The Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) recently released a report entitled Nonprofit Diversity Efforts: Current Practices and the Role of Foundations. “Based on survey responses of 205 leaders of nonprofit organizations with annual expenses between $100,000 and $100 million, [the report] provides a collection of data on topics such as how diversity relates to the work of nonprofits and what demographic information nonprofits and funders alike are collecting — and how that information is used,” CEP writes.

The report provides information on how nonprofits view their diversity goals as well how funders have historically been involved in their diversity efforts. To help with data collection, the CEP worked with their Grantee Voice Panel.

Learn more and download the report.

 

The Arts Education Partnership (AEP) and the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) recently collaborated to release a guide for school leaders on effectively increasing arts education. This updated version of the 2011 guide provides concrete actions school leaders can take to:

• Establish a schoolwide commitment to arts learning
• Create an arts-rich learning environment
• Examine the use of time and resources

According to the report, “Research confirms that students in schools with arts-rich learning environments academically outperform their peers in arts-poor schools. When included as an integral component of the school day, the arts positively impact student attendance, persistence and engagement; enhance teacher effectiveness; and strengthen parent and community involvement.”

Arts educators, parents, and community members are invited to share the report with local school leaders.

Learn more and download the report.

Award-winning composer, lyricist, and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda, his family, and Hamilton have partnered with the Flamboyan Foundation to create the Flamboyan Arts Fund. This limited-term fund will be dedicated to supporting institutions, arts groups, and independent artists to ensure that the arts and culture continue to flourish through the rebuilding of Puerto Rico.

According to the Flamboyan Foundation, “Research has demonstrated that the arts provide immeasurable benefits to students, both socially and academically. And, as a cornerstone of Puerto Rico’s vibrant culture, the arts community not only provides important historical connection and creativity that impacts education, but it also has the potential to support the revitalization of tourism. Yet many arts institutions and artists on the island are at risk. By stabilizing the arts community, we can ensure families and communities have spaces for shared connection and creative expression. Together, we can help ensure that arts and communities are not just surviving, but are thriving.”

Learn more about the fund.

On July 18, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly rejected an amendment that aimed to cripple the budgets for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The amendment proposed by representative Glenn Grothman (R-WI-06) would have slashed NEA and NEH funding by $23 million each. The proposal was defeated in the house 297 to 114.

On July 17, the U.S. House of Representatives began consideration of spending measures on the House floor, including the Interior, Environment & Related Agencies Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 appropriations bill, which contains funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). During debate on the bill, Representative Glenn Grothman (R-WI-06) offered an amendment to cut $23,250,000 from each agency. Currently, the bill contains $155 million in Fiscal Year FY 2019 funding for each agency which would be a $2 million increase for both compared with FY 2018.

You can learn more about the victory and NEA and NEH funding here.

A vote will take place after 2:30 PM today, July 18, on an amendment that would cut over $23 million from both the NEA and the NEH budget. Yesterday, July 17, the U.S. House of Representatives began consideration of spending measures on the House floor, including the Interior, Environment & Related Agencies Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 appropriations bill, which contains funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). During debate on the bill, Representative Glenn Grothman (R-WI-06) offered an amendment to cut $23,250,000 from each agency. Currently, the bill contains $155 million in Fiscal Year FY 2019 funding for each agency which would be a $2 million increase for both compared with FY 2018.

The Guild is asking all of its constituents to help. Please call your representative now and ask them to oppose the Grothman amendment.

Talking points for conversations with your representative, provided by AAM, include:

• I urge you to oppose the Grothman amendment and support annual funding of at least $155 million each for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in the Interior appropriation bill. These programs are critical to museums' ability to serve their communities as economic and educational assets.
• NEH supports museums as institutions of learning and exploration, and as keepers of our cultural, historical, and scientific heritages. These programs teach essential skills–such as creativity, critical thinking, and effective communication–that are increasingly being sought by employers. NEH also funds humanities councils in every state and U.S. territory, which sponsor family literacy programs, speakers' bureaus, cultural heritage tourism, exhibitions, and live performances.
• The nonprofit arts industry produces $166 billion annually in economic activity, supports 4.6 million full-time equivalent jobs in the arts and related industries, and generates $27.5 billion in revenue to local, state, and federal governments. In partnership with the NEA, state arts agencies annually award more than 20,000 grants to organizations, schools, and artists in more than 4,400 communities across the United States. On average, each dollar awarded by the NEA leverages at least nine dollars from other state, local, and private sources. Private support cannot match the leveraging role of government cultural funding.
• Again I urge you to vote "no" on the Grothman amendment and support funding of at least $155 million each for NEA and NEH in order to bolster museums' vital work in our community.

