To kick off 2022, the Arts Funders Affinity Group is pleased to welcome Eddie Torres, president & CEO of Grantmakers in the Arts. In late 2020 and again in mid-2021, Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA) surveyed their members about recent and upcoming changes in arts grantmaking practices in response to the pandemic and the movement for Black lives. Eddie will share his national perspective of arts grantmaking and discuss the findings from GIA’s latest survey. We’ll then bring it home with a brief update from Nicholas Cohen from Maryland Citizens for the Arts and have a whole group sharing session about our grantmaking practice and if it reflects the national trends in increased giving, flexibility, support for individual artists, and support for BIPOC organizations. Will also identify opportunities for collaboration and continued learning.

Join Maryland Philanthropy Network and our speakers for an overview of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to contextualize the ways funds are being disbursed, including the $350 billion in State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF). Drawing on ideas found in this Philanthropy News Digest article by Darius Graham of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, we’ll discuss how a greater understanding of priorities and processes in a community can help with allocating SLFRF in ways that inform grantmaking. We will conclude with a dynamic panel discussion with our partners on how funders can support nonprofits, provide community input about public dollars, and address any potential funding gaps.

Baltimore Seniors & Housing Collaborative would like to finish this challenging year on a positive note by sharing what we have been able to accomplish to overcome the deep-seated housing disparities created through decades of Baltimore’s red-lining practices which were then exacerbated by the pandemic. All are welcome and invited to present.  Our friends from Weinberg Foundation, Comprehensive Housing Assistance, Inc (CHAI) and Civic Works will kick us off!