On November 4th, 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and 36 U.S. Senators are up for election. As part of our mission to hold elected officials accountable for their actions taken in Congress that directly impact the arts and arts education, the Arts Action Fund PAC has produced the 2014 Congressional Arts Report Card. This one-stop guide will help you make an informed decision at the ballot box this election.

ArtPlace America is currently accepting Letters of Inquiry for the 2015 round of its National Grants Program. This year ArtPlace intends to support approximately 40 projects with roughly $10 million. These grants target creative placemaking projects, in which art and culture help strengthen the social, physical, and economic fabric of communities.

On November 3, the NEA (register here) with support from ArtPlace America will host a webinar on the role of the performing arts in transforming places, people's relationships with their communities, and community development processes.

ArtPlace executive director Jamie Bennett spoke about the amazing projects his organization is funding at our recent Annual Conference.

• Sign up for a webinar "A Nonprofit Perspective about Prop 2, Prop 45 and Prop 47" on October 8 at 11 AM (click here for webinar).  www.NationalVoterRegistrationDay.org.

• Attend a new conference "Strong Together" for nonprofit leaders October 24th in San Francisco.   http://www.compasspoint.org/stronger-together
   
• What do nonprofit Board members need to understand about overhead? Click here to read a recent article from the "Blue Avocado."

 

 
San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory 

The San Francisco Conservatory of Music has appointed Mason Bates to its composition faculty. Bates is known for classically conceived orchestral and non-orchestral works that incorporate electronic techniques drawn from his career as a DJ and techno artist.



Don Howard has been appointed as the next President and CEO of The James Irvine Foundation. Don is an innovative leader, recognized for his experience and creativity in both private and nonprofit sectors.


Andrea Laguni, 20 year veteran of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, has moved on to join Arts Consulting Group as a Project Consultant.






Ming Luke is the newly appointed interim conductor at the Merced Symphony for the 2014-2015 Season. Luke has written, arranged, and performed over 120 education concerts with the Berkeley Symphony, for whom he remains the associate conductor.