s and 70’s, being in NYC for 9/11 and grappling with the massive economic impact of the 2008 recession. And now, I must bear not just the same personal impacts of 2020 (continuing into 2021) that everyone else is grappling with, but also the burden, privilege and responsibility of determining how Bonfils-Stanton Foundation can most effectively deploy its resources to respond. We have talked about it in some previous communications, but as we turn the corner into 2021, with the impact of COVID still very present, and the work of fighting racism ever present, I thought it might be helpful to reflect on what we have been doing, what I have been thinking, and where we are going. New Space A couple of years ago the Foundation had decided that our longtime home in the Daniels & Fisher Tower on the 16 th  Street Mall was no longer s...

I have just returned from the annual Livingston Fellows Retreat, a component of the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation 9-year-old Livingston Fellowship Program , and can't resist posting a quick summary of my reaction/perceptions. This program was launched nine years ago in honor of Johnston R. Livingston, who was Chairman Emeritus of the Foundation, and passed away in 2008. He had a personal passion for leadership in the nonprofit sector, and was deeply invested in this program. Even as the Foundation has shifted its grantmaking entirely to arts and culture this year, there is a steadfast commitment to retaining the larger nonprofit sector reach of this program, including arts as well as other nonprofit leaders. I believe this is extremely healthy as it integrates arts leaders into larger conversations about leadership, making a difference in our community, balancing personal and professional obligations etc.  These problems are not "special" in the arts and benefit from be...