James Connor’s Post

Legacy Foundation's 2024 Fall Transform Lake County Grant Application is Closing in 2 Weeks! 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 1 𝐚𝐭 5 𝐏𝐌 𝐂𝐒𝐓 To learn more and apply, visit: https://lnkd.in/dmVWYE2 Transform Lake County grants support Lake County, Indiana serving organizations. Eligible organizations can apply for one of two Transform Lake County grant categories: Programmatic: Supports programming that seeks to strengthen and empower nonprofits, neighborhoods, and residents in Lake County, Indiana. Grant awards range from $2,000 to $35,000. Capacity Building: Focus on improving organizations’ operating capacity so that they can provide essential services to the community. Grant awards range from $2,000 to $10,000.

The recent Candid and ABFE. A Philanthropic Partnership for Black Communities report underscores the urgent need for support for Black-led nonprofits. Here are two key reasons to register for our Grant Writing Master Course: 1. Empower Your Organization Learn to craft compelling grant proposals that effectively communicate your mission and demonstrate impact, enabling you to secure essential funding for your initiatives. 2. Expert Guidance and Networking Gain insights from experienced grant writers, connect with like-minded organizations, and build a supportive network to enhance your funding opportunities. Join our Grant Writing Master Course to equip yourself with the skills to support and uplift Black-led nonprofits. Register here: https://lnkd.in/gK-Sbq_z

Legacy Foundation's 2024 Fall Transform Lake County Grant Application is CLOSES TOMORROW! 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 1 𝐚𝐭 5 𝐏𝐌 𝐂𝐒𝐓 To learn more and apply, visit: https://lnkd.in/dmVWYE2 Transform Lake County grants support Lake County, Indiana serving organizations. Eligible organizations can apply for one of two Transform Lake County grant categories: Programmatic: Supports programming that seeks to strengthen and empower nonprofits, neighborhoods, and residents in Lake County, Indiana. Grant awards range from $2,000 to $35,000. Capacity Building: Focus on improving organizations’ operating capacity so that they can provide essential services to the community. Grant awards range from $2,000 to $10,000.

Today’s call out goes to ArtsWave. This major funder of the arts in Cincinnati requires their grantees to maintain a “balanced budget” for the last three years in order to be eligible for funding. So if we don’t have enough money you’ll… give us less money? What if we make a considered decision to pass an unbalanced budget to serve our community best? We don’t need this kind of paternalism from funders, especially aimed at arts organizations in THESE last three years. And because that’s not enough, - ArtsWave prohibits grantees from fundraising for three months of the year. - The first six pages of their grantee handbook are about public recognition for ArtsWave. - The same handbook has three pages of definitions, but “balanced budget” is not among them. - A major annual RFP opens mid-December and closes mid-January. When you’re the biggest arts funder for miles around you can get away with a lot. But ArtsWave when your grantees say you’re “like a mafia protection ring,” it’s time to reevaluate your practices.

No "adult conversation" will fix this behavior. I may have believed that pre-COVID, but at this point, this is intentional. From ArtsWave's DEIA Commitment: "As the region’s arts council and engine for the arts, our goal is to build and nurture an environment where diversity, equity, inclusion and access are embedded in everything we touch and do." There are so many other arts funders with significantly smaller budgets that have changed their entire program to adjust to better support artists (including and actually prioritizing individuals). #grantmaking #philanthropy #CrappyFundingPractices #nonprofits

🌟 Exciting News! 🌟 Thrilled to announce the release of our 2023 report at ProDESC 📊🎉 Accessible to all, this report isn't just a document—it's an invitation. We're opening the doors for collaboration and dialogue as we journey towards corporate accountability and the realization of economic, social, and cultural rights. ☝🏽💬 Take a look at our report and join us in making a difference! #HumanRights #Transparency #Accountability #2023Report

#Report2023 Transparency and accountability are two fundamental principles at ProDESC. Hence, our 2023 Report is now accessible, reflecting the effort and dedication of our team, the communities and collectives we support, and the invaluable contribution from the advisory board: Benjamin Davis, Dolores González, Jorge Fernández Souza, Wolfgang Kaleck, Manuel Fuentes Muñiz, Tamaryn Nelson y Mylai Burgos. As well as the trust of our donators: American Jewish World Service (AJWS), Bertha Foundation, Fundación Avina, CCFD-Terre Solidaire, The Christensen Fund, The Fund for Global Human Rights, Ford Foundation, The Freedom Fund, Oak Foundation, Levi Strauss Co, International Development Research Centre (IDRC), USAID, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Solidarity Center, Wellspring Philanthropic Fund, Dienste in Übersee - Brot für die Welt, Porticus, Global Commons Alliance, Hispanics in Philanthropy. See the full report👇 https://lnkd.in/exmMTUy2

CALL ALL GRANT MAKERS!!! I am looking for people that work as grant makers to complete a survey about how you perceive grant making occurs within the organization / foundation you currently work for. (These can include: private and corporate foundations, PAFs, PuAFs, DAFs, sub-grant nonprofits, community foundations etc.) It will take 5 minutes to complete. The survey is fully anonymous, you will not be asked to provide your name or that of your organization. This survey forms part of my PhD research at The University of Queensland, which aims to provide the sector with greater clarity about what makes for good grant making practice. I will also be interviewing grantees to piece these two sides of the puzzle together to help bring forward empirically based recommendations for us all to use. If you yourself are not a grant maker, but you know others who are please forward the link on. We really want to capture a truly international sample of people. Click below to link to the survey. Thank you!! In collaboration with Dr Cassandra Chapman and Prof. Cameron Parsell

From this new Council on Foundations "Coming Together, Not Apart" report: "Division in the United States is certainly not a recent development, but for the past 15 years or so, the U.S. has seemed seized by a novel strain of discord. Particularly since the 2016 election, headlines about toxic polarization— defined here as an “us vs. them” partisan mindset and contempt for political outgroups—have been published ad nauseum. The dynamics of this polarization have been linked to the backsliding of American democracy, as well as a steep rise in political violence. While the connection between toxic polarization and these phenomena may be indirect, there appears to be something unique to the political, media, and societal systems of the United States that is causing toxic polarization to play out in these ways. "From 2016 to 2020, philanthropy invested $9.4 billion to promote democracy, more than twice the total from the previous five years, and philanthropic initiatives aimed at fostering belonging and social cohesion proliferated. "In an October 2023 survey commissioned by the Walton Family Foundation, more than 8 in 10 said they worry about how divided our society is becoming. But they are not resigned to division: Almost 9 in 10 (88%) also said people need to be willing to work together with those holding different beliefs, 2 out of 3 said we can overcome big challenges together if we try, and 8 in 10 said it’s important to listen to people with different opinions." #division #socialcohesion #communitybuilding #pluralism #interfaith #hatecrime #polarization #conflicttransformation #democracy #belonging #inclusion

To be clear, this is not about one funder’s crappy fundraising practices. This speaks to a lack of understanding of what arts organizations are facing right now—on the part of philanthropy (though some get it for sure), individuals, and government. Unless there is a wholesale shift in the way the arts are funded in the US—immediately—we will continue to hemorrhage arts organizations. How many critically important organizations have died in your community? What do you think happens to the artists when whole organizations go away?