MOST RECENT
In her annual holiday posts, Karen Brooks Hopkins, president emerita of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, recalls memorable fundraising stories. This year, “The Nutcracker” and a high-profile donor present a unique challenge.
The New York City-based Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation supports performing arts organizations and seeks to improve quality of life for older adults. We take a closer look at its history, grantmaking and more.
Jody Gottfried Arnhold wants every child in America to have access to dance education. We check in with one of performing arts philanthropy’s most important advocates on the heels of another big gift to advance her goal.
The Howard Gilman Foundation is one of New York City’s most important performing arts funders. We talked with President and CEO Laura Aden Packer about her career path, the health of the city’s arts ecosystem, and more.
The dance funding ecosystem is small compared to other performing arts, and the impacts of the pandemic on top of decades of declining public funding mean a growing role for philanthropy. Here’s what you need to know.
The pandemic was devastating for working artists, many of whom lost their livelihoods. In this guest post, Maurine Knighton of Doris Duke Charitable Foundation shares how powerful unrestricted funding provides a lifeline.
With donations and revenues becoming unreliable at best, leaders in the dance community have had to adapt their fundraising to meet the moment. Nevertheless, individual dancers, in particular, are experiencing severe financial distress.
An IP survey found that performing arts professionals were skeptical about grantmakers’ efforts at reform. But all hope is not lost. Foundations and regranting organizations share how they are fast-tracking democratization efforts.
A new report finds that giving to performing arts organizations fell precipitously in the first nine months of 2020. We explore the pandemic-related dynamics fueling the decline and ask professionals how fundraisers can reverse this trend.
Performing arts groups are coming to the realization that it may be at least another year before things return to “normal.” Harkness Foundation for Dance’s Joan Finkelstein offers insights into how the field can navigate the road ahead.
Performing arts organizations are in need of funding and guidance in uncertain times. Maurine Knighton, director of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation’s arts program, explains how funders can be responsive and advance equity.
As arts funders and nonprofits scramble to stem the impact of COVID-19, many are already looking beyond the pandemic to address glaring structural and operational weaknesses across the arts sector. What might the future hold?
Amid a historic wealth transfer, next-gen donors are poised to make their mark on the fast-changing world of arts philanthropy. But what, exactly, do they expect from institutions? And what will it really take to attract their funding?
Female ballet dancers are paid less than their male counterparts and are underrepresented across dance companies’ leadership ranks. We check in with donor Elizabeth Yntema on how philanthropy can close the gap.
What draws a donor to offer major support to a dance company? It’s an important question at a moment that performing arts organizations are struggling to connect with funders and audiences alike. A $2 million gift offers some clues.
The challenges facing regional performing arts organizations are well-documented. News out of Cincinnati, however, finds a ballet troupe experiencing rapid growth and engaging local donors to fund its bold expansion plans.
With a second big gift in less than three years, Jody Gottfried Arnhold and her husband John have carved out a distinctive and impactful philanthropic brand around dance education—a niche largely devoid of big-ticket patrons.
Many dance and theater groups continue to grapple with lower box office yields, a shrinking subscriber base, fickle millennials, and declines in public funding. The Schubert Foundation is one of the best friends these nonprofits have.
The surge in regional philanthropy is driven by homegrown donors who are stepping up giving, often after decades of steady support. A recent example of this dynamic comes to us from Milwaukee.
We write often about the handful of national funders that support individual artists. But there are also some local and regional funders who operate in this space, including Artist Trust, which is based in Seattle.
As arts funders turn their attention to increasing female representation in classical composition and the cinematic arts, we dig into a new initiative focused on the historically male-dominated field of ballet choreography.
The Wallace Foundation's latest Building Audiences for Sustainability Story looks at a theater troupe's successful efforts to attract younger attendees by tapping into the power of market research.
Despite a growing appetite for dance-driven musicals, it's hard for independent artists to develop projects in this space. A funder-backed effort will make it easier.
The Shubert Foundation's latest record-breaking grant cycle underscores the growing influence of institutional arts funders in fields that traditionally lack robust individual and public support.
Want to see an example of a funder that went beyond paying lip service to the concepts of diversity and inclusion? Take a look at how Dance/USA changed its ways.
The New England Foundation for the Arts recently assessed the effectiveness of its National Dance Project. Its findings triggered the reallocation of funding while underscoring pressing challenges facing dance.
Funding for dance education may be on the wane nationally, but Jody Gottfried Arnhold and her husband remain undeterred. And they're giving millions.
Elaine P. Wynn made her fortune in Las Vegas, so perhaps it's no surprise she's drawn to game-changing philanthropy in the fields of the arts, education, and health. Dance is a keen interest.