House concerts raise money and build relationships in Mendocino County.

Supporting arts in schools is a hot topic in communities everywhere, especially as economic woes continue to affect school budgets. The Community Foundation of Mendocino County took on this issue in a high-touch way, organizing a series of intimate concerts hosted in the homes of board members or arts boosters.

This approach brought in needed new money for arts education, as well as new donor contacts for the community foundation.

100 Artists in 100 Classrooms

The house concerts were part of a multi-faceted campaign to grow the community foundation’s Arts in the Schools Endowment. The goal of the campaign was to raise $100,000. There was a big incentive to hit this mark. Dollars donors gave to the arts endowment were matched by the community foundation with dollars used to immediately put more artists in local classrooms. The community foundation chose to make this match using regranting funds provided by The James Irvine Foundation.

The community foundation marketed the campaign by promoting its end result: 100 Artists in 100 Classrooms. Irvine matching funds would be used to bring the county’s public school students in direct contact with artists—providing personal experiences and fueling appreciation for art as a mode of expression as well as a lifelong source of inspiration and joy.

The full campaign involved a series of solicitation mailings to individuals, outreach to businesses and to area grantmakers, and special events—including house concerts.

Varied venues, and performances

Nearly 20 area musicians donated their talent and time to the cause, playing in seaside living rooms, on lovely meadows and even in the caves at a family-owned vineyard.

Their works span many genres. The series included Paul McCandless, an Emmy-award-winning woodwind musician, Elena Casanova, a Cuban-born pianist who performs both classical and Latin music, Hawaiian music from the group Hui Arago, classical music pieces performed by a duet of retired teachers and current high school students, and sophisticated vocals and arrangements of nightclub standards by Paula Samonte and T.J. Elton.

House concerts took place in the fall and early winter, and raised about $15,000 through attendee contributions. Suggested donation amounts ranged from $25 to $50 per event.

Concert hosts provided the venue, hors d’oeuvres and samplings of the region’s wonderful wines. Hosts often took an active role in the invitation process, encouraging their friends and colleagues to join in these unique artistic opportunities.

Immediate and ongoing benefits

The overall campaign met its goal, and house concerts provided more than 10 percent of the total $110,000 raised.

However, dollars generated may not be the true measure of the value of house concerts. The more significant metric probably involves the number of new relationships initiated between community members and their community foundation. “Many of the 264 people attending the concerts were people we had not met and wanted to know,” reports Susanne Norgard, Executive Director at The Community Foundation of Mendocino County. “This format was perfect for making an introduction. We were in a relaxed setting, we shared an arts experience, and we were endorsed by people who have high credibility in the community and know us well.”

House concerts are good for youth in schools today, and community gain forever, in Mendocino County.

The Community Foundation of Mendocino County receives technical assistance through Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of  The James Irvine Foundation.

Placer Community Foundation receives $1 million for arts

Two things might be essential for younger or smaller community foundations that seek to attract the attention—and the resources—of major arts donors. One is a visible commitment to arts and culture. The other is the courage to dream big.

These are the takeaways from a homegrown arts story in Placer County.

The artist at the center of the story is Susan Cooley-Gilliom, who was well known for her award-winning pastels and watercolors, as well as her work as an environmental activist. The art she created blended her love of the local natural environment and her concern for its protection. “Susan had essentially learned her art here, in this community,” said husband Bob Gilliom.

Susan passed away in 2003, and last year her mother, Sue D. Cooley, turned to the Placer Community Foundation to honor the memory of her daughter through the arts.

A permanent contribution to local arts

Mrs. Cooley’s endowed gift of $1 million is believed to be the largest donation ever in support of the arts in Placer County. It will fund the Susan Cooley-Gilliom Artist Residence and Teaching (ART) Program, which is designed to provide bi-annual residencies to renowned artists working throughout the West Coast. These visiting artists will conduct public workshops and lectures through events hosted by two community foundation partners: PlacerArts and Roseville Arts!.

“The ART Program is a unique and special way that we can honor and remember Susan, while providing permanent support of art education for the region and fellow artists that she cherished,” said Sue D. Cooley in announcing this program.

Growing through the arts

Mrs. Cooley’s gift will make a lasting difference for Placer County, and for its community foundation. This single gift increased the Placer Community Foundation’s assets by nearly 20 percent.

Although relatively small, and six-years young, the Placer Community Foundation is making its mark in the community in many ways, including arts. With support from individual donors and The James Irvine Foundation, the community foundation has granted over $285,000 to advance arts and culture locally; these dollars are particularly significant in light of the severe decline in California state support for the arts.

Despite poor economic conditions, the Placer Community Foundation board, volunteers and staff have chosen to showcase the value of a vibrant local arts sector. “Arts experiences are community experiences—they add richness and understanding to our lives,” said Veronica Blake, CEO at the community foundation. “We have named art as one of our areas of focus, along with priorities such as youth development and health. Art is an area where we know we can engage donors and nonprofits and make a real difference for our community.”

Standing tall

The community foundation stands for art in some very public ways, beginning with a website homepage message that blares “Support The Local Arts.” Its commitment to the sector takes tangible form through multiple program and development efforts, which come together as the Arts Initiative for Placer County. This initiative includes:

• Providing audience development grants focused on engaging residents (with particular emphasis on newcomers) and increasing public involvement in ways that support the sustainability of arts organizations.
• Supplying “Helping arts thrive” grants and workshops to improve current operations and build sustainable economic models in nonprofits.
• Supporting collaborative arts marketing—including funding a community-wide arts calendar and a registry of artists.
• Launching an endowment to build a permanent source of capital to “engage, inspire and enlighten through the arts.”
• Publishing Arts Build Community—a compilation of community foundation arts grants from 2006 through 2009, packaged for easy consumption by local arts donors.

All of the above set context and provided credibility for the next big step: launching a major arts fund development campaign.

Aiming high

The community foundation set its sights high for the arts campaign, with a goal of $1 million in giving. “We thought this community’s artists and arts organizations deserved big thinking on our part,” Veronica Blake recalled. This thinking paid off, with the gift from Mrs. Cooley providing an amazing boost to the campaign. “This gift honors Susan Cooley-Gilliom by merging her love of art and the inspiration she derived through our region’s landscapes. We are so pleased to have been chosen to carry out her legacy in such a meaningful, lasting way.”

As longtime supporters of the arts, Susan’s family saw the community foundation’s growing contribution and importance in the local arts sector. When a community foundation board member presented the opportunity to participate in the campaign and make a lasting difference for the arts, the community foundation became the natural place for Susan’s family to create her legacy.

This family’s action is proof that when a community foundation believes in the arts enough to dream big, and then pursues those dreams with visible commitment, the results can be transformative—for the community, and the community foundation.

The Placer Community Foundation receives technical assistance through Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of  The James Irvine Foundation.

California Community Foundation is changing the artistic face of Los Angeles

For a winning example of how a community foundation supports individual artists, look to L.A.  Since 1988 the California Community Foundation has awarded nearly $1 million to 157 emerging and midcareer artists through its Fellowships for Visual Artists.

Fellowships allow artists to continue their creative work when the realities of bills and financial responsibilities compete with their artistic focus. As a group, the fellows are changing access to art—and the shape of communities—throughout Los Angeles County.

Meet the 2009 fellows

A new catalog showcases the 14 artists who were awarded fellowships in 2009. Although they work in diverse media—including photography, digital installations, ceramic and moss, acrylic ink, and performance art—the fellows are united in using their art to engage the public and contribute to change within the vibrant cultural mosaic of Los Angeles.

The role of art within a community is expressed by multimedia artist and 2009 fellow Juan Capistran: “Art, by itself, cannot solve all our problems. It can, though, spark a flame, create a space for dialogue, and give voice to [those] overlooked.”

