Arts Organizations eNews
From the Montana Arts Council


Below you will find links to opportunities, resources, research and articles of interest to arts organizations and advocates. Click on anything underlined and it will take you to the link.

 

 NominationsNominations
 
From Humanities Montana
Governor's Humanities Awards Nominations Due May 13
Every two years outstanding Montanans are recognized at the Governor's Humanities Awards. Our next celebration will take place Thursday, January 26, 2017 in the Capitol Rotunda, followed by an awards banquet at the Helena Radisson Hotel.
Nominations for the Awards are due May 13.
Nominations should be no more than 1000 words and should address the nominee ' s contributions to the humanities. Nominations for both individuals and organizations will be considered. Members of the Humanities Montana board and staff are not eligible for consideration.
Nominations should be e-mailed  to info@humanitiesmontana.org or sent to Governor's Humanities Awards, Humanities Montana, 311 Brantly, Missoula, MT 59812. If you have questions, call (406) 243-6022.

 

From First Peoples Fund

Do you know a Native artist who has dedicated his or her life and work to sustaining cultural traditions within their community? First Peoples Fund has opened nominations for the 2017 Community Spirit Awards, and we want to hear from you. Nominate an artist today.

 

 

Pro_Dev_workshopsWorkshops and Conferences
 
From Montana Nonprofit Association
Tom Ahern: Fundraising & Communications
 
Missoula, March 28, 9am-3:30pm
Looking to update your fundraising messages? Need help crafting the perfect case statement? Unsure how to use digital communications? Register today for a full-day workshop with Tom Ahern, author and leading expert on nonprofit communications. Learn how to improve your messages to donors and refine your fundraising strategy.

Workshop Dates and Locations:
Missoula, 3/28/16, Doubletree Edgewater
Bozeman, 3/29/16, Baxter's Ballroom
Billings, 3/30/16, Billings Depot

Registration Rates (Early-bird rates end March 16!)
MNA Member Organization: $90 by 3/16, $105 after 3/16
Non-Member Organization: $150 by 3/16, $165 after 3/16

Thank you to the Montana Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Western Montana Fund Raisers Association for helping sponsor Tom's visit to Montana!

From Hopa Mountain
Join us for a Creating Boards that Lead workshop focusing on Vision, Governance, Management March 31-April 1
Hopa Mountain and Sage Solutions will co-teach a Creating Boards that Lead workshop on Thursday, March 31 from 1-4:30 p.m. and Friday, April 1 from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the C'Mon Inn (Bozeman). This workshop is designed for current members of nonprofit Board of Directors and those interested in serving on a Board. The cost is $40 for members and $50 for non-members. For more information, please see the attached registration form or email info@hopamountain.org.  

Philanthropy Northwest
The call for proposals for sessions at our 2016 Annual Conference is now open!
Stay tuned for more details on pre-conference site visits, workshops and other learning opportunities. For information on sponsorship opportunities,
contact Anjana Pandey  at apandey@philanthropynw.org, Philanthropy Northwest's donor and member relations director.

Spring Workshop Series Helps Nonprofit Leaders Apply Best Practices
Flathead Valley Community College's Continuing Education Center will host a spring workshop series designed to help leaders of nonprofit organizations apply best practices for governance. Developed with input from local nonprofit directors and board members, Nonprofit Board Leadership: Applying Best Practices will be held every other Wednesday from 6 to 8:30 p.m. beginning on March 9 and concluding April 20. Cost to register for the series is $80.
 
"This series takes the principles from the High Performing Board workshop FVCC hosted last September and gives attendees the opportunity to implement those best practices in their board work," said FVCC Drector of Workforce Development Jodi Smith.

The workshop series will be taught by Ned Cooney. Cooney specializes in organizational planning, board education and development, program development, funding strategies, support for executives and board members and meeting and retreat facilitation.

The workshop is sponsored in part by a grant from The Applied Materials Foundation.

For more information or to register for the workshop, visit www.fvcc.edu/workforcetraining or contact the Continuing Education Center at 756-3832 or ceinfo@fvcc.edu.

Online_learnOnline Learning

From Montana Community Foundation
The IRA Charitable Rollover Provision: Is this an option for your organization?

Tuesday, April 5, 2016
2:00 pm MT 30 minutes

Hosted by Nick Dietzen, Planned Giving Officer and Cathy Cooney
In December 2015, Congress finally made the IRA Charitable Rollover Provision permanent (after many years of letting it expire after temporary, last-minute renewals). Now that it's permanent, we want to give you the basics to determine whether this is a charitable instrument that could benefit you as a donor or benefit your nonprofit organization.
This will be a 30-minute webinar. Part I: We will review the provisions of the IRA charitable rollover and how it can provide tax savings for individuals. Part II: We will talk to staff and volunteers of nonprofit organizations about how they can market the IRA Charitable Rollover to their own constituents.
Click here to register.
 

