January 19, 2023 “A Desire for Change.” Here are Five Ideas Animating an Evolving Museum Field January 19, 2023/ Mike Scutari The Arts Funders Forum recently held a virtual panel to discuss how museums can respond to calls for change and achieve greater social impact. Here are five compelling perspectives gleaned from the call’s esteemed participants.Read More
October 26, 2022 The Regional Arts Philanthropy Boom, So Cal Style: The OCMA Gets a New Home October 26, 2022/ Wendy Paris The Orange County Museum of Art raised tens of millions in high-dollar donations for its new facility, which opened with great fanfare last month. It’s the latest example of the growing power of regional arts philanthropy. Read More
October 05, 2022 How Much Funding Is Going to the Arts? And Where Is it Headed? Tax Data Offers Fresh Insights October 05, 2022/ Mike Scutari In what may be the largest data-driven analysis of its kind, researchers crunched mountains of data from arts foundations’ digitized tax forms. They uncovered some telling numbers and disparities in giving. Read More
July 12, 2022 Four Things to Know About the Teiger Foundation’s Support for Arts Curators — and Climate Action July 12, 2022/ Mike Scutari Established by art collector David Teiger in 2008, this New York City-based foundation has stepped up activity over the past two years. We take a look at its history, funding priorities, and new grantmaking initiative.Read More
April 12, 2022 How This Dedicated Cleveland Funder Is Backing the City’s Cultural Institutions April 12, 2022/ Mike Scutari For close to 70 years, the Mandel Foundation has been a supporter of organizations in Cleveland, Israel and beyond, dropping some big recent grants. The foundation’s president explains how and why it backs local institutions.Read More
March 31, 2021 With Museums Still Reeling from the Pandemic, Are Billionaire Trustees Doing Enough? March 31, 2021/ Mike Scutari A year into the pandemic, critics argue that billionaire trustees haven’t provided museums with sufficient support, especially as their wealth has surged. We take a closer look at charged controversies at three major institutions.Read More
March 08, 2021 “We Saw an Opportunity.” A Unique Initiative Helps Museums Tackle Climate Change March 08, 2021/ Mike Scutari The Helen Frankenthaler Foundation wants to help museums assess their environmental footprints and lower energy costs. Here’s how a unique cultural sector grantmaking initiative to tackle climate change came together.Read More
October 07, 2020 How the Grammy Museum Draws Support From Music Lovers, Even With Live Shows on Hold October 07, 2020/ Ade Adeniji Leveraging a powerful brand, the Grammy Museum recently made a digital push to adjust to uncertain times. We speak with leadership about the changes, and get the personal story about why donors are so devoted to the museum.Read More
August 28, 2020 As Small, Overlooked Arts Organizations Face a Difficult Future, Mellon Steps Up August 28, 2020/ Mike Scutari While philanthropy and government aid have kept small arts organizations afloat during the pandemic, funding is drying up. Andrew W. Mellon Foundation launched a new fund to back vulnerable and overlooked artists and nonprofits. Read More
August 25, 2020 "There Was Real Need." Art Bridges’ CEO on Backing Museums in a Pandemic and Beyond August 25, 2020/ Mike Scutari In May, Alice Walton’s Art Bridges Foundation launched the Bridge Ahead initiative to help museums navigate the pandemic. We check in with CEO Paul Provost on the initiative’s origins and the foundation’s unique model.Read More
August 13, 2020 Museums Are Fighting to Survive. Here’s One Funder Backing Smaller, Struggling Institutions August 13, 2020/ Mike Scutari A third of museum directors are not confident they’ll be able to survive the next 16 months without additional financial relief. Alice Walton’s Bridge Ahead initiative is disbursing $5 million to endangered small and midsize institutions.Read More
June 03, 2020 As Revenues Evaporate, Arts Institutions Adapt Their Fundraising to Survive June 03, 2020/ Allen Irish Forced closures and reduced attendance mean museums and performing arts groups are losing the bulk of their income. They’ll need to lean heavily on fundraising to survive—and get creative about it.Read More
May 18, 2020 Billionaire Donors May Prevent a Museum Meltdown, but Which Institutions Will Be Saved? May 18, 2020/ Mike Scutari COVID-19 has pushed many small museums to the brink, amplifying the gap between the sector’s haves and have nots. Will mega-donors give less affluent organizations a second look or double-down on the pre-crisis status quo?Read More
March 16, 2020 “The Punishment Does Not Fit the Crime.” Donors Revolt After a Museum Director is Ousted March 16, 2020/ Mike Scutari Nonprofits are increasingly keen to show zero tolerance for personal misconduct. But news out of Manhattan paints an alarming picture of what can happen when an institution fails to loop in donors about major decisions.Read More
August 06, 2019 Almost There: Key Takeaways from a Museum’s Successful Capital Campaign August 06, 2019/ Mike Scutari Once considered the "scrappiest sibling in the bursting family of contemporary art museums in New York City," the New Museum embarked on an ambitious $89 million capital campaign in 2016. Here’s why that effort has been a success.Read More
June 24, 2019 “Inclusiveness and Openness of Spirit.” A Donor Makes the Case for Free Museum Admission June 24, 2019/ Mike Scutari With more arts funders talking about "equitable access for all,” a gift out of Los Angeles points to a simple strategy: make museum admission free. Which philanthropists and institutions have swung behind this idea? And what’s been the impact? Read More
March 06, 2019 Planet Word: A Philanthropist’s Mission to Build a Museum of Language March 06, 2019/ Julia Travers The real estate heiress and former reading teacher Ann Friedman had a dream to open a museum of language in D.C., and it’s now under construction. Friedman tells us how this project emerged and who—besides herself—is putting up the money.Read More
October 11, 2017 We've Seen This Movie Before: A Big Gift Jumpstarts a Museum's Flagging Capital Campaign October 11, 2017/ Mike Scutari A billionaire couple historically focused on health and education causes comes around to the educational and economic value of supporting a film museum's beleaguered capital project. Read More