Proceedings From the First Annual Researcher/Practitioner Forum: The State of Research on Diversity in Philanthropy

This report summarizes the discussions that took place at the first annual Researcher/Practitioner Forum which was held on September 27 and 28, 2007 at El Pomar Foundation's Penrose House conference facilities in Colorado Springs, CO. The Forum was co-sponsored by the Council on Foundations, ARNOVA and the Foundation Center and was made possible by a grant from the Lumina Foundation. The first annual Researcher/Practitioner Forum brought together 25 researchers and foundation representatives to discuss the state of research on diversity in philanthropy

Key Lessons from the Field of Cultural Innovation

The primary purpose of this knowledge synthesis is to provide the Rockefeller Foundation staff with a broader context for considering the findings of an independent evaluation of the Foundation's Cultural Innovation Fund (CIF). The synthesis has been designed to help key audiences understand the state of play, common concepts, challenges, questions, and key lessons from arts organizations who are already engaging innovative strategies and practices

Sustain Arts/SE Michigan: A Portrait of the Cultural Ecosystem

This report discusses the potential use of data in arts organizations for strategic purposes. Data currently available on the cultural sector can lead to useful insights about the increasing proliferation of small arts organizations; the almost monolithic focus of private foundations on supporting a highly select group of large, well-established arts organizations; and the fact that established arts organizations are poorly positioned to satisfy emerging consumer preferences for cultural experiences. Such insights should provoke frank discussion and galvanize field leaders to advocate appropriate actions, both in response to existing disconnects and proactively, in anticipation of coming change. The data that are now available to the field are not perfect. In fact, that's part of the story that needs to be told about the cultural sector. Systematic data collection on artists, cultural organizations, and audiences receives only a token amount of government funding. Instead, it is left largely up to private organizations to document trends in both the nonprofit and for-profit cultural arenas. This leads to multiple non-overlapping data collection strategies, making it difficult to construct a coherent picture of the field. There are gaping holes in the puzzle, and the tales we tell with existing data must be told with caution

Number of Registered Public Benefit Foundations in Europe exceeds 147,000

Data compiled by the Donors and Foundations Networks in Europe (DAFNE) and analysed by Foundation Center (New York) indicates that there are more than 147,000 registered "public benefit foundations" in Europe, with combined annual expenditures of nearly 60 billion euro. These figures are based on the latest available data from 24 European countries in the DAFNE network, including 18 European Union members. This document provides details regarding the survey and the collect of those figures

Grantmakers Describe the Impact of the Economic Crisis on Their Giving

This research advisory looks at public statements made by more than one-third of the 100 largest U.S. foundations by giving and 35 other foundation and corporate funders that have described their giving plans, ranging from raising payout rates to reducing administrative costs to cutting programs altogether

Benchmarking Diversity: A First Look at New York City Foundations and Nonprofits

New York City foundations and nonprofit organizations have racially diverse staffs, according to a new report by Philanthropy New York and the Foundation Center, but this diversity decreases at higher levels of seniority. A substantial number of foundations and nonprofits are tracking information about the racial and ethnic makeup of the grantees and populations that they respectively serve. The study is the first of its kind in New York City and the nation to examine "both sides" of the equation -- with survey data from 95 grantmaking foundations and 540 nonprofit organizations in the five boroughs

Grantmaking to Communities of Color in Oregon

This report, prepared by the Foundation Center at the request of Grantmakers of Oregon and Southwest Washington, examines the extent to which domestically focused grantmaking by Oregon foundations in 2008 reached Oregon's communities of color, and situates this in the context of the state's changing demographics

Earthquake in Haiti: Leading U.S. Foundations Respond to the Crisis

In the immediate aftermath of the January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti, the Foundation Center surveyed members of its Grantmaker Leadership Panel to gauge the reaction of top U.S. funders to the unfolding crisis. Findings suggest that a number of leading funders are considering a direct response to the crisis, with a primary focus on providing emergency assistance

Building Diversity: A Survey of California Foundation Demographics, Policies and Practices

This study, published in 2009, reports findings on baseline data from 115 California Foundations on the demographic composition of their boards and staffs and on the types of diversity-related data collection and grantmaking in which they are involved

Mapping the Dance Landscape in Chicagoland

The Chicago region is a hub for arts and culture and boasts a thriving dance community. What do we know about the dance sector in Chicagoland (defined in this report as Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties in Illinois and Lake County, Indiana)? And what do the data reveal about opportunities and challenges facing dancers, dance organizations, and the sector as whole