Visit an online gallery showcasing the work of the fellows.

About the fellowships

The Fellowships for Visual Artists program provides one-year fellowships in an effort to:

• Acknowledge the contributions of outstanding midcareer artists in Los Angeles by enhancing, encouraging and nurturing artistic accomplishments
• Encourage and foster promising and emerging artists in Los Angeles by supporting early stages of individual development
• Increase access to artistic support among the diverse communities of Los Angeles
• Support and develop artistic or cultural talent of special merit that reflects Los Angeles’ diverse population

Rather than investing in a particular art project, the Fellowships for Visual Artists provide a $15,000 to $20,000 investment in each artist’s career. By granting the money without restrictions on how it is spent, the fellowship allows an artist to meet his or her area of greatest need.

The catalog provides insight on how fellows use the award.  More than 40 percent is spent on the purchase of art supplies; 36 percent is spent on the development of new projects; and 15 percent on personal expenses. It’s encouraging to note that so much money given to support the arts goes directly into new art projects.

Fellows gain additional career help by attending a two-day Business of Art retreat that strengthens business skills and supports their sustainability.

The catalog is part of a strategy for advancing the California Community Foundation’s goal to “ensure that all residents in Los Angeles County have access to the arts in their communities.” Copies are available upon request by emailing the foundation at info@ccf-la.org.

Since 2000, the community foundation has distributed more than $3.7 million to support the arts. Read more about this community foundation’s Arts & Culture Fund.

The California Community Foundation is a participant in Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of  The James Irvine Foundation.

Bay area research shines a light on donor motivations

Here is an interesting question: What causes people to support artists and artist-driven projects? Behind it is an essential question for communities that seek to nurture vibrant arts sectors: How can artists, as well as the small arts organizations they lead, engage new donors?

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.

An innovative—and successful—program

This research emanated from the Fund For Artists matching commissions, a collaborative program of these two California community foundations. This program supports the development of new works by Bay Area artists and helps small- to mid-size arts organizations attract funding through the use of relatively small matching challenge grants (up to $5,000 at The San Francisco Foundation, up to $10,000 at East Bay Community Foundation). The whole idea is to expand the pool of individual donors engaged with artists and their work.

Between 2004 and early 2010, this program has funded 116 new arts projects involving 181 artists. It has generated $729,254 in contributions by more than 3,120 individual donors, many of whom are first-time givers to artists and arts projects.

A groundbreaking study

In 2009, researchers at Helicon Collaborative and WolfBrown were contracted to study the values and motivations of donors to these matching commissions projects. They surveyed individual donors involved with the matching commissions program as well as donors to 17 mid- and large-size cultural organizations in the Bay Area. They collected data from more than 3,000 arts givers, and they interviewed more than 70 of these donors. Their report provides the first in-depth study of the psychographics of donors to artists and artist-driven projects.

Fundraisers take note: It is about them, not about you.

Connecting to the values and interests of potential donors is essential to success in any fundraising effort, and this research certainly reinforces the point when it comes to raising money for artists’ projects. The process must begin with understanding what motivates the people you seek to engage, which is where the research findings bring new depth and insight.

A set of primary values characterizes arts donors in the Bay Area

Five factors emerged from a study of 23 variables examined by researchers.

• Humanism: A concern for social justice and equal opportunity, appreciation for diverse viewpoints and perspectives, an interest in learning about different cultures, a gratitude for one’s good fortune and a desire to “give back” to others, a commitment to alleviating others’ suffering. 82% of the sample indicated strong affinity with this value.
• Distinction: An interest in “great works that have stood the test of time” and artists with national or international reputations, a concern for sustaining the long-term future of key arts institutions, a desire to see “world class artistic programming” in the Bay Area. 61% of the sample indicated strong affinity with this value.
• Localism: A concern for one’s community and for artists living in the community, an interest in awakening people’s creativity and ensuring community members’ access to cultural experiences, an interest in programs that serve children. 59% of the sample indicated strong affinity with this value.
• Bonding: An interest in civic affairs and community improvement, involvement in expanding social networks and making new friends, strong family relationships and an active spiritual life; interest in arts programs that reflect one’s heritage. 50% of the sample indicated strong affinity with this value.
• Progressivism: An interest in being “on the leading edge of art and ideas,” being an individualist with iconoclastic leanings, valuing independent thought. 29% of the sample indicated strong affinity with this value.

The level of affinity noted in each value makes it clear that some values are more prevalent than others. In addition, some values appear to correlate more closely with each other. For example, people with strong humanism values also show strong preferences for localism and bonding.

Donors to artists and small arts organizations differ from donors to larger arts institutions.

In comparison to donors to mid-size and large cultural institutions, donors to artists and artists’ projects are more likely to be:

• Artists themselves (professional or amateur)
• Young adults or mid-life (18-54), without children, and of diverse cultural backgrounds
• Interested in social justice and environmentalism
• Interested in diversity of cultures and points of view
• Giving less than $5,000 annually to all charitable causes
• Interested in supporting small projects rather than sustaining institutions

Donors to artists’ projects are moved to give by four connection points.

The things that matter to donors supporting artists and projects are:

• A personal relationship with the artist
• A passion for the art form being applied
• An emotional or intellectual interest in the subject matter of the artwork
• An involvement with the culture or community touched by the project

Connecting on any of these points can lead to a gift; connecting on more than one of these points increases the likelihood of giving.

Research with high utility

The research report suggests ways that artists and artist-driven organizations can connect more meaningfully with individual donors by appealing to their values and tapping into their interests. The report offers practical tools and tips to individual artists and small arts groups for raising funds for new artistic work. It tells the stories of six artists and small to mid-size arts groups that leveraged matching funds to generate resources for their projects. It includes information on donor demographics and values, a summary of fundraising techniques used by commissioned artists and groups, and a comparison of matching commission donors to a broader pool of Bay Area donors who contribute to larger arts organizations.

To learn more about the Fund For Artists and download the research report, visit The San Francisco Foundation website and the East Bay Community Foundation website.

East Bay Community Foundation and The San Francisco Community Foundation are part of Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

Bay Area Fund For Artists Matching Commissions Program

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 donors. It worked, and has been expanded to support individual artists and small- to mid-size arts groups throughout the Bay Area.

The Fund For Artists matching commissions program supports the creation of new art and expands the pool of individual donors engaged with artists and their work. It was developed and funded by East Bay Community Foundation and The San Francisco Foundation, with additional financial support from Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC), The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and The James Irvine Foundation.

An innovative approach born of genuine concern

Performing, visual and media artists and artist-run organizations can apply for matching grants—up to $5,000 at The San Francisco Foundation and up to $10,000 at East Bay Community Foundation—to develop and present new work. Recipients must secure matching funds from individual donors, preferably from those who have not given to these artists or their organizations before.

The program is the brainchild of Diane Sanchez at the East Bay Community Foundation and John Killacky, during his tenure at The San Francisco Foundation. In 2003, the two reviewed data from the Urban Institute’s Investing in Creativity study and Joan Jeffri’s Information on Artists III study. Killacky recalled how this research “depressed and motivated” the duo. He said, “The research showed that there are more artists in the Bay Area than in any other U.S. metropolitan area except New York City and Los Angeles. But there are far fewer grant programs for artists here than in many places with smaller artist populations. Despite high educational achievement, more than 60% of artists in this region earn less than $7,000 from their art. This number has not improved in 15 years! This data also confirmed that artists have difficulty raising funds they can use to create new work and that more grants and contributions for this are needed. And, looking at larger trends in the arts field, we could see that future growth in giving is going to come from individual donations, not foundation or corporate support. So we thought, why not try to help artists help themselves?”

