Art, culture, museums and The Philanthropy 400

Today the Chronicle of Philanthropy came out with its annual Philanthropy 400, a look at what 400 American charities received the most in private giving in 2006. If you work in the non-profit sector, want to, give to it, and so on... it's a must-read.

The key line for art-lovers is this: "Among the Philanthropy 400, arts and culture organizations achieved the biggest fund-raising gains last year. Their donations grew by nearly 51 percent, as they mounted capital campaigns or other special appeals." However the Chronicle counts 'arts and culture organizations' separately from museums. Only these art museums made the list: MFA Houston (at No. 87), MoMA (125), the Smithsonian (128), MFA Boston (129), the Met (171), the Art Institute of Chicago (217), the Philly Museum (227), and the Nelson-Atkins (269). (The NYPL came in at 344. The Huntington Library was included in the 'arts and culture' list and came in at 345.) Building projects obviously have a major impact on who makes the list and who doesn't.

A couple of observations: