Arts sector faces slump...

January 21, 2010

Following years of growth in the number of arts organization in the U.S., the industry is struggling with increased competition for audiences and contributions, developments that have led to a massive slump in the sector, The Associated Press reported Jan. 20 (see arts industry story).

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a four-year $7.5 million grant to TechnoServe to train 50,000 fruit farmers in Kenya and Uganda with the hopes of linking them into Coca-Cola's supply chain, The Seattle Times reported Jan. 19 (see Gates Foundation story).

The Annenberg Foundation has launched a multi-million dollar "Alchemy" program that will select 100 small nonprofits in Southern California to attend a series of seminars designed to help them raise money and operate more effectively, Brand X reported Jan. 19 (see Annenberg Foundation story). To be eligible, nonprofits must serve underprivileged or minority populations and have a budget of less than $2 million.

Several new organizations are taking advantage of the prevalence of wireless technology and social networking to spawn a new type of philanthropic support, The Canadian Press reported Jan. 20 (see wireless giving story). DoGooder, for example, is a free browser plug-in that allows users to browse the Internet while viewing nonprofit-related ads, with half the profits benefiting charities and green causes.

Musicians with the Cleveland Orchestra settled on Tuesday the strike that began the day before, The New York Times reported Jan. 19 (see Cleveland Orchestra story).

About 30 percent of the nonprofits in the San Diego area are reporting "very negative" effects from the recession and another 58 say those effects are "somewhat negative," The San Diego Union Tribune reported Jan. 20 (see San Diego nonprofits story). In general, nonprofits are being asked to do more at the same time that contributions are drying up.

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