Impressive results

By its fifth year, the program has awarded $658,750 in grants to support the creation of 116 new works involving 181 artists. As of March 2010, the grants have been matched by $729,254 in donations by 3,120 donors drawn from diverse populations—and many are first-time donors to the arts.

Donations range in size from $2 to $10,000. The median gift amount is $100.

On-the-ground value

The matching commissions approach is clearly a boon to artists and the smaller arts organizations they lead.

The motivation for donors is real. Research published in 2010 shows that 90% of donors reported that the match requirement was influential in their motivation to give, and 43% said it stimulated them to contribute more than they normally would have.

And the testimonials from artists and arts organizations are plentiful.

According to Patrick Dooley, artistic director and founder of the Shotgun Players in Berkeley, “Our small size is an asset, something that gives us a great advantage with donors. I’ve heard many people say that they support us, and other small companies, because they can see they are having more impact here than they would giving a similar amount to a larger organization. And they also value the personal connection they can make with the artists here because we’re small. They wouldn’t get that at a larger regional theater.”

Sherri Young, executive director of San Francisco’s African-American Shakespeare Company, reported: “This funding challenge was a wonderful opportunity for our supporters to step up and give, and a true reason for us to ask for funds. It was an eye-opener for us in challenging preconceived ideas about who has money and who did not. The challenge works and is encouraging for organizations such as ours to increase our individual donor base in a way that works for us.”

Eugene Rodriguez, executive director of Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center in San Pablo, wrote: “The outcomes of the donor match have been broader and deeper than we had anticipated. It enabled donors to become part of our core artistic process, thereby strengthening their understanding of the many facets of our work and deepening their connection and commitment to the organization and its mission.”

Lasting benefits

This approach will continue to have a major impact on smaller arts organizations that lack significant fundraising infrastructure. Grants go to a number of organizations that had never fundraised for artistic commissions before; many had no idea that their supporters would respond so favorably. More importantly, the success of the matching commissions helps build a donor base that these organizations can continue to connect with in support of future financial sustainability.

Plus, new research, completed in 2010, sheds bright light on the motivations of these donors—and provides practical suggestions for any individual artist or artist-driven organization that seeks to cultivate new donors.

This activity was conducted as part of Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

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 reception in Sacramento. The idea was formed by Communities Advancing the Arts participants, and gained ready support from Senator Curren Price of Los Angeles, chair of the California Joint Legislative Committee on the Arts. Senator Price served as honorary host of the reception, along with two co-sponsors—Senate President pro Tem Darryl Steinberg of Sacramento, and Senator Loni Hancock of Oakland.

Standing for arts

In total, more than 40 legislators, staff members and guests joined the cohort of 30 community foundation leaders to fill a majestic room inside the Capitol. As Ruth Blank, Sacramento Region Community Foundation CEO, stated in her remarks as local community foundation host for this event, “We stand here united by our belief that the arts build community—that people and places grow stronger through the creativity and connections and commerce that the arts inspire.”

Her comment rang true throughout the reception, which served a dual purpose: fostering relationships between community foundations and their respective state elected officials, and informing these state officials of the gains being made by community foundations and their partners to generate new giving to sustain arts in locales across California.

Group and individual community foundation achievements were celebrated at this event. It began with remarks from senators Price and Hancock, each of whom spoke from the heart about the importance of arts to California people and communities.

Anne Vally, The James Irvine Foundation’s leader for the Communities Advancing the Arts initiative, reported that collectively, initiative participants have raised $23 million in new funds for the arts; the even better news is that a high percent of these funds are endowed. Plus, participants have increased annual grantmaking to the arts by $5 million. (Note that dollars reported here were through completion of 2008; with 2009 numbers showing continued growth.)

This aggregate reporting in turn led to several individual community foundations sharing recent fund development successes—beginning with a $250,000 endowment gift in Orange County, and including other examples such as 2,600 new donors to a matching commissions program in the Bay Area.

The event concluded with a remarkable performance by two youth artists, Maya Haines and Marsalis Cannady, participating in Poetry Out Loud, introduced by Sacramento Poet Laureate Bob Stanley.

Two productive days, and a promising future

The legislative reception was part of a two-day gathering of Communities Advancing the Arts participants in Sacramento. The gathering began with a question: What does a community foundation committed to arts have to do with policy?

The events, strategies, and examples shared in response point to a simple answer: As much as it wants.

More specifically, community foundations have demonstrated proven ability in this arena. The critical variables that affect how far they go with policy are internal philosophy and capacity, and external credibility and opportunity.

Throughout this time in Sacramento, community foundations illuminated a core principle that permeates their range of work on arts policy: It’s all about leverage. It’s about applying the assets of a community foundation—influence, relationships, partnerships, ability to engage all local voices, access to leaders, support from donors, and more—to generate greater public good.

In other words, it is about community leadership in the arts.

This is the third and final posting in a Communities Advancing the Arts series on community foundations and policy. Access the earlier posts here.

Communities Advancing the Arts is a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

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 the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Mayor Johnson has boldly asserted the importance of arts as one of the primary planks in his platform for elevating Sacramento to the status of a world-class city.

Personal passion, public vision

Mayor Johnson addressed a group of arts-focused community foundations gathered in Sacramento this spring. His passion and vision for community arts are palpable—he explains that Sacramento is the capital of a state that on its own is one of the ten largest economies globally, that it merits a place among great destination cities worldwide, and that achieving this status requires commitment to arts and culture.

Early in his tenure as mayor, he launched For Art’s Sake, an initiative grounded in a three-point strategy for making arts a competitive advantage for the Sacramento region: 1) strengthen the cultural infrastructure—with a focus on funding and facilities, 2) increase access to arts and arts education, and 3) invest in creative people and talent—including making sure local artists feel esteemed.

The mayor’s leadership is heightening awareness of the critical importance of arts in the future of Sacramento, and bringing added momentum to the positive programs and strong leaders supporting arts locally. Sacramento Region Community Foundation is an active partner of the mayor in the work of building community through arts; the community foundation helped fund the launch of For Art’s Sake, and senior staff participate on key committees charged with further developing and implementing this initiative. Mayor Johnson stated that the city and the community foundation “came together in a very powerful way” around arts as a “connector of people, conveyor of culture, and expression of ideas.”

Part three in the series will be posted next week: Learn how community foundations in California connected with state elected officials at a legislative reception.

Communities Advancing the Arts is a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

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 new local arts giving across California.

The learning took place in Sacramento, at an event sponsored by The James Irvine Foundation as part of its Communities Advancing the Arts initiative.

Policy is defined through the lens of public gain

Participants entered into conversation by reflecting on the best way to define public policy. Their collective characterization follows:

Policy is a definite course of action adopted and pursued by a government for the sake of more efficiently bringing about a public benefit.

In short, public policy is a way to achieve public good. And, when it comes to arts and community foundations, this definition translates into multiple expressions.

Policy in action takes diverse forms

Following are several policy achievements reported by Communities Advancing the Arts participants and their local partners:

• 510 Arts: A unique four-city collaboration to create an arts corridor in the East Bay. Through the work of the East Bay Community Foundation, the cities of Berkeley, Richmond, Emeryville, and Oakland came together to pool resources and develop a collective approach to marketing the distinct arts scenes in each of these locales. The outer expression is www.510Arts.org, a shared website. The inner workings go deeper, and involve a statement of principles and agreement signed by all four mayors. According to Diane Sanchez, Director of Grantmaking and Program Services at the community foundation, “The idea is to promote East Bay arts as a whole,” as a way to help each city gain additional visibility and support for its arts organizations. Read more.

