Smaller Arts Groups in New York Won’t See Benefits of State Funding
posted on: Tuesday, July 03, 2012
By Niki Jagpal
The New York Daily News reported yesterday that although Albany has allocated an extra $4 million in state funding for the arts, small groups are unlikely to see any benefit from it. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo reserved an additional $4 million for arts groups, but because the governor’s office calls for a minimum of $50,000 in grant applications and a requirement that the funds be matched, smaller arts groups will most likely be unable to access this new funding. As John Watusi Branch, executive director of the Afrikan Poetry Theatre in Jamaica states, “Smaller institutions have more contact with the people they serve in the community but they always get left out.”
Holly Sidford argues in NCRP’s Fusing Arts, Culture and Social Change that the arts are an essential means by which we all identify ourselves, provide a powerful way to overcome differences and advance our democracy by building social capital and “animating society.”
Sidford also notes the misalignment of current philanthropic practice with the needs of the arts and culture nonprofit world. Despite some $2.3 billion granted out by foundations to the arts every year, most of the funding goes to large, often elite arts institutions. Considering Sidford’s documentation of the evolution of new art forms, the fact that the bulk of arts funding goes to organizations with budgets of more than $5 million that comprise less than 2 percent of all arts and culture organizations s shows that current arts and culture philanthropy is not responding to current needs of grantees.
In spite of Cuomo’s good intentions (arts advocacy groups rallied for more fiscal resources in February, noting that funding for the arts and culture was close to $4 million less than it was in 1985), Norma Munn, president of the New York City Arts Coalition, said that the requirements above, coupled with the July 16 deadline for submitting grant applications will leave out “75 to 80 percent” of museums and cultural centers across the city.
This is a disservice to the arts community and our society. Newer and emergent art forms are evolving at the grassroots level and responding to community needs. Additionally, the arts and culture industry is a proven revenue generator. Despite this, the preference for funding larger organizations persists among state and local governments as well as philanthropic institutions.
Now is the time for philanthropy to step up to the plate and help these catalytic organizations in New York by prioritizing them in their grantmaking. New York’s communities – and our economy - will be better for it.
Niki Jagpal is research and policy director at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP).
Labels: arts and culture philanthropy, community revitalization, High Impact Strategies for Philanthropy, New York arts and culture, social justice, underserved communities
By Niki Jagpal
The New York Daily News reported yesterday that although Albany has allocated an extra $4 million in state funding for the arts, small groups are unlikely to see any benefit from it. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo reserved an additional $4 million for arts groups, but because the governor’s office calls for a minimum of $50,000 in grant applications and a requirement that the funds be matched, smaller arts groups will most likely be unable to access this new funding. As John Watusi Branch, executive director of the Afrikan Poetry Theatre in Jamaica states, “Smaller institutions have more contact with the people they serve in the community but they always get left out.”
Holly Sidford argues in NCRP’s Fusing Arts, Culture and Social Change that the arts are an essential means by which we all identify ourselves, provide a powerful way to overcome differences and advance our democracy by building social capital and “animating society.”
Sidford also notes the misalignment of current philanthropic practice with the needs of the arts and culture nonprofit world. Despite some $2.3 billion granted out by foundations to the arts every year, most of the funding goes to large, often elite arts institutions. Considering Sidford’s documentation of the evolution of new art forms, the fact that the bulk of arts funding goes to organizations with budgets of more than $5 million that comprise less than 2 percent of all arts and culture organizations s shows that current arts and culture philanthropy is not responding to current needs of grantees.
In spite of Cuomo’s good intentions (arts advocacy groups rallied for more fiscal resources in February, noting that funding for the arts and culture was close to $4 million less than it was in 1985), Norma Munn, president of the New York City Arts Coalition, said that the requirements above, coupled with the July 16 deadline for submitting grant applications will leave out “75 to 80 percent” of museums and cultural centers across the city.
This is a disservice to the arts community and our society. Newer and emergent art forms are evolving at the grassroots level and responding to community needs. Additionally, the arts and culture industry is a proven revenue generator. Despite this, the preference for funding larger organizations persists among state and local governments as well as philanthropic institutions.
Now is the time for philanthropy to step up to the plate and help these catalytic organizations in New York by prioritizing them in their grantmaking. New York’s communities – and our economy - will be better for it.
Niki Jagpal is research and policy director at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP).
Labels: arts and culture philanthropy, community revitalization, High Impact Strategies for Philanthropy, New York arts and culture, social justice, underserved communities
posted by Niki Jagpal at
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