To current arts applicants to the Columbia Foundation:

I am pleased to announce that Joanne (Jo) Hedley has agreed to serve as a program consultant to the foundation for its current round of arts and culture applications. Jo brings wide-ranging knowledge and experience to the foundation. She was the Curator of Pictures for The Wallace Collection and the Specialist in Old Master Pictures and Drawings for Christie’s France S.A. She is currently the Guest Consultant Curator for The National Gallery (London) and is a fellow of the Clore Cultural Leadership Programme in the United Kingdom. She was awarded the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres (France) and honored as a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She received her B.A. and M.A. from Cambridge University in the History of Art, and is engaged on a doctoral thesis at the Courtauld Institute. Jo will assist with the analysis of applications as well as advise the foundation about grantmaking strategies and opportunities for achieving program goals. While Jo will focus on London-based organizations, she will also be consulting with me regarding applications from San Francisco-based organizations.

We received 57 proposals that are within the foundation’s existing guidelines – 16 from London-based organizations and 41 from San Francisco Bay Area organizations. As is always the case, there are many more worthwhile programs than can be considered for funding by this foundation and only approximately one in five proposals will be recommended for further consideration. We are now in the process of analyzing the proposals. One of us will be in touch with you if we need more information at this stage of the process. The foundation’s program committee meets with the arts program advisors in late June. I expect that the foundation will make the final decisions on arts grants by early September 2008. If you have updated information about your program, I encourage you to send these by email to Alex Hoskyns-Abrahall at alex@columbia.org. Please do not telephone the foundation to schedule a meeting as we will schedule meetings when necessary.

Last year several applicants communicated to us their suggestion that the foundation refine its arts guidelines to better reflect the foundation’s grantmaking priorities in the arts. We listened to you, but we have not completed this process. We hope to be able to include more information about priorities over the next year, prior to the next deadline in 2009. However, the foundation’s arts interests are eclectic and thus difficult to describe in a way that can help applicants make the decision about whether to apply. The foundation does give priority to the live arts rather than media; new works; diversity of art forms and cultural expressions; successful outreach to new audiences; excitement and excellence apparent to many; and art that enriches the understanding as well as the enjoyment of life. The foundation has a history of funding large and small organizations, well-funded and well-established organizations as well as small-budget and/or new organizations. Dance, music, theater, literary, and visual arts have been funded. There is a preference for funding specific projects in London, while San Francisco Bay Area organizations are sometimes considered for basic organization development support. Capital projects for new buildings and renovations are considered from time-to-time. Check www.columbia.org next year prior to the March 1, 2009, deadline for the list of grants awarded by this arts round, and for any updates to the guidelines.

Thank you for applying to the foundation. It is both a pleasure and a privilege to consider so many outstanding programs in the arts and we look forward to learning more about each program through the review process this spring.

Sincerely,
Susan R. Clark