• Santa Rosa Arts District: Establishing and funding a zone for the arts. Community Foundation Sonoma County, together with Sonoma Arts Council, was an advocate for establishing an arts district in Santa Rosa. These players provided education and promoted the benefits of a downtown arts district—as well as the value of funding it with a 1% arts ordinance applied to public or private developments in the city of Santa Rosa. It was an exercise in endurance and relationship development, reported Melissa Kester, Development Officer for the Arts at the community foundation. “We worked with the city to craft this ordinance, talked to developers, and held meetings for all stakeholders, including one event that featured a debate between two developers—one who was for and one who was against the ordinance.” This inclusive approach has paid dividends; the arts district is popular, was a significant influence in Santa Rosa competing for—and winning—an All-American City award, and has led to a redevelopment project featuring a major downtown building that is now designated to serve an arts purpose. Next up: The community foundation and arts council are exploring a county “Arts to Zoo” tax similar to the approach taken in Denver and elsewhere.

• Master Planning and Public Funding: Elevating arts in Monterey County. The Arts Council for Monterey County, in tandem with the Community Foundation for Monterey County, successfully conveyed the need to sustain funding when elected officials sought to dramatically reduce the County’s budget line item for arts due to hard times. These players made the case for arts as an economic contributor to the region and a critical element in Monterey’s identity. The County decision to restore most of the planned budget cuts, and to reaffirm the formula used to ensure ongoing annual funding to arts, directly supports the work of the community foundation and arts council in creating Creative Monterey County, the first ever cultural plan for the region. The comprehensive planning process involved new research and inputs from private and public stakeholders in all corners of the County. These stakeholders helped build the case for arts in the County, and shaped the goals and strategies now being pursued to accelerate arts’ contribution to community. Ongoing plan implementation is supported in part by the County arts budget line item. “This process has brought a new level of public visibility and respect for the arts… and it has elevated the credibility of the arts council as a vital agent for community well-being,” said Julie Drezner, Vice President of Community Engagement at the community foundation.

A spectrum of possibilities; a recognition that policy is not for everyone

These are just three landscape-changing examples of the types of work community foundations can do for arts in the policy arena. Of course, an active policy role is not for every organization. Some community foundations adopt a conscious stance to stand outside this arena, viewing policy work as contrary to their desire to maintain a neutral posture in the community.

Others are active in policy that affects programmatic priorities. For example, Ventura County Community Foundation is working with its County Superintendent and the four largest organizations providing arts education in area schools to develop a sharper understanding of these school-based programs and their contributions to youth. The expectation is that all players will join together to create an enhanced, integrated approach to arts education that better connects schools with public and private arts venues.

Plus, community foundations can contribute to the effectiveness of good arts policies that originate outside of their involvement. A case in point involves San Francisco, where a hotel tax for the arts was instituted in 1961 through the diligent efforts of Mayor George Christopher. Today, The San Francisco Foundation actively participates on the committee that makes grants for the arts from funds generated by the hotel tax, and in this role helps inform program strategies and encourage grants that optimize the impact of this tax.

Part two in this series will be posted next week: Learn how a mayor can make a world of difference for the arts.

Communities Advancing the Arts is a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

Guest post by Margy Waller,
Cincinnati Fine Arts Fund

Many of us have spent years searching for the strongest possible message and the best case on which to build support for the arts. Yet, the messages we have used to create dialogue in communities across the country have not yielded the broad sense of shared responsibility for the arts that we seek.

In late 2008, leaders of the Fine Arts Fund, with financial support from The Greater Cincinnati Foundation and the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation, embarked on a research initiative designed to develop a communications strategy for an inclusive community dialogue leading to broadly shared public responsibility for arts and culture. The result of that work, The Arts Ripple Effect Report, was released early in 2009.

Perceptions shape behavior toward the arts

After a year of investigation and hundreds of interviews with residents of the area and surrounding states, this research—conducted with the Topos Partnership, a national communications research organization—finds that public responsibility for the arts is undermined by deeply entrenched perceptions. Members of the public typically have positive feelings toward the arts, some quite strong, but how they think about the arts is shaped by a number of common default patterns that obscure a sense of shared responsibility in this area.

For example, it is natural and common for people who are not insiders to think of the arts in terms of entertainment. Problematically, entertainment is a matter of personal taste, not public responsibility, and is viewed as an extra—not as a necessity. People make several assumptions that work against the objective of positioning the arts as a public good.

• The arts are a private matter: Arts are about individual tastes, experiences and enrichment, and individual expression by artists.
• The arts are a good to be purchased: Therefore, most assume that the arts should succeed or fail, as any product does in the marketplace, based on what people want to purchase.
• People expect to be passive, not active: People expect to have a mostly passive, consumer relationship with the arts. The arts will be offered to them, and therefore do not need to be created or supported by them.
• The arts are a low priority: Even when people value art, it is rarely high on their list of priorities.

These points represent the “default thinking” of people in the community, and indicate that the existing landscape of public understanding is not conducive to a sense of broadly shared responsibility for the arts.

A new message to inspire public support

Of the many communications approaches explored in our testing, one stood out as having the most potential to shift thinking and conversations in a constructive direction. This approach emphasizes one key organizing idea:

A thriving arts sector creates “ripple effects” of benefits throughout our community.

This message is at the heart of a communications strategy that helps position arts and culture as a public good, and helps people see this topic in a new way. In delivering this message, we have learned that the following two ripple effects are especially helpful and compelling to enumerate:

• A vibrant, thriving economy: Neighborhoods are more lively, communities are revitalized, tourists and residents are attracted to the area, etc. Note that this goes well beyond the usual dollars-and-cents argument and emphasizes creating an environment where people want to live, work, play, and stay.
• A more connected population: Diverse groups share common experiences, hear new perspectives, and understand each other better through the arts.

By conveying this message and describing key ripple effects, we are bringing new language with the power to create a broader sense of collective responsibility for the arts. This organizing concept for our message is simple and vivid, and helps people learn and remember our main idea.

This strategy emerged from significant testing conducted with a range of messages that are often associated with building public support for arts—including messages that emphasize civic inspiration, or focus on strengthening our identity as a great city, or highlight the positive connection between arts and youth.

It is fair to assume that at least some of the default patterns of thinking, as well as responses to messages we tested, reflect patterns that would be repeated elsewhere. We believe this research initiative provides a head start for those planning to embark on similar efforts in other parts of the country and at the national level.

Read the report and reviews.

Margy Waller is Vice President of Arts & Culture Partnership for the Fine Arts Fund, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. For more information and to discuss replication of this research, please contact her at mwaller@fineartsfund.org.

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?

That’s the question The San Francisco Foundation (a participant in Irvine’s Communities Advancing the Arts) and a group of Bay Area arts funders took on halfway through 2009. And the result was a welcome relief from hard times for 700 artists and arts leaders who attended the Dynamic Adaptability conference last week at the historic Herbst Theatre.

An untypical gathering

This conference brought together creative thinkers from arts, neuroscience, business, media and philanthropy for a day of conversations. The idea was not to highlight a single strategy, emphasize a certain type of skill, or support a specific new set of relationships. To the contrary, this was a day to do something different—to be stimulated and inspired, and to turn the tide from one of cautious hope to one of genuine optimism for continued vibrancy in the Bay Area’s diverse arts ecology.

The day was keynoted by Jonah Lehrer, neuroscientist and author of How We Decide and Proust was a Neuroscientist. His rich ability to make insightful connections between art and science was catnip for the group. In the context of deep understanding of the human brain and its dual needs for focus and relaxation, he makes the persuasive point that, “Art is truth. Art teaches us something special about the mind.” In particular, he makes the case that, “Arts are deeply practical in helping us think about thinking.” In this way, arts can play a role in helping people learn new ways of thinking—including creative thinking. It’s a powerful argument.

Informative material, informal exchanges

The conference featured doses of data, including new research from Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC) indicating that Bay Area artists are, when compared to their peers nationally:

• More affected financially by the recession (more declines in grant amounts, fewer sales of work, and greater declines in non-arts income)
• More likely to have second jobs in the arts (seven of ten artists nationally hold at least one job in addition to making art)
• More likely to engage in volunteer activities (in and outside of the arts) More likely to say that artists have a special role in strengthening their communities at this time
• More likely to believe that future success will require a new outlook and approach after the economy stabilizes
• More highly educated, less white and African-American, and more Asian and Latino

Brief presentations led to conversations among panels of practitioners and thought leaders on topics such as:

• How has the way that artists engage audiences and markets been affected by the recession? How can we help artists strengthen their connections with their audiences, communities and support systems?
• What inspires people to want to be involved in something beyond themselves, including arts and culture? How can artists and cultural organizations form deeper and more authentic connections with their audiences, donors and communities?
• What are the implications of the demographic and technological changes we are experiencing for arts and cultural organizations? How can we adapt effectively to the evolving environment?

Memorable lessons

The day was a juicy mix of reality check, intellectual calisthenics, and new tools and techniques. A few more highlights:

• Margaret Jenkins, who leads the dance company bearing her name, has navigated through many recessions in 35 years of choreographing community-based dance programs. Her advice spans dance and business: “The only way to keep your balance is to move forward.”
• Perry Chen, CEO of Kickstarter, an online funding platform for artists and other inventors, makes it clear that artists need to make a pointed ask. When artists ask “can you help me?” they will get some response. When they ask “can you help me do X?” they will get a better response. And when they ask “can you help me do X, for which you will get Y?” they get the best response. Donors want to invest in a particular project and outcome, and many really appreciate gaining something (even simple recognition or a pin or a free ticket) in return.
• Philip Huang, founder of Dana Street Theater, and a grantee of the East Bay Community Foundation Fund for Artists, put Perry Chen’s principles to work in a highly animated fashion, making an unexpected bid for arts funding from conference attendees. His new project is street theatre pantomime to be performed in the middle of the night, in view of people working out on the other side of the window in 24-hour exercise facilities. It’s titled Witness to Fitness. Philip’s spontaneous pitch raised nearly $200 of his $300 project funding goal. The trick behind his animated description of the project, his up-front response to questions from the crowd (Q: “Why are you doing this piece.” A: “Art doesn’t need to have a reason.”) and his unabashed request to be “showered with money” is simple. “Thrill yourself,” says Philip, “and the money will come.”

A recurring theme, brought home by several speakers, is the need to always have “faith in our stories.” Artists and arts organization leaders need to keep their stories relevant to donor interests, even if it is a small set of donors who have real interest in the art experience offered, and to make it easy for these donors to become part of the stories. As Perry Chen commented on the colorful and engaging pitch made by Philip Huang, many of those in the audience “will tell this story tonight,” and those who contributed to his art will feel they have “a special place in it.”

Visit the conference website for more information.

The San Francisco Foundation and East Bay Community Foundation are part of Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

Five ways CAA-funded community foundations grew arts funds in the worst year since the Depression

Most nonprofit fundraisers are glad to see the calendar turn to 2010—personal donations in 2009 declined while social needs skyrocketed. During this tumultuous time, the arts giving landscape might have been bleak, but it was far from barren.

Lessons in success

Here are five lessons in success, based on wins in 2009, that point the way to more giving in the new year.

1.  Donors value leadership—and collaboration—in the arts.

Community Foundation Sonoma County connected five arts nonprofits with new and prospective donors through An Evening of Song & Poetry. This approach featured unprecedented local cooperation: each arts organization in effect introduced its largest donors to other nonprofits celebrated at an intimate evening event. The community foundation provided plenty of incentive for everyone—offering $50,000 as a match for any event attendees who chose to contribute funds to one or more of the arts organizations feted. Donors responded enthusiastically. Nearly 60 people contributed $90,000 through this appeal, representing nearly two dollars for every one pledged by the community foundation, and generating $140,000 in immediate support for these five organizations. Read more about this remarkable fundraising event.

2.  Artists have networks of new donors at the grassroots level.

An innovative matching commissions program, started by East Bay Community Foundation and picked up by The San Francisco Foundation as well as the Marin Arts Council, continues to gain steam. The program, more fully described here, provides matching grants—typically $5,000 or $10,000—to artists. To date, the artists who received matching grants have, in turn, generated contributions from 2,588 donors. This donor giving has provided $615,000 in new support for 182 artist-run organizations and artist-driven projects in the five-county Bay Area.

3.  Many donors know that now is the time to stand for arts, and to stand with their community foundation.

The East Bay Fund for Artists, which supplies the matching grants for the commissions program above, received a total of $75,000 from four donor advised funds in 2009. Diane Sanchez, Director of Grantmaking and Donor Services, is thrilled: “I feel very good about this because in a difficult year these donor advisors could have let this community foundation program slip off their list.” Only one of the donors sustains a dedicated focus on giving in the arts; the others had many appeals to consider for use of their funds. Plus, all these donors were working with lower fund balances than normal due to the loss of investment assets. “Their commitment in these tough times is a validation of our work,” adds Diane.

4.  Giving circles invite a welcome degree of donor engagement.

Sacramento Region Community Foundation knows that many arts donors appreciate connections. This notion has special meaning in a down economy, as pooling funds helps donors do more with their individual gifts. Plus, donor circles bring a social aspect to giving, helping individual givers learn from each other and share pride in the stories created through their collective support. There’s additional appeal when these groups of donors receive special access to arts experiences and face time with artists. All this adds up to success with the recent launch of donor circles in Sacramento. One circle is forming now with a lead giver at the $25,000 level, and other donors entering with a minimum contribution of $5,000.

5.  Long-term thinking still matters—so don’t give up on endowment building!

Orange County Community Foundation received a $250,000 contribution to its Arts Endowment Fund in late 2009. It’s the largest gift to the fund to date. Listen to Keith Swayne speaking about this decision by he and his wife: “Judy and I are delighted to make this gift, not only as a reflection of our belief in the importance of the arts to a thriving community, but as a challenge to other local philanthropists to do their part in strengthening the arts and cultural sector in Orange County.”
The Swayne’s action is creating buzz. Says Todd Hanson, Vice President of Donor Relations and Programs, “This gift gives confidence to other potential donors. It helps them see how they can help the fund grow quickly and become a cornerstone of stability in our arts sector.” Read more about this community foundation’s commitment to the arts.

Toward the new year

These five success stories remind us that the case for arts remains strong in spite of (perhaps even because of!) a poor economy. As always, the task is to connect to donor motivations, offer the giving options people want, and be confident in making the ask.

A year-end bonus: One of our most popular posts of 2009 is a feature on deepening relationships and understanding motivations by conducting personal interviews with arts donors. Materials and questions created by Alan Brown, an innovator in this field, are available here.

All activities reported here were conducted as part of Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

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.The action takes place in the East Bay, where the cities of Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland and Richmond have distinct art scenes. According to mayors Tom Bates, Richard Kassis, Ron Dellums and Gayle McLaughlin, “The East Bay is a region of widely diverse cultural backgrounds. Our arts and culture reflect the region’s demographics.”

By the numbers

The East Bay contains:

• More than 6,000 professional artists
• One of the nation’s largest per capita collections of public art
• A depth and variety of art styles that mirror the diversity of the region—more than 150 languages are spoken in the area; many times that number of culturally specific art forms are practiced
• Hundreds of non-profit visual arts, music, dance, theater, multi-disciplinary and arts education organizations—from established international institutions to start-up neighborhood programs

From culturally specific traditional art forms to edgy and experimental expressions, this geography yields an astonishing array of art. The new four-city collaboration is well founded in promoting “world culture in the east bay.”

Out front and online

The East Bay Cultural Corridor is being marketed as 510Arts. (510 is the telephone area code for the region.) The partner cities worked together to build 510Arts.com as a gateway to arts in Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland and Richmond. The website establishes a unified identity for all East Bay arts, and provides easy pathways to information about each city’s arts sector and happenings.

Organizations and artists submit information to their respective city arts agency to get placed online. The website is off to a hot start, with artists and arts leaders throughout the East Bay wanting to make sure they are a recognized part of 510Arts.

The website and overall 510Arts brand—including posters and materials that arts organizations can incorporate in their local marketing—were publicly launched through a media event featuring the mayors of all four cities, as well as the funders who made this collaboration possible.

The back story

Arts campaigns are not always easy to make happen. The same can be said for municipal collaborations, public/private partnerships, and foundation/government alliances. Yet all these elements are in the East Bay Cultural Corridor equation.

And the catalysts are two community foundations. East Bay Community Foundation and The San Francisco Foundation are collegial program champions for Bay Area arts. With funding support from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC), and The James Irvine Foundation, and drawing on credibility developed through years of good work with local governments, these community foundations convened arts leaders from the four cities and facilitated a joint planning process.

“We believe collaborations and partnerships are not merely desirable, but are necessary in a world where limited resources must be leveraged for maximum impact,” reported Nicole Taylor, President and Chief Executive Officer of the East Bay Community Foundation. “Through this collaboration, we intend to throw a spotlight on the amazing richness of arts resources in these four East Bay cities.”

The process called for equal parts patience and persistence. All players needed to determine their level of comfort with, and assess their level of responsibility in, a collaborative effort. And each needed to in turn work through its own internal processes—which included gaining inputs and support from city administrators, elected officials, and community arts groups and leaders.

Steadily, the process gained momentum. A critical step was defining and having each mayor literally sign off on a formal set of operating principles for the collaboration.

A public declaration for the arts

It’s a terrific example for use in any potential arts collaborative—and for municipal arts partnerships in particular. 

It begins with a preamble, including making a direct connect between local arts and economic progress. Some excerpts…

We, the Mayors of the cities of Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland and Richmond have come together to state our strong commitment to strengthening the regional economy through creating the East Bay Cultural Corridor.

The intention is to heighten awareness of our cultural landscape, deepen the impact of the arts on their cities, and further the sustainability of artists and arts organizations through arts marketing, economic development and cultural tourism.

The arts drive economies. Creating sustainable arts communities is good business.

From individual artists working and teaching in communities to nationally recognized theatres and museums, the East Bay provides arts experiences that make the area a regional cultural treasure. Its arts presence has contributed to urban development, has a positive impact on local businesses, and has the potential for creating more viable and sustainable communities.

The document goes on to express a purpose for the corridor; two excerpts stand out:

The arts culture in each partner city has different components, different strengths, and different ways in which it interacts with the larger community. This collaboration between these cities was created in recognition of this, and the knowledge that working together creates opportunity for a cultural presence with wider impact than each city could have individually.

We see this partnership as the beginning of a wider regional collaboration between government, arts and culture, and business in the years to come.

Next come five objectives that codify the win/win nature of this collaboration (each is further described in the full document):

1. Create a Relationship Between the Diverse Arts Communities of Each City
2. Leverage New Audiences and Resources for the Arts
3. Increase the Visibility, Accessibility and Sustainability of Arts Communities
4. Leverage New Resources for Each Partner City
5. Benefit Local Businesses Through Partnerships with the Arts, Regionally and Locally

Finally, a set of “principles of partnership” explicitly set out the expectations for each city—ranging from agreement that each has equal representation in the process to acknowledging that each has responsibility for completing its assigned activities in a joint work plan to launch and sustain the collaboration. See the full document here.

A happy beginning

Three of the mayors, as well as executive leaders for the foundations that sponsored this partnership, were center stage in a media event introducing the East Bay Cultural Corridor and 510Arts.com.

The good feeling among players, and high hopes for long-term success, were evident. “The San Francisco Foundation is honored to join forces with the East Bay Community Foundation, our sister funders, and the cities of Berkeley, Oakland, Emeryville and Richmond, to lift up the importance of arts and culture in the Bay Area,” commented CEO Sandra R. Hernández. “We look forward to the diverse fruits of this creative partnership.”

Media coverage was positive, leading people to 510.arts.com and emphasizing the cities’ shared goal of increasing the visibility, accessibility and sustainability of their arts communities.

Plus, the commitment—and structure—for the long term is in place. The four-city leadership group convened by the community foundations is now meeting on a monthly basis, and developing a regional advisory group made up of artists and nonprofit arts leaders, to steer the effort into the future.

Most meetings take place at the East Bay Community Foundation—a welcoming and productive place for multiplying the impact of individual actions.

East Bay Community Foundation and The San Francisco Foundation are participants in Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

Here’s how one community is using video to showcase local arts—and appeal to existing and new donors.

This moving medium was a centerpiece in the 2009 Champions of the Arts Gala sponsored by the Arts Council for Monterey County. The Gala offered tribute to community arts heroes—artists, nonprofit leaders, education advocates, and donors. Each of their stories was presented through a series of professionally produced videos, all of which are available online and promoted through the Arts Council and its networks.

Gala planners enlisted another local hero—Academy Award winning director John Longenecker—who helped an arts nonprofit, Picture Monterey.org, gain equipment and training to create these videos.

Have a look

Community foundations and their partners in arts recognition programs should see these well-crafted products.

Check out the 22-minute group tribute (above), as well as a series of individual videos featuring each champion. For example, viewers get the first-hand story of cowboy Jack N. Swanson, and experience his work as an accomplished vaquero artist. It’s a colorful telling of an artist’s work shaped by the unique nature and character of his community.

Here’s the essence of the video featuring arts donors. This piece is strategically significant in encouraging more arts giving in an underfunded area of the region; it is being shared (via the web, email links and group gatherings) with current and prospective donors to the arts.

Arts matter for children in Salinas Valley. That’s the bottom line for David and Susan Gill, honored philanthropists at the Gala. The Gills support youth programs in the rural south county area because, according to Susan, “Arts are the only way to round out an education. We need to continue to inspire our children.”

Proceeds from the Champions of the Arts Gala help students in Monterey County schools receive training from professional artists.

The Community Foundation for Monterey County supports the Arts Council for Monterey County, and is a participant in Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

John Killacky is on a quest for relevance. He fears that many grantmakers will establish new priorities and initiatives regardless of what the field of dance actually needs. He calls for foundations and arts organizations alike to hone their ability to adapt to changing times—emphasizing that being dynamic is as important as building endowment when it comes to long-term success.

These views are put forward in an article in VoiceofDance.com written by Killacky, who is program officer for arts and culture at The San Francisco Foundation.

Four trends of note

Killacky examines current trends transforming how dance is supported, accessed, engaged with, and popularized. Here are the trends, and a sample of his commentary on each:

• Race and ethnicity: “As our country continues to diversify, fairness and parity issues will demand that foundations consider future grantmaking through a racial equity lens.”
• Friendraising: “If there is any potential for growth (in arts nonprofit funding), it is in expanding individual donor bases.”
• Cyberspace: “Dancemakers can learn from media colleagues, making sure choreography is conceived for multiple platforms, the stage behind the fourth wall only being one of them.”
• Mass appeal: “Ever since the early ‘90s when ‘Got Milk?’ ads appeared, dance wondered how it could similarly capture public imagination. The reality now is that it has.”

In covering these trends, Killacky provides examples of practical responses—ways The San Francisco Foundation, other funders, and nonprofits can move into the future of dance.

The San Francisco Foundation is a participant in Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

Where is art? Thanks to SparkOC.com, that’s a question of the past for cultural consumers in Orange County. The area’s arts council and community foundation teamed to create a one-stop info source for area residents and visitors.

This website is a central element in a larger strategy to celebrate and stimulate creativity throughout Orange County—a place where 64 percent of residents say that they or their family members create or participate in arts (research report).

This comprehensive vehicle features a searchable calendar of arts events; a directory of local organizations, venues and schools; classified listings for jobs, auditions and classes; and individual artist profiles. As part of the Artsopolis Network, it’s in a growing movement to effectively promote local arts and culture via the internet.

Something for everyone

SparkOC.com is a go-to place for all performance and exhibition information. It promotes theatre, dance, music and visual arts offered by more than 140 organizations and venues in Orange County. Online users also can find activities based on their interests in youth and family activities; classes and workshops; poetry and literature; festivals; events unique to Orange County, including History and Heritage, Science and Nature; and free public shows in all categories.

In addition, the site includes listings of special events and fundraising galas offered by arts and culture organizations, as well as weekly half-price ticket offers available exclusively through SparkOC.com.

“The goal of SparkOC.com is to inspire a groundswell of creativity and imagination throughout Orange County by increasing involvement with the arts,” said Richard Stein, executive director of Arts Orange County, which, together with the Orange County Community Foundation, developed the site. “SparkOC.com allows everyone to be in the know about the Orange County arts scene.”

SparkOC.com was developed in response to a landmark 2006 Cultural Indicators study   commissioned by Arts Orange County and the Orange County Community Foundation which found that 92% of residents agree on the importance of a vibrant cultural sector in the community, and that most said they would go to more arts and cultural events if they could find the information easily.

Orange County Community Foundation is a participant in Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

A middle-schooler streams YouTube videos. A family shares its heritage through a holiday skit. A baby boomer starts a garage band. Today, many forms of cultural engagement take place off the radar of traditional nonprofit arts organizations.

How can community foundations help arts organizations better support the broad range of cultural engagement in diverse and changing communities? In particular, how can this support be provided more effectively and equitably? These questions are at the center of Cultural Engagement in California’s Inland Regions, research that explores patterns of cultural engagement in two rapidly growing, ethnically diverse areas: the San Joaquin Valley and the Inland Empire.

Study highlights

The study, conducted by WolfBrown, prompts new discussion of ways community foundations, donors, and nonprofits can support arts and culture. Key findings are:

• A broad, inclusive definition is important to understanding total cultural engagement—old definitions leave too much out
• Personal participation levels are high—many people are engaged in activities such as photography, painting or drawing, singing or playing an instrument, and social dancing
• Much cultural engagement occurs in non-arts spaces—for example, the home, places of worship and parks are among the prominent places in the cultural life of communities
• Heritage-based and social forms of cultural engagement attract racially diverse participants—many cultural activities are deeply embedded in religious, political and social contexts that vary by community
• The emergence of “curatorial” arts activities is changing the landscape of cultural engagement—many youth and a growing number of adults are selecting, organizing and editing the art in their lives
• Significant interest in arts learning activities goes unmet—for example, a significant number of respondents indicate they would like to take dance or music lessons, or learn more about photography
• Role models are key players in the cultural ecosystem—respondents who could identify a person who inspired or supported their creative expressions were much more likely to engage in participatory cultural activities and attend arts programs
• Certain types of programming may increase broad-based cultural vitality in communities and across cultural groups—examples include helping adults and children chronicle their lives and tell their stories; and helping identify and stimulate use of community venues, such as public schools, parks and outdoor settings, retail establishments and churches as programmable arts spaces

This executive briefing suggests additional program approaches for increasing cultural vitality, and contains questions for consideration by service providers and funders who are looking to broaden the intersection of arts and community.

This research was commissioned by The James Irvine Foundation.

What’s your earliest memory of the arts?

Chances are, your recollection made you smile. That’s a testimony to the power of the personal question–and the way  it can help you engage donors in community arts.

The right question provides a window for understanding, and tapping into, the values that underlie any donor’s decision to fund arts. Experience and research tell us that helping people connect their personal values to relevant programs is the way to build ongoing commitment. For example, a donor who values youth development and equity in education may well want to support arts in school, or provide ways for students to engage with arts in a variety of venues outside the school day.

Another of my favorite questions is: Can you tell me about a personally significant or meaningful arts or cultural experience in your life? I advise all of my clients to ask this question regularly. I’ve found that after answering the question, people are more likely to tell a friend, buy another ticket, or make a donation.

Want to experiment with this idea?

You can take a simple test–and check out a survey that generates insight into donor values and practices. (Survey has been closed since this was originally posted.)

Holly Sidford, Marcy Cady, Alexis Frasz and I are involved in the Cultural Master Planning process for the City of Los Angeles. One aspect of our work is a public participation survey, where we’re attempting to learn about people’s involvement, either as spectators or direct participants in local arts. We had over 400 responses to the survey in the first 5 hours.

As a test, I’d like everyone to respond to this survey. (Again, survey has been closed since this was originally posted.)

The survey includes the question about a significant or meaningful arts experience. Over the next week, see if responding encouraged you to tell your personal story or ask this question of others.

I’d also like to hear from anyone who has already asked this question with audiences. What have been the results, if any?

Jerry Yoshitomi is Chief Knowledge Officer for MeaningMatters. He has served as a consultant to Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

Every work of art tells a story. In Monterey County, stories of life told through art are fueling the emotional well-being, cultural pride, and civic engagement of local groups. It’s happening through Mi Vida/Mi Pueblo (My Life/My Town).

A series of art workshops in and around the agricultural community of Greenfield brought together mothers, fathers and family members of all ages. These workshops led to exhibits of poetry, paintings, photographs, videos, books and narratives inspired by the artists’ personal experiences in this community.

Making connections

“It was an opportunity to bring the arts to an underserved region of our county,” according to Judy Sulsona, Executive VP for the Community Foundation for Monterey County. “And it was an opportunity to demonstrate the importance of arts to the health of a community, particularly as a vehicle for preserving and celebrating cultural identity, which is essential to the mental health of individuals and families within diverse groups.”

Mi Vida/Mi Pueblo was a true collaboration. It involved local libraries, governments, arts nonprofits, the Arts Council for Monterey County, First Night Monterey, and the Community Foundation through its Communities Advancing the Arts (CAA) and Poder Popular programs. The workshops engaged more than 50 people—ranging in age from 6 to 70. A summer exhibit and accompanying reception were big hits as well.

Expanded impact

The reach of the Mi Vida/Mi Pueblo project went well beyond Greenfield.

The summer exhibit, held in June, included entertainment by young musicians from the Alisal Center for the Fine Arts (a CAA grantee). County Board of Supervisors member, Simon Salinas, congratulated all participants and shared his enthusiasm for the arts as a community resource and inspiring force in the lives of local children and families.

Earlier in the year, the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts in San Francisco had curated an exhibition of the original work created in the Mi Vida/Mi Pueblo workshops. The works were on display in January 2008 and included photography, painting, story-writing, puppetry, and poetry. Each work told the compelling story of its individual artist, reflecting her/his life experience living in Monterey County. Forty-five Greenfield workshop participants attended the opening reception of the exhibit; they were bused to San Francisco by First Night Monterey.

New levels of public visibility—and support

The power of Mi Vida/Mi Pueblo is gaining the attention and commitment of public officials.

Greenfield City administrators want to include space for an arts center and classes in local development plans, to support an arts booth at the popular weekly farmers market, and to find other ways to include arts in youth and career development programs.

This project was launched through Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation, and is now sustained through the collaborative efforts of First Night Monterey, the Arts Council for Monterey County and the Community Foundation.

Take a moment to imagine what Los Angeles would be like without theatre, dance, music or paintings. That line, penned by Antonia Hernández, President and CEO of the California Community Foundation, opens a new brochure making the case for arts and culture as the lifeblood of a vibrant community. Everyone knows L.A.’s reputation as a hotbed of artistic innovation and diversity. Less known is the extent to which arts and culture are underfunded in this locale.

For example, the City of Los Angeles spent $.78 per person in arts grants compared with San Diego at $5.48 and San Francisco at $20.67.

Overlooked: smaller organizations and individuals

Especially vulnerable are small to midsize organizations and individual artists in the county. One study showed that more than 80% of arts funding went to groups with budgets of $2 million or more; these larger players make up less than 6% of the total nonprofit arts sector. Another study showed that only 2% of all arts funding in L.A. between 1998-2002 went to individual artists.

Funders in Los Angeles put their money in specific projects and events (78%), with far less (22%) going to general operating costs, endowment building, and capital campaigns.

Launching a community campaign

Through its Arts & Culture Fund, the California Community Foundation seeks to change this situation for the better. The foundation is calling on community to grow its endowment to $27 million by 2015. The goal is to help 150 emerging and mid-career artists rise to the next level, and 100 small and midsize organizations reach new audiences. In particular, the foundation aims to increase participation of diverse, ethnic and low-income individuals and communities in the arts.

This brochure includes more research data on the L.A. arts and culture landscape, as well as stories of the big impact that relatively small investments can make in this arena.

It was created with support from Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

While lots of communities want to build a creative economy, too few are able to pull everyone together around a plan. Not so in Monterey County, where collaboration, research and dialogue led to a countywide blueprint for collective action. The process was led by the Community Foundation for Monterey County in tandem with the Arts Council for Monterey County. And it produced the first comprehensive approach to advancing local arts and culture.

Seeing the big picture

The attached report states the case for investing in a creative economy. It then presents goals, recommended strategies, and a timeline for implementing an action plan to advance this creative economy over a five-year period. It addresses the role of arts and culture in community life, makes a case for increased donor support to sustain arts and culture as part of a vibrant region, and describes an approach for increasing cultural patronage. It includes a review of local demographic trends pertinent to the arts.

Purpose and goals

The purpose of this planning was three-fold:

1. To guide actions of and collaborations among artists, arts agencies and arts educators regarding research, program development and public awareness
2. To guide public and private investment, including an array of short-term and long-term loans, grants and earned revenues
3. To guide the Arts Council for Monterey County in leading countywide research, planning, advocacy and support

Four goals resulted from this process:

• Develop greater participation in Monterey County’s culture and creative activities by residents and visitors
• Build and strengthen the creative industries as a major economic cluster in the region
• Make effective use of arts, culture and creative opportunities to promote vibrant and healthy communities, including education and workforce development
• Develop visible support mechanisms to nurture and promote arts, culture and creativity

This planning activity was conducted as part of Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

San Diego has lots of arts and culture. But no one really knew how much the community cared about this arena… until the community foundation took a look. This research project studied who in the community is involved (or not) in the arts. It measured commitment to arts. And it examined the state of the nonprofit arts sector. The study was commissioned by The San Diego Community Foundation.

The attached report captures results of the study. It describes the role of arts and culture in community life, makes a case for increased donor support to sustain arts and culture as part of a vibrant region, and presents a plan for increasing cultural patronage. It includes an overview of the research methodology used.

Key findings

Five items headlined the results of this study.

1. Cultural participation needs to be deepened and expanded.
2. San Diego’s arts and culture community is under-funded.
3. People care about the arts: two-thirds of San Diegans would be willing to pay more taxes to support arts and culture.
4. The region places high priority on increasing arts education.
5. The San Diego Foundation should be a catalyst to help strengthen the arts and culture community.

Today, the foundation has advanced beyond this initial research to create a set of strategies for deepening the connection of arts to community throughout the San Diego area.

This research activity was conducted as part of Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

“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 arts sector.

“It is a relationship that began in 1989,” reports CEO Kay Marquet, “with an initial grant made possible through the National Endowment for the Arts. And it is a relationship that has blossomed in recent years through a creative, collaborative focus on the arts.”

Making connections

This focus involves connecting with individual artists, arts nonprofits (ranging from grassroots organizations to nationally recognized arts centers), donors and other funders who seek to build community through arts. At the center of this network is a strategic partnership between Community Foundation Sonoma County and the Arts Council of Sonoma County.

“The Arts Council is a wonderful resource to, and an effective champion for, this region’s diverse, dynamic arts sector,” adds Robert Judd, Community Foundation Sonoma County Vice President for Programs. “Together with a cadre of local arts organizations, we are able to present a united sector. This in turn allows us to invite a wider base of donors and public leaders to step forward—and add to an ever-greater vision for what arts can achieve in and for this community.”

Some big steps forward

Recent results of this approach have been encouraging, to say the least. Between 2005 and 2007, with support from The James Irvine Foundation’s Communities Advancing the Arts initiative, the Community Foundation and Arts Council worked with local leaders to establish a Santa Rosa Arts District in the center of the county’s largest city. Three popular, countywide projects were initiated as well: an Artist Awards program, Sculpture Sonoma, and Performance Sonoma.

As part of the Performance Sonoma festival, 12 local performing arts organizations put on productions related to the featured theme, Crossing Borders. In Healdsburg, The Imaginists Theatre Collective created an original production, “The Divide/La División,” which explored issues of immigration and the challenges in finding common ground between local immigrant Latinos and resident Anglos in the area. The bilingual production led to an opening in community dialogue around these challenges (view a video documentary on YouTube).

“Participating in Performance Sonoma allowed our company to explore issues that influence everyday life in our community,” said Brent Lindsay, The Imaginists’ Executive Director.

Community Foundation Sonoma County also launched an Artists Award as a way to raise the visibility of budding local visual artists. Six award winners selected by a panel of highly-regarded independent judges have received unrestricted grants of $5,000 each. In addition to the grant funds, the winning artists have enjoyed growing recognition within Sonoma County and beyond. For example, Seth Minor, a 2006 award winner, is commissioned to create public artwork for the City of Santa Rosa. Complementing these efforts to support local artists, the foundation also worked with Sonoma State University to conduct a series of public discussions for artists on navigating “the business” of the arts.

A growth agenda

Community Foundation Sonoma County and its partners aim to double the nearly $300,000 already raised to endow the Artists Award Fund, with the goal of expanding awards to include performing and literary artists. Near-term plans involve further engaging with the City of Santa Rosa around its newly-established Arts District—and working collaboratively with private donors and public officials to create a lasting and vibrant downtown arts area.

Also on the drawing board are plans to explore creating a signature festival that would invigorate local arts audiences and attract tourists to the region’s arts scene. And an exciting project is well underway, led by the Arts Council, to provide a centralized online portal for arts information and access throughout Sonoma County.

Lessons learned

What have Community Foundation leaders learned so far? Three major lessons stand out. For one, creating partnerships is worthwhile work—but takes time. “We probably underestimated this point as we got started on a more earnest approach to arts outreach three years ago,” says Melissa Kester, who also emphasizes the importance of carefully assessing and understanding the capacity of key partner organizations.

Second, deeper engagement with the arts sector—nonprofits, government, and donors—can be a model opportunity for community foundations to explore new ways of working. According to Paul DeMarco, Finance and Administration Vice President, “In many ways this program is serving as a prototype for our role in community leadership… providing us with new ways to interact with donors… and helping us demonstrate high levels of value through our work convening others.”

Third, and perhaps most important, says Kay Marquet, “We are proving that arts are as good for community as community is for arts.”

Community Foundation Sonoma County is a participant in Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.