united arts funds

Resources: Helpful Links

Thinking about starting a United Arts Fund in your community, but not sure what's involved? Take a look at this PowerPoint presentation (pdf, 1.48MB) created by Alecia Townsend Kintner, deputy director, Greater Hartford Arts Council, for the UAF 101 session at the Americans for the Arts 2007 Annual Convention in Las Vegas. Jeff Hawthorne, director of Community Affairs, Regional Arts and Culture Council of Portland, also presented a capsule view of four emerging United Arts Funds.

The Conference Board is the world's preeminent business membership and research organization. Best known for the Consumer Confidence Index and the Leading Economic Indicators, for almost 90 years The Conference Board has equipped the world's leading corporations with practical knowledge through issues-oriented research and senior executive peer-to-peer meetings.

The Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy is the only international forum of business CEOs and Chairpersons pursuing a mission focused exclusively on corporate philanthropy.

The Corporate Philanthropist focuses on private-sector giving, featuring articles on the arts by Dana Gioia, Gary Steuer and others in the 2007 spring edition. It is distributed to an array of the country's leading corporate CEOs. Americans for the Arts' Gary Steuer writes about the complex relationship between business and the arts and the need to raise awareness of the fact that the arts are integral to the fabric of our lives and communities. The article also addresses the importance of workforce creativity and innovation in facing 21st century global competitiveness stressing the importance and value of arts education and arts-based corporate training which fosters innovation, teamwork, intercultural communication, tolerance, and risk.

In a recent report, Changing Direction: Developing Employee-Friendly Workplace Campaign with Technology and Best Practices, research shows that the most successful employers are now customizing their campaigns to respond to the diverse charity giving interests of their workforce, and using technology and best practices to enrich the employee giving experience and conduct more cost-effective campaigns. Developed by America's Charities and The Consulting Network, this valuable study, including case studies and a tool kit, is available at www.charities.org.

Our Giving Community, formerly the National Alliance for Choice in Giving, connects employers and employees with new choices for workplace charitable giving. They represent more than 50 charitable federations and funds serving more than 2,000 nonprofits nationwide. Each year they convene the National Workplace Giving Summit.

Corporate Philanthropy Report is a source for exclusive, hard-to-find help on critical issues influencing corporate giving. You get the corporate as well as the nonprofit view, so you can see how both sides partner to create successful, long-term alliances.

Nonprofit Quarterly is a magazine and e-newsletter on nonprofit management trends.

The Stanford Social Innovation Review is an award-winning magazine covering best strategies for nonprofits, foundations, and socially responsible businesses.Arts United of Greater Fort Wayne has an extensive tool kit for workplace giving campaigns including advice on conducting payroll deductions, benefits to conducting on-line campaigns, and matching funds. The Greater Hartford Arts Council has an excellent tool kit for developing a workplace giving campaign.

Our Giving Community, formerly National Alliance for Choice in Giving, connects employers and employees with new choices for workplace charitable giving. They represent more than 50 charitable federations and funds serving more than 2,000 nonprofits nationwide. Each year, they convene the  NACG National Workplace Giving Summit. The 2008 meeting will be held in Los Angeles, February 5–8, 2008.

The Arts Federation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation founded to assist arts organizations with funding by helping them participate more effectively in workplace giving campaigns.

This workplace giving phenomenon is successful not only in the United States, but worldwide. The Australian government runs the successful Prime Minister's Community Business Partnership. Its site includes an extensive tool kit with many mutually useful ideas.

Workplace Giving UK is the largest professional fundraising organization in the UK, promoting and raising awareness of payroll giving in the workplace.