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
May 16, 2022 Seven Questions for Getty Foundation Director Joan Weinstein May 16, 2022/ Mike Scutari Dr. Joan Weinstein is the director of the Getty Foundation, the grantmaking arm of the J. Paul Getty Trust. We recently checked in with her to discuss her biggest influences, the next big funding area in the museum space, and more.Read More
March 15, 2022 A Foundation Is Helping Museums Tackle Climate Change—and Drawing a Big Response March 15, 2022/ Mike Scutari Last year, the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation launched an initiative to help museums adopt climate adaptation and mitigation strategies. The initial round drew enthusiastic interest, leading the funder to expand the program.Read More
February 24, 2022 Eleven Ways Funders Are Supporting Social Justice Within and Through the Arts February 24, 2022/ IP Staff An increasing number of funders have been looking to spur social change through their arts funding, especially during the pandemic. Here are 11 examples we’ve been following.Read More
February 23, 2022 IP Briefing: What's Going on With Philanthropy for Visual Arts? February 23, 2022/ IP Staff Public funding for the arts has been dwindling for decades, so most arts nonprofits rely on a mix of earned income and philanthropy. Major donors play an outsized role in this area, often creating tensions within institutions.Read More
November 01, 2021 As Washington Wrangles Over Spending, How Can Philanthropy Make the Case for Family Child Care? November 01, 2021/ Connie Matthiessen The nonprofit All Our Kin has been working for 20 years to support family care educators. As the early care crisis grows, and Washington wrestles over alternatives, it’s an approach that deserves more philanthropic attention.Read More
May 06, 2021 Eli Broad Exemplified the Promise and Peril of Big Philanthropy May 06, 2021/ David Callahan Eli Broad, who died last week, was a larger-than-life philanthropist. He tapped his fortune to bankroll ambitious initiatives in education, the arts and science. His turbo-charged giving offers both inspiration and cautionary lessons.Read More
April 15, 2021 “Recover and Reinvent.” An Influential Arts Funder Looks Beyond the Pandemic April 15, 2021/ Mike Scutari The St. Paul-based Jerome Foundation is allocating at least $8 million through 2025 to fill gaps as COVID-response funding dries up. We check in with president Ben Cameron about the foundation’s “commitment to the long game.”Read More
April 13, 2021 “From an Award to an Investment.” A Funder Expands its Support for Individual Artists April 13, 2021/ Mike Scutari The Joan Mitchell Foundation’s new fellowship provides artists with five years of unrestricted support. Deputy Director Kay Takeda fills us in on the program and how the pandemic underscored the need to back individual artists.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
January 14, 2021 Seeking More Diverse Collections, an Arts Funder Looks Beyond Museums and Libraries January 14, 2021/ Mike Scutari A new initiative from the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation broadens the definition of a “collecting organization” to include preserving narratives from historically underrepresented communities. Executive Director David Farren explains.Read More
November 05, 2020 After Donors Revolt, a Museum Shelves a Bold Diversity Initiative. What Are Some Takeaways? November 05, 2020/ Mike Scutari Facing strident opposition from mega-donors and the Association of Art Museum Directors, the Baltimore Museum of Art paused plans to auction work to seed an ambitious diversity initiative. The dispute tells an important story. Read More
September 21, 2020 Visual Arts Organizations Scramble to Sustain Fundraising. Many Won’t Survive September 21, 2020/ Holly Hall The pandemic, related closures and a decimated economy are placing tremendous financial strain on visual arts institutions. Even as they start to reopen on a limited basis, experts predict that many visual arts groups will not survive.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 25, 2020 Scrutiny of Donors and “Reputation Laundering” is Growing Thanks to COVID and Protests June 25, 2020/ Mike Scutari In recent years, critics have sounded off about how the wealthy and corporations use philanthropy to burnish their reputations. Now such concerns are intensifying—even as nonprofits need every donor they can find. Read More