Going deeper: New study of thousands of arts donors uncovers values and reasons to give

A study by the East Bay Community Foundation and The San Francisco Foundation chronicles how artists and small- to mid-size arts groups, typically led by artists, found creative ways to involve new donors to support new work. It also uncovers these donors’ motivations to give. Its lessons can help community foundations everywhere advance strategies supporting the success of artists and artist-driven organizations.

Looking for a good number of new donors to the arts? Try 3,120.

Bay Area Fund For Artists Matching Commissions Program (originally posted April 21, 2008, updated December 7, 2010) Community foundations take heart: new arts donors are out there. They may just be waiting to be asked—by the artists themselves! A pilot program launched in 2004 challenged smaller arts nonprofits in and around Oakland to attract individual [...]

Last in a series on public policy, arts and community foundations…

A Capitol event: connecting with elected officials California’s nonprofit arts organizations add $5.4 billion to the state’s economy annually, creating more than 160,000 jobs and generating nearly $300 million in state and local taxes. This message that arts are part of the solution—and part of the creative economy— set the stage for a spring legislative [...]

Second in a series on public policy, arts and community foundations…

A mayor can make a world of difference San Francisco Mayor Christopher’s action to enact a hotel tax to support the arts nearly 50 years ago is mirrored in Sacramento today via Mayor Kevin Johnson. Motivated by his life-long respect for the arts, and inspired by a community foundation event featuring Michael Kaiser, president of [...]

First in a series on public policy, arts and community foundations…

Pursuing public policies that advance the arts in California communities. What does a community foundation have to do with government policies and spending that support the arts? Any number of things, it seems. That is the finding from a lively two days spent sharing knowledge among a group of ten community foundations working to generate [...]

When a community foundation leads in the arts, great things can happen…

Oliver Ranch Foundation is a story more than 25 years in the making, and one with an unlimited future—thanks to the community spirit of a truly visionary couple, and the distinctive capabilities of Community Foundation Sonoma County.

Giving hope and help to arts leaders in the midst of a deep recession…

Embracing dynamic adaptability in the Bay Area Is there anything special arts funders can do to help nonprofits and artists deal with the continued effects of a down economy? Something beyond continued funding opportunities, capacity building, and technical support?

Community foundations see the big picture, and help usher in a new era of municipal collaboration in the arts

Launching the East Bay Cultural Corridor Talk about a multiplier effect: Here’s how two community foundations leveraged private foundation dollars to seed a four-city partnership for the arts. It’s an equation worth knowing in regions where acting together is the better path for growing a vibrant, sustainable arts landscape.

A recognized voice gives valuable tips on how arts organizations can thrive in a down economy—and inspires a mayor to act for arts

Michael Kaiser, sponsored by Sacramento Region Community Foundation This is the story of what a community—even one facing economic and social issues—can do to stake a claim for arts, and of how a community foundation can spark this public commitment. California’s challenges are visible in its capital, where images of a tent city housing hundreds [...]

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.