April 2009
How Arts Strengthen
the Community
The Day That Art Came Back to Life on LI
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THIS STORY BY SUZY SONENBERG AND MICHAEL WHITE
In March, the Long Island
Community Foundation (LICF), Long Island Regional Planning Council (LIRPC),
and the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) formed a collaborative
partnership bringing together more than one hundred supporters of Long
Island’s arts, economic development, tourism, business, education,
civic and philanthropic communities to form a cultural arts agenda that,
by being woven into the fabric of regional planning, will stimulate the
Island’s economic and community development.
Two of the initial objectives
include an inventory of Long Island’s cultural arts organizations
and an update of Dr. Pearl Kamer’s 2004 study on the economic impact
of the arts on Long Island.
In a recent interview
with Networking® magazine, Suzy Sonenberg, LICF executive director,
said, “We tend to forget what drivers and attracters the arts are
to a community. They don’t only bring hope and inspiration, they
bring people and money. We intend to support and encourage collaborative
efforts and cross-sector partnerships, as well as help identify and/or
develop models, tools and materials that will foster and tap into the strength
of these assets for the benefit of the region.”
*To kick-off the Initiative,
Roger Tilles, a 2009 Networking® magazine David Award honoree, made
a $100,000 challenge grant to the Long Island Community Foundation. Matching
gifts are being sought to build an endowment supporting Long Island’s
cultural arts.
Because of Roger Tilles’ interest
in the arts and the challenge grant he gave us,” said Sonenberg, “the
LICF is now suddenly an arts funder. My hope is that enough people will
respond to the challenge and help us to build an arts fund that can make
(LICF) a powerful supporter of the arts on Long Island.”
Michael White, LIRPC
executive director, stated, “Adding the perspective of the LIRPC
is a great opportunity to partner with LICF and others in the non-profit
community. We recognize how essential this partnership is to quality of
life and LI economic development. Cultural resources are extremely important
to all of our communities bringing people together and advancing social
and racial equity goals.”
He added, “Marketing
together creates cost effectiveness and builds community. When you listen
to what is being done through group dynamics, you see how underutilized
as a resource individual arts organizations are. When unified, you see
they can be more as an economic engine. Putting these voices together creates
economic strength greater than the sum of its parts and advances a variety
of sustainable goals.”
Sonenberg said, “The
Long Island Arts Alliance, a membership organization of not-for-profit
arts institutions, promotes the sharing of resources and collaborative
efforts to market programs and build audiences. LICF is about to make a
grant to the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University
to survey suburban areas in the shadow of major United States cities to
find thriving arts communities with collaborative models that can be brought
back to Long Island.”
Heather Hitchens, executive
director, NYSCA, said, “Cultural activity plays a critical role in
the social and educational well-being of the citizens of New York and infuses
the State’s economy with more than $25 billion annually... I believe
the potential impact could be far greater.”
The collaborative has
also enlisted the support of Robert McNulty, founder and president of Partners
for Livable Communities, who has worked with communities across the country
for the past 25 years to identify possibilities and create solutions to
improve both economic and social conditions.
*Individuals and corporations
interested in making a charitable donation toward this challenge grant
may contact Suzy Sonenberg at 516- 348-0575.
Suzy Dalton Sonenberg has served as
Executive Director of the Long Island Community
Foundation since March, 1988. She is a
founder of the Long Island Fund for Women & Girls
and was featured in a Networking® magazine
cover story about the Fund in November,
2005. She is also a founder of Sustainable
Long Island and ERASE Racism. In May, she
will receive an honorary doctorate from
Adelphi University and in June, she will
receive the Abraham Krasnoff Courage and
Commitment Award from ERASE Racism.
Michael E. White, executive director of the Long Island Regional Planning
Board, was formerly a partner at Jaspan Schlesinger Hoffman LLP of Garden
City. He headed the Environmental Law Practice Group and was part of the
Municipal Law Practice Group concentrating his practice on environmental
and municipal law. He is a former Chair of the Environmental Law Committee
of the Suffolk County Bar Association as well as a former member of the
Board of Suffolk County Water Authority, the Long Island Regional Planning
Board 2008 Technical Committee and the Long Island Regional Ashfill Board.
White is on the Advisory Committee of Networking® magazine’s
2020: Guide to Going Green.
© 2009 NETWORKING® MAGAZINE
2020 GUIDE TO GOING GREEN