Researchers at Indiana University are conducting a study on music teaching artists at community music schools. We invite applicable Guild member organizations to participate. Led by Liz Dinwiddie, Department of Music Education, the purpose of the study is to look at the growing field of Music Teaching Artists. Specifically, it addresses how community music school executive directors view the education of Teaching Artists applicants to their organization and what professional development is provided once a Music Teaching Artist is hired.

The National Guild supports data gathering and analysis that broadens the field's understanding of trends and best practices. In that vein, we invite executive directors and program managers at community music schools to contribute to this research. It is entirely voluntary and the study is not connected to the National Guild in any way.

You can access the survey here. Please direct any questions to the lead researcher, Liz Dinwiddie at edinwidd@indiana.edu.

The 2018 Giving USA report was recently released, and it paints an optimistic, but potentially troubling picture, for nonprofit fundraising. Total giving in 2017 was up by three percent to a total of $410.02 billion. However, according to Nonprofit Quarterly, that number doesn’t tell the whole story. Importantly, NPQ writes, “more and more dollar donors are flowing into repositories like foundations and donor-advised funds, where some or all of it will be held for an extended period of time before it gets to a working nonprofit.”

This trend is partly due to an increase in mega-givers that are donating upwards of $200 million. Mega-gifts often funnel into intermediaries before making their way to the organizations on the ground.

Why might this be cause for concern? Direct service organizations “would generally give out the money they raised within the year, while donor-advised funds have a payout rate each year of 15 to 20 percent. And, of course, foundations pay out more in the range of five percent. Thus, the amount of money going into foundations and donor-advised funds may mitigate what nonprofits experience in their budgets relative to the numbers overall, and much of that money is still under the control of the donor, since most are living.”

You can read the full article from NPQ here.

In a new essay, Shawn Ginwright, professor at San Francisco State University and keynote speaker at the Guild’s 2015 Conference, argues that youth development models should move from “trauma informed care” to “healing centered engagement.” While acknowledging the importance of trauma-informed work, Dr. Ginwright’s own experience working with young people—in particular, young African American men who have experienced severe trauma—indicated that the term “trauma-informed” did not “encompass the totality of the [young people’s] experience[s] and focused only on [their] harm, injury and trauma.”

“For me, I realized the term slipped into the murky water of deficit based, rather than asset driven strategies to support young people who have been harmed. Without careful consideration of the terms we use, we can create blind spots in our efforts to support young people,” writes Dr. Ginwright.

After identifying possible deficiencies with the “trauma-informed” framework—including that it focuses on individual rather than collective harm, and that it is centered on pathology rather than possibility—Dr. Ginwright offers a “healing centered” lens as an alternative approach. According to the essay:

“A healing centered approach is holistic involving culture, spirituality, civic action and collective healing. A healing centered approach views trauma not simply as an individual isolated experience, but rather highlights the ways in which trauma and healing are experienced collectively. The term healing centered engagement expands how we think about responses to trauma and offers more holistic approach to fostering well-being.”

You can read the full essay here.

Community arts educators advocate strongly for the importance of arts integration in K-12 schools. However, it’s not always clear how much data—particularly robust quantitative data—there is to back up the case. New research from the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is helpful for starting to fill that gap. According to the Wallace Foundation, the research “finds that high-quality programs that incorporate music, theater or other arts into core subjects such as English and math can make a difference in learning.” Furthermore, the study details how specific arts integration programs may be eligible for funding under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

“AIR researchers scoured studies of arts-integration programs and found 44—a substantial number—that meet the standards of evidence the law requires. Programs that fit the bill incorporate a range of activities, including teacher professional development, school improvement efforts, procurement of instructional materials and supports for English learners,” writes the Wallace Foundation.

You can see the presentation given by AIR on the report or read the full document here.

A recent article in the Los Angeles Times highlighted the growing relationship between trauma, art, and healing, particularly in the context of military veterans. For one veteran, Sgt. Mike Dowling, creative writing was a profound vehicle healing. "Writing that book was a cathartic experience," said Dowling, speaking to the LA times. "Once I got it down on paper, it felt OK to talk about what had been deeply repressed, painful feelings. I found that through writing, I could actually channel some of the energy of certain memories and images into artistic reflections that were empowering."

According to the article, “Art therapy has long been a component of school counseling departments, acute care hospitals and nursing homes. But now it's also being tapped by veterans' agencies and clinics for its value as a constructive expression of states of mind both extreme and inescapable.”

For those dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, art is often one of the only ways to explore deep feelings of pain in a way that is expressive and liberating. For one expert, Tess Banko, executive director of the UCLA Veteran Family Wellness Center and a Marine Corps veteran, the key is the role that art plays in promoting love. "It is important to know that someone loves you — even it is only you — and that is where artistic expression can really make a difference."

Read the full article here.