Powerful message + Memorable event = New momentum

An Evening of Song & Poetry
Community Foundation Sonoma County
What can a community do when economic recession threatens local arts organizations and makes donors cautious about their giving? In Sonoma County, these scary circumstances led to a strategy for showcasing local arts—while helping donors reconnect to their passion for creativity in community.

Putting community in community foundation arts

San Diego Arts & Culture Working Group
Relevance. Responsiveness. Relationships. Any community foundation working in arts and culture wants more of each. The San Diego Foundation grows these assets through its Arts & Culture Working Group.
It’s an approach adopted in 2003 to connect community members to community foundation initiatives. Through this collaboration with volunteers, The San [...]

True story: Arts change life at community foundation

Orange County Community Foundation
“I am raising my son differently because of our work in the arts.” Shelley Hoss, President of the Orange County Community Foundation, is taking her organization’s newfound role in the arts personally. The story begins in the mid-1990s, when Shelley’s team recognized that arts represented “a gap in both our knowledge base [...]

Arts, the democratic ideal, and community leadership

Community Foundation Sonoma County
“The arts are common ground for community, a meeting ground,” says Melissa Kester, Arts Development Officer for Community Foundation Sonoma County. “It’s about expressing different points of view, understanding things in new ways, and coming together around shared experiences.” This insight opens a window for viewing the foundation’s partnership with its local [...]