Thanks for being a supporter of UT's arts and humanities! Below are a few updates as well as our bi-monthly newsletter showcasing jobs, news, and what's happening all around this state in our amazing cultural sector! There are quite a number of federal advocacy updates this week.
Read on for more details, OR here's a quick summary of this week's news:
#1 Cultural Fundraiser Training September 13
I invite you to attend our training for cultural fundraisers coming up on September 13th. We co-host this workshop with the Association of Utah Fundraisers - Utah and it’s going to be jam packed with information!
We have Jeffrey Mathis of Fadel Law Firm, Jeff Kemp of Lefavi Wealth Management, and Laura Chynoweth of Granted Fundraising Consultants presenting! We also have a panel of Elaine Ellis from Matthew B Ellis Foundation and Amy Hansen from the Hemingway Foundation with moderator Katherine Fife the founde of Philanthropy Matters and former Association of Fundraising Professionals Board Member! Register here!
#2 Professional Development
If you are looking for professional development opportunities catch me digitally at AFTA's webinar September 27! I'm talking all things economic data. And then if anyone is coming to the Utah Museums Association, Utah League of Cities and Towns, or Utah Nonprofit Association’s conferences in the next few weeks, we’re either speaking or tabling or both!
#3 Board Nominations Now Open
Board nominations are now open for terms beginning in 2019. Click here to apply if you’re interested. We’re looking for dynamos! Nominations close September 30.
#4 We have a Professional Development Section in our Newsletter Now!
If you offer skill building trainings, mentorships, or professional development for any kind of cultural worker email them to us at news@utculture.org and we will add them to our newsletter!
#5 The Strategic Plan is DONE!
I can't thank everyone enough for their hard work! Thank you to the board and everyone who met with us and took the survey! Details will be announced in the coming weeks, so stay tuned! We have exciting things coming!
#6 Advertise with Classical 89
Classical 89 has for many years been privileged to join with community arts groups in promoting their concerts. They still have underwriting available! If you would like to advertise your event on Classical 89, details and prices can be found by emailing Stephanie Dautel at stephanie.dautel@byu.edu, or by calling her at 801-422-8488.
#7 CREATE THE VOTE Campaign
It’s one thing to build relationships over years with elected officials and turn then into cultural champions, it’s another to elect them in the first place! Click here and see the myriad ways you can help us create the vote and elect candidates who love culture. Coming soon near you: parties to meet the endorsed candidates in your area!
#8 Two Local Arts Agencies Updates
Cedar City
The RAP Committees have met and these are the RECOMMENDATIONS. The final decision is made by the City Council at the next two meetings on Sep. 1 and 8 at 5:30 p.m. Update: All recommendations were implemented as suggested by the committees. Thanks to everyone involved in this process.
Thanks to the people who serve on the committees. The requests are always more than what is available and it is a challenge to balance the needs of such a diverse application pool.
Salt Lake City Arts Council Updates
Best,
Crystal
Crystal Young-Otterstrom
Executive Director
Utah Cultural Alliance // Utah Cultural Advocacy Alliance
cyo@utculture.org
801.652.0737
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UTAH CULTURAL ALLIANCE IS THE ADVOCACY VOICE FOR ARTS, HUMANITIES, AND CULTURAL BUSINESSES. WE ADVOCATE ON BEHALF OF CULTURE TO GOVERNMENT AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
GRANTS ONLY FUND OUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & AWARENESS BUILDING PROGRAMS (SUCH AS THE CULTURAL ASSET MAP). IF YOU'RE NOT ALREADY, BECOME A MEMBER OR MONTHLY DONOR TO DIRECTLY SUPPORT OUR ADVOCACY WORK!
UCA MENTORSHIP PROGRAM
Interested in becoming a mentor to a young professional? Searching for a mentor yourself? At UCA, we are committed to the success of all of our professionals including young professionals. Many of us have found success because of great mentors who helped us navigate the ins and outs of the arts and cultural community. Check out our program here to learn how to sign up to be a mentor or connect with a professional in your field.
UPCOMING UTAH CULTURAL ALLIANCE EVENTS
2018 ANNUAL MEETING: CULTURAL FUNDRAISERS @ SCERA CENTER FOR THE ARTS (SEP. 13)
THANK YOU TO OUR 100 CLUB MEMBERS:
SCOTT AND JESSELIE ANDERSON
LAURIE HOFMANN & DAVID CLASSEN
MARY SCHUBACH MCCARTHEY
AMY HOWELL OGLESBY
MARCIA PRICE
JONATHAN & TINA RUGA, SENTRY FINANCIAL
SAM & DIANE STEWART
SPENCER STOKES
SLC DOWNTOWN ALLIANCE
SALT LAKE CITY, GLOBAL CHAMBER ARTISTS
MEMBER HIGHLIGHTS
Do you want a chance to be highlighted in upcoming newsletters? Click here to fill out a short questionnaire and be sure to send a photo of yourself or your organization to cyo@utculture.org.
