Investing in the arts
THIS WEEK, Boston is hosting nearly 300 members of Grantmakers in the Arts, the national organization of donors, trustees, and staff of public, private, and corporate foundations dedicated to supporting arts and culture.
Grantmaking is a complex business that goes beyond writing a check. There is a common understanding that individuals and communities are at their best when the arts are in schools, community centers, and neighborhoods, embedded in everyday life. In Massachusetts, artists, business and cultural leaders, and the Legislature work with fund-raisers to increase investment in the arts.
Where do arts and cultural nonprofits find the resources to keep theaters, museums, and after-school programs open? Often, it's volunteer time that drives the arts community. In Hyde Park, artists bring the children of the Greenwood Elementary School experiences that expand their horizons -- an example of the "sweat equity" that keeps arts organizations afloat.
Where does the cash come from? Half the funds are earned through ticket sales, rentals, and class fees. The other half is contributed by foundations, corporations, government, and individuals. New research updating the Boston Foundation's 2003 study "Funding for Cultural Organizations" indicates that more than 70 percent of contributed income is given by the people who value the arts in their lives.
The members of Grantmakers in the Arts represent some of the country's largest and richest philanthropies, as well as its newest and smaller family foundations. But foundation giving is a small piece of the pie -- in Boston, probably less than 20 percent. This is why we come together every year to consider how to target our investments for maximum benefit to institutions, artists, and managers.
Our founding fathers understood the value of the arts. In the Massachusetts Constitution, John Adams called upon legislators to "cherish the interests of literature . . . to encourage private societies and public institutions . . . for the promotion of . . . arts, sciences, commerce, trades."
Recently, cultural leaders formed a task force to confront the fact that their facilities, most built a hundred years ago, can't serve today's audiences.
Led by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Massachusetts Advocates for the Arts, Sciences and Humanities, and the Boston Foundation, business and cultural leaders made their case for public investment in these cultural and economic assets -- and the Legislature listened.
The resulting Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund is a model for the nation. Now advocacy must continue so that the facilities fund is again included in the state budget.
Research can't quantify corporate giving, but there is ample anecdotal evidence that funding has been declining in Boston. Giving through their foundations or marketing and civic affairs budgets, corporations align their donations to commercial interests. As businesses merge, move their headquarters out of the city, or expand to new markets, their funding follows, leaving Boston's cultural leaders wondering who to call to make their case.
Of course, as the recent
Art and business. Art and government. These pairings are not as awkward as they're made out to be. Last week, Governor-elect Deval Patrick made the connection when he turned to those celebrating his victory and noted, "You are business executives looking for a better margin and artists looking to be valued. . . . You have come together not just for your own hopes and aspirations, but for each others'. "
Thrilling language signaling, hopefully, a further change in civic culture. Massachusetts is poised for change, ready to come together to invest in arts and culture as an integral, cherished part of community life.
Ann McQueen is a senior program officer at The Boston Foundation and co-chairwoman of the Grantmakers in the Arts conference. 