Job_oppsJob Opportunities

SPARK! Arts Ignite Learning Director position open
The Director will be an adaptive and innovative leader who can facilitate the collective success of SPARK! The Director must be comfortable working behind the scenes to promote the work of partner agencies while also serving as a public ambassador for the initiative. More specifically, working with SPARK!'s Governing Board, the Director will drive SPARK!'s internal and external functions, including strategy, communications, fundraising, community engagement, budget overview and data functions. Familiarity with Word, Excel and QuickBooks recommended. The Director should be able to write grant applications and see to their implementation.

Philanthropy Northwest Job Bank: 129 jobs listed

Fund_oppsFunding Opportunities

Humanities Access Grants now available from the National Endowment for the Humanities
Office of Challenge Grants
Receipt Deadline May 4, 2016
Brief Summary
Humanities Access grants help support capacity building for humanities programs that benefit one or more of the following groups: youth, communities of color, and economically disadvantaged populations.
Humanities Access grants establish or augment term endowments(that is, endowments whose funds are entirely expended over the course of a set time period) to provide funding for existing programs at institutions such as public libraries, local and regional museums, historical societies, community colleges, HBCUs and tribal colleges, Hispanic-serving institutions, archival repositories, and other cultural organizations. Humanities Access grants are intended to seed longer-term endowment-building efforts.
Programs supported by Humanities Access grants might include, for example

  • a summer project for teens at a local historical society;

  • internships for Native American students at a tribal museum; or

  • a Clemente course at a homeless shelter organized by a community college.
Humanities Access Grants offer two years of match-based funding to be expended through a term endowment over the final three years of the five-year grant period. Humanities Access grant funds should not be used to replace existing program funds. Instead, the grant should expand or enhance an existing exemplary humanities program.
Institutions that have never received an NEH grant and small to mid-sized institutions are especially encouraged to apply.
Questions?
Contact the staff of NEH's Office of Challenge Grants at 202-606-8309 or at challenge@neh.gov . Hearing-impaired applicants can contact NEH via TDD at 1-866-372-2930.
 
Funds Provided to Extend the Reach of Arts Organizations Due April 14
National Endowment for the Arts
The Challenge America program provides support to small and mid-sized organizations for projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations, such as those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability. Applications are due to Grants.gov by April 14, 2016.
 
Grants Promote Contemporary Concert Music
The Amphion Foundation

The purpose of the Amphion Foundation is to promote excellence in, and public appreciation of, contemporary concert music, particularly by American composers. Grants are provided to publicly-supported nonprofit performing ensembles, presenters, and music service organizations that have a history of substantial commitment to contemporary concert music at a high level of excellence. In general, grants range between $1,000 and $7,500, although larger grants may be awarded to major performing organizations with an extraordinary commitment to contemporary concert music or a particularly significant project. Applying organizations must have been in existence for at least two years, and have completed two full seasons of programming prior to the time of application. Applications will be accepted through April 1, 2016. Visit the Foundation's website for grant program guidelines.
 
Seed Grants Promote Music, Education, and Community Organizing
Sparkplug Foundation

The Sparkplug Foundation primarily provides grants to start-up nonprofit organizations or new projects of established nonprofits that are addressing the fields of music, education, and community organizing. In the Music category, the Foundation supports emerging professional musicians or music-development programs. In Education and Teaching, the Foundation funds projects that deal with "the whole student" and with learning as a community activity. Through Grassroots Organizing, the Foundation encourages activist strategies for addressing institutional injustices and for building a reasoned, just society. The current focus is on ground-level community organizing at the intersection of utilities/energy infrastructure, housing/community resources, and racial justice. The Foundation also provides limited support for projects in Israel that involve Palestinian communities. Online questionnaires must be completed by April 15, 2016. Letters of intent are due April 22, and the deadline for final applications is May 13, 2016. Visit the Foundation's website to review its mission and funding guidelines as well as the online application instructions.

From EmcArts
Open Call for New Communities
Community Innovation Labs: Now Accepting Letters of Inquiry
EmcArts is pleased to announce that, with support from the Kresge Foundation , we will be launching Community Innovation Labs in two new communities across the United States in 2016-2017. These Labs will offer the opportunity for local stakeholders to take on an urgent and specific social challenge by using artistic practices to explore local systems and advance innovative responses.
Deadline for submitting letters of inquiry is April 11th, 2016. We are accepting inquiries jointly submitted by a coordinated group of two to three local stakeholders or organizations. Read more and submit an inquiry here .
Our two new Labs will build off of work that's currently underway in our pilot sites of Winston-Salem, NC and Providence, RI.

Interesting_readingInteresting Reading
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