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USDA Partners with HHS to Support Rural Communities Combating Opioid Misuse
WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2018 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that a group of Cooperative Extension partners will have the opportunity to apply for grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to help communities combat opioid use disorders. HHS intends to build on successful 2017 and 2018 National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Rural Health and Safety Education projects that focus on opioid abuse.
“With the impact opioid misuse is having on rural America, we cannot build strong, prosperous communities without addressing this crisis,” said Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett. “USDA is committed to working hand-in-hand with rural leaders and fellow mission-driven organizations – including other members of the federal family – to be a strong partner in this battle.”
HHS’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is engaging with the Cooperative Extension System (CES) to bring opioid prevention, treatment and recovery activities to rural America more efficiently. CES is a federal, state and local partnership. It operates out of the nation’s land-grant universities, empowering communities of all sizes to address challenges they face, from nutrition and food safety to responding to emergencies.
SAMHSA is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2018. Eligible applicants are existing NIFA Cooperative Extension grantees that focus on opioid issues affecting rural communities.
The grants HHS is offering through the Rural Opioid Technical Assistance (ROTA) program must be used to develop and implement robust collaborations with the CES system to improve the health and vitality of rural communities across the nation. ROTA will help communities develop and disseminate training and technical assistance to address opioid use disorder.
There is $8,250,000 in available funding for the ROTA program. Proposed projects cannot exceed $550,000 in total costs (direct and indirect). The application deadline is Sept. 20, 2018. Please see the SAMHSA funding opportunity announcement for details.
At the direction of President Trump, USDA has been keenly focused on addressing the opioid crisis in rural communities. So far, the Department has convened regional roundtables to hear firsthand accounts of the impact of the crisis and effective strategies for response in rural communities; launched an interactive webpage on opioid misuse in rural America, featuring resources for rural communities and individuals facing the crisis; and prioritized investments in two key grant programs to address the crisis in rural places. For more information about these efforts, visit the USDA rural opioid misuse webpage at www.usda.gov/opioids.
NIFA invests in and advances agricultural research, education, and extension and promotes transformative discoveries that solve societal challenges. NIFA’s integrated research, education and extension programs support the best and brightest scientists and extension personnel whose work results in user-inspired, groundbreaking discoveries that combat childhood obesity, improve and sustain rural economic growth, address water availability issues, increase food production, find new sources of energy, mitigate climate variability and ensure food safety. To learn more about NIFA’s impact on agricultural science, visit www.nifa.usda.gov/impacts, sign up for email updates or follow us on Twitter @USDA_NIFA, #NIFAimpacts.
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USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.
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Coming Apart? Maybe Not
by Mel Gurtov
444 words
Day by day the Trump administration is coming apart. Revelations abound about the dysfunctions of the Trump team, about Trump’s ignorance and incompetence, and now about a “resistance” group in the White House that is actively countering Trump’s “amorality” and “erratic” leadership style. Donald Trump surely can’t last much longer. Or can he?
We might all be guilty of wishful thinking here. Yes, between Bob Woodward’s Fearand Mr. (or Ms.) Anonymous’ assaulton Trump’s character, you would think any normal leader would decide that enough is enough. But Donald Trump isn’t a normal leader with normal emotions. As Woodward reports, he believes in never taking a backward step, never apologizing, never showing weakness. He’s like Hitler in his bunker—except that Trump won’t commit suicide.
More importantly, Trump hasn’t been mortally wounded by any of the books about him. Nor has the anonymous op-ed really exposed new and terrible things about Trump’s character that we didn’t already know. In fact, the op-ed supports Trump in two ways. First, the writer claims that some officials are “working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda.” S/he acknowledges that Trump has delivered on key campaign promises beloved to both his base and Republicans in Congress: “effective deregulation, historic tax reform, a more robust military and more.” What the writer, possibly a senior intelligence official, most resents is Trump’s performance in foreign affairs, such as his embrace of dictators, his trade policy, and treatment of allies—in short, his unfitness to be a commander in chief. Major defects, to be sure, but evidently not serious enough for the writer to resign in protest.
Second, Trump, with help from Steve Bannon, has consistently maintained that a “deep state” has been undermining his presidency since day one. Now along comes a “senior official” whom Trump can say proves the existence of the deep state, giving life to Woodward’s stories about other officials who have all along engaged in acts of bureaucratic sabotage. Trump’s cry of “treason” may seem credible to many.
When the smoke clears for the umpteenth time in this absurd presidency, we may find ourselves still at square one, hoping for electoral victories in November and the start of impeachment proceedings in January. We’re no closer than we were a few days ago to mass White House defections, Congressional Republicans turning on Trump, or people in “the base” suddenly realizing what a jerk they elected. Meanwhile, Brett Kavanaugh is a day closer to a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court, many children remain separated by ICE from their families, shootings continue unabated, and bad news mounts on climate change. So let’s get back to work.
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Mel Gurtov, syndicated by PeaceVoice, is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Portland State University.
