New England Foundation for the Arts
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"Up" is the number of experts who agree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in the
field. "Down" is the number of experts who disagree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in field.
Headquarters Location: Boston, MA
Founded: 1976
Mission: NEFA’s mission is to creatively support the movement of people, ideas, and resources in the arts within New England and beyond, make vital connections between artists and communities, and build the strength, knowledge, and leadership of the region's creative sector. Each program and project that is brought to life at NEFA is created with the underlying goal of building a stronger and more dynamic infrastructure for the arts. Through research, documentation, and evaluation, NEFA works to demonstrate the economic impact of the arts, and to enhance public understanding of how the arts contribute to the vitality of communities.
Tags:
national, arts & culture, advocacy, artist support, research, grantmaking, art space, networking
Summary
Stories
Expert Reviews
Leadership
From the Nonprofit
Leadership
Rebecca Blunk.
Rebecca Blunk is Executive Director of the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), a position she has held since 2004. Joining the NEFA staff in 1985 as director of performing arts and later serving as deputy director, she currently works with a Boston-based staff of 20 and an annual budget averaging $6 million.Through a series of public and… See full bio.
Financial Data
Overhead Ratio:
13.49%
Total Revenue:
$4,798,151
From the Nonprofit
|
Dec 07, 2010 |
The arts provide an invaluable contribution to the world. From promoting awareness and understanding of diverse cultures to inspiring dialogue and collaboration among artists and communities, the arts connect us on a basic human level. NEFA has been a significant… Read More. |
Contact Info
Address:
145 Tremont Street
Boston, MA 02111, USA
Story:
NEFA’s grants and services support an endless array of creative expression, from puppetry and multimedia opera to string quartets, stone canoes, slam poetry, contemporary dance, and more. Explore this area to learn more about the impact of our work on artists and communities throughout New England and beyond. For featured stories of impact, please visit http://www.nefa.org/artists_projects/artist_projects.
Expert Reviews of New England Foundation for the Arts
Evidence of Impact Summary:
Though a regional organization, the New England Foundation for the Arts is cited for spreading the arts on a national scale through funding and other support services.See expert comments.
Organization Strengths Summary:
Most experts cite the organization's leadership and operations as strengths. Others cite specific elements of program design.See expert comments.
Areas for Improvement Summary:
Expanding programming is frequently mentioned as an area for improvement. One other respondent contends that longer-term planning would be an improvement.See expert comments.
Expert Comments: Evidence of Impact
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Impact |
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This was one of the first US organizations to conceptualize the arts as part of a broader creative economy that included for-profit organizations, and they have designed programs and research around this idea. Their thought leadership likely played a role in Massachusetts becoming the first state in the country to establish a creative industry desk at the state's economic development bureau. | ||
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The impact of their National Dance Program has been the creation and development of hundreds of dance works, and tours across the U.S. to perhaps hundreds of thousands of audiences since its inception. | ||
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They contribute to making it possible for artists to develop new works, tour, and build audiences for the performing arts. Their National Dance Project program is an amazing example of this organization at its best. | ||
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The New England Foundation for the Arts has consistently provided visionary leadership in developing programs of tremendous national significance for the performing arts. This organization serves to administer critical national funding, both public and private, to sustain and enhance activity among the nation's best dance, music theatre, native arts and other disciplines. It also serves as a leading research agency conducting and disseminating valuable information to the field regarding the creative impact of the arts. The best of the regional agencies, they have and do play a vital role in the ecology of the arts sector insuring innovation, rigor, and equity. | ||
Expert Comments: Organization Strengths
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Program Design |
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They have a robust research and programs department that allows them to focus on convening and publication to a greater degree than its regional arts council peers. Its cost structure is frugal for its size. | ||
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The National Dance Program is a key anchor for the field of dance, which was developed to fill the void left by the NEA during the culture wars. They have continued to study the field and shift programs to respond to changing needs. Recent work around how to better support the development of work alongside the touring has been particularly interesting. Their best work may still be yet to come. | ||
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National Dance Project has been the saving grace for Contemporary Dance in the US since the dissolution of NEA's Choreographer's fellowship. Without their production and touring grants, many influential choreographers would not have gotten support, or continue to be working. | ||
Leadership & Operations |
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While I know little of the infrastructure of this organization, the ways in which I have been engaged have resulted in very good experiences, strong professionalism, and reflect dynamic, knowledgeable staff, leadership, and operations. | ||
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They have excellent and committed leadership in Rebecca Blunk, Jane Forde, and Jane Preston. Their marketing, financial management, and organizational management have always honed to a very high standard. | ||
Expert Comments: Areas for Improvement
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While they have a great ability to aggregate resource and conduct programs which are internationally accessible, I often see mission drift and thin, rather than deep, impact of their programs. | ||
Long-term Planning |
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They have several seemingly extraneous programs that don't mesh in obvious ways with its mission - e.g., the National Dance Project and the Native Arts grant making. I tend to see this as a sign of overly opportunistic leadership that pursues short-term revenue opportunities without fully considering long-term implications. However, the current leadership postdates these programs. | ||
Expand Programming |
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They could expand programming and impact to the national field beyond dance. | ||
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They could increase programming support to allow them to reach an even larger constituency of artists and presenters nationwide through the National Dance Project and other initiatives including their international partnerships. | ||
Focus |
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I wish that it does not have to be everything for everybody, and really promote artistically challenging projects and make a statement of what a dance aesthetic can be instead of what is popular. I question if the realities that touring dance can still be maintained with presenting organizations in the current financial climate. | ||
Leadership
Rebecca Blunk
Executive Director
Executive Director
Through a series of public and private partnerships, some national and international in scope, NEFA supports artists with grants and professional resources, and establishes vital connections between artists, arts programmers, and the public. NEFA also strengthens New England’s creative economy through tools and research that inform policy development. Currently, NEFA’s programming includes: New England presenting and touring, public art, Native American arts, the National Theater Pilot, and the National Dance Project.
Rebecca grew up in Kansas and has a B.F.A. in Art and an M.A. in Arts Administration. Before coming to NEFA, Rebecca spent eight years at the Nebraska Arts Council as community arts coordinator and later as director of programs. Rebecca chairs the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations Working Group which, in 2009, published and presented Global Positioning Strategy (GPS) for the Arts: Recommitting America to International Cultural Exchange to the Obama administration.
From the Nonprofit
|
Dec 07, 2010 |
The arts provide an invaluable contribution to the world. From promoting awareness and understanding of diverse cultures to inspiring dialogue and collaboration among artists and communities, the arts connect us on a basic human level.
NEFA has been a significant cultural force since 1976, when it was created as one of six regional arts agencies nationwide, with funding through the National Endowment for the Arts and New England state arts agencies. Today's NEFA has evolved considerably from the original regional model; as a nonprofit with additional funding from corporations, foundations, and individuals, NEFA develops and manages arts initiatives on local, regional, national and international levels. As a grantmaker, program initiator, developer of resources, and builder of creative partnerships among artists, arts organizations and funders, NEFA celebrates New England and its characteristic values while playing a national role by distributing model programs, supporting international cultural exchange, and advocating access to the arts for everyone. NEFA plays a unique role in sustaining the arts – and as a nonprofit, the work we do is financed with grants and contributions. Your tax-deductible gift to NEFA is a way to participate, and an investment in building systems of support for the arts. Visit www.nefa.org for more information. |