From the Field

Philanthropy and Racial Equity

PolicyLink and the Bridgespan Group have just produced Moving from Intention to Impact: Funding Racial Equity to Win, a report examining the philanthropic funding of racial equity. While intention to fund racial equity is high, it is difficult to determine how much funding has actually reached organizations working on racial equity. Outlining the continued need for funding that targets racial equity, the report offers strategies for deciding how and what to fund, as well as practical steps that funders can take to support racial equity.

The Saving Power of Community Creativity

A new report from Center for Community Progress and Metris Arts Consulting, The Saving Power of Community Creativity, lifts up community based artists who worked to urgently respond to racial injustice and the devastating COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing from examples of creative work across the United States, this analysis highlights the common themes addressed by artists: maintaining relationships, pivoting to meet community need, and supporting health and well-being. The report also examines opportunities for continuing creative community work to ensure long-term recovery.

American Alliance of Museums Impact Report and Strategic Plan

The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) has published its 2020 Impact Report and Strategic Plan Retrospective. The report examines how AAM strengthened the museum field between 2016 and 2020 through advocacy, professional development, diversity, equity and inclusion work and increased federal funding. The report also focuses on how AAM provided guidance and resources for museums to survive COVID-19 pandemic closures in 2020.

Persevering through Crisis

The Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) has published Persevering through Crisis: The State of Nonprofits, an analysis of its survey of nonprofit leaders gauging how they are surviving the pandemic. The survey was conducted in February 2021 as a follow-up to CEP’s similar 2020 report, Funder Support during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The results show how the pandemic impacted nonprofits and how their funders and foundations have changed their practices to accommodate the crisis. The analysis suggests that nonprofits have fared better than expected, but arts and culture nonprofits as well as organizations that serve certain communities of color continue to struggle from the disparate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.