Vibe Cheque 📕 Clips About 🕵🏾‍♀️ [the political economy made me do it]

nonprofit/ngo content writing

Main Street America •

How Free Music Experiences Strengthen America's Main Streets

Music has a unifying power to bring people of all generations, backgrounds, and cultures together for creative expression — and at the Levitt Foundation, building community through music is what we, too, are all about. Every year, Levitt nonprofit grantees across America present free, high-caliber concerts that act as ongoing community destinations, connecting people to one another, fostering individual and collective joy, and inspiring pride of place.Numerous Levitt grantees are Main Street org...
Snap Foundation •

Creating Career Pathways Together: Shedding a Light on the Entertainment Equity Alliance

Did you know that the state of California has the highest level of employment in arts, design, entertainment, sports and media occupations?According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 360,000 working people in California were employed in the sector in 2023. The federal agency also notes that from 2023 to 2033, overall employment in the entertainment field is projected to grow faster than the average for all occupations. So the numbers suggest: aspiring to a career in the creative economy is...
Snap Foundation •

Ghetto Film School Is Nurturing the Next Generation of LA Filmmakers

When you think about Los Angeles’ creative economy, the first thing that comes to mind is probably the entertainment industry: film, television, digital media, the works. And while the Snap Foundation is committed to creating pathways for youth to engage in all facets of our city’s expansive creative economy (and there are many!), the LA community, indeed, has a particularly special relationship with “show business.”The City of Los Angeles’ Economic & Workforce Development Department reports tha...
Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation •

National Arts in Education Week: How Levitt Communities Promote Creative Learning All Year Long

President Barack Obama once remarked, “The future belongs to young people with an education and the imagination to create.”
At the Levitt Foundation, we could not agree more. A well-educated youth is conducive to our vision of an America filled with free live music in public spaces and equitable, healthy, and thriving communities. As PBS notes, our capacity to imagine new possibilities—to discover fresh ways to be and create—grows when our knowledge grows.
Our faith in human creativity is, in pa...
Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation •

Levitt VIBE Oakland Community Spotlight

Earlier this summer, the feel-good vibes of Latin rap, Afrobeat, soul, and other electrifying genres began radiating through two parks in Northern California’s East Oakland, a predominately Black community located in the southeastern region of the City of Oakland, at the outset of the inaugural Levitt VIBE Oakland Music Series. Presented by local nonprofit Black Cultural Zone Community Development Corporation, the free live music series unfolds on Saturdays through September 21 as a part of Levi...
Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation •

How Free Outdoor Concerts in Public Spaces Make Communities Healthier

Since 1949, May in the United States has been designated Mental Health Awareness Month: a time for Americans to engage in important conversations around mental health. Established by nonprofit Mental Health America, the observance highlights the importance of destigmatizing mental illness, advocating for public education and policies addressing mental health, and supporting individuals, families, and communities on mental health journeys.
It’s a timely reminder. Just last year, the U.S. Surgeon...
Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation •

In Conversation with 2024 Levitt National Tour Artist, The War and Treaty

This summer, multi-GRAMMY-nominated duo The War and Treaty will headline the 2024 Levitt National Tour, performing their sonic blend of blues, gospel, soul, bluegrass, and country for Levitt audiences across the country. Formed by husband and wife team Tanya and Michael Trotter, the band will play at Levitt Pavilion Arlington (Friday, June 21); Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks (Friday, July 26); Levitt Shell Sioux Falls (Friday, Aug. 9); Levitt Pavilion Dayton (Saturday, Aug. 24); and Levitt Pavilion...
Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation •

The Eras Tour, Renaissance & the Power of Live Music at the Box Office

In 2023, concert lovers won. In a refreshing change of pace, free outdoor music performances in public places, like the more than 650 shows presented in towns and cities across the country throughout the Levitt network, weren’t the only spaces for live music lovers of varied socioeconomic backgrounds to foster connections while experiencing the arts. In recognition of Women’s History Month, we’re looking back at how two of pop culture’s biggest global music stars—two fearless women—fashioned the...
Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation •

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Strength to Love & the Role of Philanthropy in Society

Each year the United States honors the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As a federally designated National Day of Service, MLK Day encourages Americans to embrace “a day on, not a day off” by serving their communities while schools and businesses close in observance of the holiday. And, like clockwork, waves of quotes and teachings from the civil rights activist and political philosopher flood social and traditional media outlets—reminding us that though Dr. King’s leadership...
Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation •

Celebrate AMERI’KANA Music Festival Shines a Light on BIPOC Artists

At the Levitt Foundation, our approach to building more equitable, healthy, and thriving communities is multifaceted. Beyond our core grantmaking areas that include Levitt venues, the Levitt AMP [Your City] Grant Awards, and the recently launched pilot program Levitt VIBE, we support festivals, events, and field-building initiatives that expand access to the arts and nurture an equitable arts and music ecosystem, ultimately strengthening America’s social fabric.
Enter Celebrate AMERI’KANA Music...
Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation •

Accelerating Change: A Look into Philanthropy’s Spend Down Movement

Since antiquity, philanthropy (meaning “love of humanity,” with roots in Greek and Latin) has aimed to make life better for people. Ancient Greek culture encouraged wealthy men to subsidize the costs of public spaces, such as temples and city walls, whereas ancient Egyptians believed giving food and clothing to those in need granted them a chance at the afterlife.
Fast forward to our modern era: In this country alone, according to Giving USA, philanthropy has become a $500-billion sector. And wh...
Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation •

Levitt AMP Community Spotlight: Fort Pierce, Florida

Located on southeast Florida’s Treasure Coast (bordering the Atlantic Ocean), Fort Pierce is a small yet burgeoning city whose riches lie in its multiculturalism. The locale’s 48,000 inhabitants represent a true American mosaic, characterized by not just ethnic diversity—including large Black/African American and Hispanic/Latinx communities—but internationalism as well, with nearly one in six residents born outside the United States. 
Fort Pierce’s arts scene is equally multifaceted, sculpted by...
Center Theatre Group •

When Love Takes Center Stage

At the Ahmanson Jan 14 – Feb 16, 2020, the stirring musical—starring rock legend Sting and a talented ensemble of actors and singers—unveils a story of community and compassion inspired by the Grammy Award®-winning musician’s own coming-of-age in small-town, working-class England. But alongside its themes of family, friendship, and unity are two timeless love stories. And as The Last Ship tells its unique, romantic tales, we’re celebrating 10 big musical love stories onstage the Ahmanson that co...
Center Theatre Group •

Community, Empowerment & Being Human in August Wilson’s 'Jitney'

August Wilson’s Jitney—onstage at the Mark Taper Forum November 11 – December 29, 2019—is set in one such station, a place that represents not only a way to get around but a lifeline for 20th-century African American communities.
A few weeks before performances began, Dominic Taylor, Professor and Vice Chair of Graduate Studies at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, visited Center Theatre Group headquarters to speak with our staff about the momentous history behind Jitney, Wilson’s...
Center Theatre Group •

Diverse Stories and Remarkable Talents

The seven local playwrights who will be writing new works with our support during the 2019/2020 Season are Adelina Anthony, Ngozi Anyanwu, Jonathan Caren, Dionna Michelle Daniel, Boo Killebrew, Kenneth Lin, and Kemp Powers—and together they offer a diverse medley of both talents and perspectives.
Indeed, almost all of this year’s artists also work in Hollywood—writing (Lin, for example, has written on Star Trek: Discovery, House of Cards, and Sweetbitter, while Caren wrote on Netflix’s Gypsy);...
Center Theatre Group •

‘We Are All Morons’

According to John Leguizamo, “we are all morons”—himself included, as he explains in his new show Latin History for Morons (onstage at the Ahmanson September 5 – October 20, 2019). In a classroom-like setting, the play hashes out a chronicle of Latin culture, one that is absent from the pages of conventional American textbooks—and both Latinx and non-Latinx audiences alike have a lot to learn. “We ourselves don’t know anything about our own contributions to this country, let alone the entire wor...