New catalog highlights Fellowships for Visual Artists

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.

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 [...]

Sustainability starts with revenue… and a simple first step

Assessing Fund Development Capacity in Monterey All local arts organizations seek financial sustainability. Getting there, however, can be a challenge—even for the most established nonprofits. Community foundations are working to help, and in Monterey County the process begins with a simple but strategic self-assessment tool.

Voicing culture and community through art

Mi Vida/Mi Pueblo, Greenfield, Calif. 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 [...]

Looking into the future of art

Sonoma County Emerging Artist Awards 2008 It’s one program with two benefits. The Sonoma County Artist Awards boost the reputations of working artists early in their careers, and raise public awareness of local arts. The awards are a collaboration of the arts community, with leadership from the county’s Arts Council and Community Foundation.

Irvine grants boost California arts scene

Communities Advancing the Arts, Phase 2 Invest in what works. So goes the saying—as well as The James Irvine Foundation’s interest in advancing community arts. Irvine announced nearly $3.2 million in new grants to a group of California community foundations. It’s the second phase of Communities Advancing the Arts, an initiative that placed $4.75 million [...]

Mixing, matching artists and donors has rewards

Sonoma County Emerging Artists Fund Raising permanent funds for arts and helping local artists launch careers are two challenges faced by many communities. Both led to one solution in Sonoma County: an Emerging Artists Fund. It connects the power of endowment giving to the value of providing early support to artists. And it has real [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]