Foundation Center Hosts Second Annual Funding for Arts Month Free Programs, Online Services, and Resources for Artists, Nonprofit Organizations June 3, 2003, New York, NY— For the second consecutive year, the Foundation Center is hosting Funding for Arts Month in June, featuring a wide range of arts-related programs, publications, and Web-based content and services aimed at helping artists and arts organizations increase their funding. "We received a tremendous response from the arts community after our arts month initiative last year. With funding harder than ever to obtain for arts organizations and artists, often among the first to feel the impact of an economic downturn, we have ramped up our programs and resources to meet their special needs," said Judith Margolin, vice president for public services at the Foundation Center. The full spectrum of arts month activities is accessible through a special area at the Center's Web site: www.foundationcenter.org/focus/arts/. Special Programs and Training Opportunities One of the major goals of the month-long focus on arts funding is to provide individuals in the arts and grantseekers at arts organizations with opportunities to learn directly from grantmakers in the arts, technical assistance providers, and from other successful grantseekers. Each of the Center's five library/learning centers in New York, Atlanta, Cleveland, San Francisco, and Washington, DC, will sponsor a "Meet the Grantmakers" or "Dialogue with Donors" program during the month. On June 9, the New York library will collaborate with the New York Regional Association of Grantmakers to present a half-day exploration of corporate sponsorship of the arts. Panelists will include representatives of Morgan Stanley, Independence Community Foundation, Bertelsmann Foundation US, Inc., and others. The Center's Cleveland library has teamed up with Business Volunteers Unlimited to present a panel on corporate involvement in the arts on June 13 that includes Acme Express, Key Foundation, Marsh USA, and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Among key findings from the report: In Washington on June 3, the "Dialogue with Donors" discussion is presented in partnership with Washington Grantmakers, with speakers from The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, the Gilbert and Jaylee Mead Family Foundation, and the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region. On June 20, the Atlanta library will offer a program on arts funding from a national and local perspective in partnership with the Georgia Center for Nonprofits, the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund, and the Southeastern Council of Foundations. To help address the interests of a younger generation of grantseekers in the arts, the Center's San Francisco library will present on June 11 a "Meet the Grantmakers" program featuring representatives from "rock-and-roll" foundations, including the Phish Fans' Mockingbird Foundation, the Grateful Dead's Rex Foundation, and Carlos Santana's Milagro Foundation. Each Foundation Center location will be offering specially tailored free training programs - including "Fulfulling Your Dreams As an Artist While Gainfully Employed," a discussion featuring panelists sharing their parallel careers as both artists and employees of local nonprofit organizations. These programs will be offered in collaboration with Action Without Borders. Also on the roster for June is "Grantseeking Basics for Individual Artists" and "Guide to Resources on the Foundation Center's Web Site for Arts Organizations." Funding for Arts Month on the Web The Center's special Focus on Arts Funding Web page at www.foundationcenter.org/focus/arts/ is designed to quickly guide audiences to a wide range of events, rich Web content, and publications relating to "Funding for Arts Month." On May 28 the Center is launching Arts Funding Watch, an electronic newsletter featuring arts-related news, requests for proposals, job listings, and more. Available free of charge to registered visitors of the Center's Web site who specify arts as their area of interest, the newsletter will be published weekly during June. In addition, artists can sign up during the month for one week of free access to Foundation Grants to Individuals Online, the Center's searchable database of more than 5,600 foundation programs that award grants to artists, students, and other individuals. "Highlights" of Arts Funding IV, the Center's new report on the latest trends in foundation giving for the arts, may be downloaded free of charge in the Researching Philanthropy section of its Web site. And, ArtsTalk, an online discussion forum launched by the Center last year, continues to serve as a popular vehicle that encourages artists and arts grantseekers to share funding tips and strategies. Another Web offering is a special arts funding issue of Philanthropy News Digest, the Web's premier source for current news on philanthropy, that will feature an extensive collection of Web links. Each weekly issue of PND in June will include arts-related content, such as interviews with newsmakers in the arts, book and Web site reviews, and "Spotlights" on arts nonprofits, among other features. PND is accessible online at the Center's Web site: www.foundationcenter.org/pnd/ and as an e-mail edition that is delivered free each week to over 50,000 subscribers. Foundation Center Locations Details on local programming and Web content are accessible from individual library home pages listed below: New York: 79 Fifth Avenue, Second floor; www.foundationcenter.org/newyork Atlanta: 50 Hurt Plaza, Suite 150, www.foundationcenter.org/atlanta Cleveland: 1422 Euclid Avenue, Suite 1600, www.foundationcenter.org/cleveland San Francisco: 312 Sutter Street, Suite 606, www.foundationcenter.org/sanfrancisco Washington, DC: 1627 K Street, NW, Third floor, www.foundationcenter.org/washington About the Foundation Center The Foundation Center's mission is to support and improve philanthropy by promoting public understanding of the field and helping grantseekers succeed. To achieve its mission, it collects, organizes, and communicates information on U.S. philanthropy; conducts and facilitates research on trends in the field; provides education and training on the grantseeking process; and ensures public access to information and services through its World Wide Web site, print and electronic publications, five library/learning centers, and a national network of Cooperating Collections. Founded in 1956, the Center is the nation's leading authority on philanthropy and is dedicated to serving grantseekers, grantmakers, researchers, policymakers, the media, and the general public. Web:       www.foundationcenter.org       www.foundationcenter.org/focus/arts/ Media Contact: Etta Jenkins, Communications Manager, The Foundation Center, (212) 807-2580 or elj@foundationcenter.org Return to Press Releases