4Culture, which gets some of this money, has a good place in the line for its continuation. They’ve played ball with the Sonics in some years, letting arts give a high-minded cover for the sports barons. The last two years, arts has played along with Speaker Frank Chopp, who wants some of the money for low-income housing. (Chopp’s demand is a stretch of the nexus supposedly established between taxing hotel visitors and providing benefits, like stadiums and culture, that bring more visitors.) Others like the UW, wanting the money for part of a new Husky Stadium, are also lined up. After all, these visitor taxes are just about the only new money around in Olympia.

Speaker Chopp likes to keep all the supplicants waiting to the last minute, so he can then cut the deal. And then he usually disappoints everybody because the deal won’t come together. Last year he set a new record in cleverness by giving 4Culture a promise of the funds, expiring in a year. And he assured the arts groups that he would definitely come through this year, so long as he also got, dollar-for-dollar, his low-income housing.

Once again: no dice. The bill for the visitor taxes has just failed in the House, probably for good during this session.

A lesser-known aspect of this saga is another culture-funding measure that has been told to wait in line for the 4Culture matter to be resolved. This is the effort to import from Denver a much-admired pattern for funding culture, arts education, “scientific institutions” like zoos, science centers, and botanical gardens by having local voters over four counties agree to tax themselves (either by sales tax or property tax). The advocates (including me for a while) courteously agreed to keep a low profile, so as not to confuse the minds of the legislators while they tried to resolve the 4Culture issue.

And so the arts groups, growing ever more desperate in the recession, face more uncertainty, more expensive lobbying bills, and still no public funding. It’s another illustration of how narrow the Seattle issues are for Speaker Chopp, D-Seattle. And of how the unwelcome idea of funding Husky Stadium renovations in tough times clouded everything.

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by Jen Graves

S eattle Center is winning no awards as a city park. It is a haphazardly designed campus choked with badly placed buildings you have to pay to get into. The most visible and infamous of these is Experience Music Project, a shrine to Paul Allen’s collection of music and science-fiction memorabilia, which has only occasionally been able to transcend its underthought beginnings as a vanity project. Surely, Seattle has learned lessons from its past planning at Seattle Center, right? Maybe…

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SEATTLE, WA, 10 March 2010 — As part of the organization’s ongoing efforts to alleviate global poverty through microfinance, Unitus is proud to announce that Eliza Linford Kelly has been named Vice President, Global Communications. This promotion will see her assume responsibility for crafting Unitus’s global marketing strategy, as well as providing insightful thought leadership on issues pertinent to the growth of inclusive financial services for the world’s working poor. Kelly will manage a professional communications team spread across the organization’s offices in Seattle, Bangalore, and Nairobi to see that the organization’s goals are realized.

“We’re thrilled with all Eliza has accomplished since joining Unitus and are very excited to see what she can do in her new role,” said Unitus President Ed Bland. “We find ourselves at a crucial moment in the fight against global poverty, and ensuring that the goal is never far from public view is essential.” Kelly has also recently been chosen to join a new microfinance industry task force dedicated to promoting the accomplishments and potential of microfinance for the poor. “I’ve always believed in the work Unitus does and the impact it has on the lives of the poor, and I’m very

excited to have the opportunity to be a part of it,” said Kelly. “Microfinance is moving into some exciting new places and I’m very confident Unitus is in the unique position to lead that movement.” A graduate of the University of Washington, Kelly has an extensive background in marketing including a decade with Cobalt, where she served most recently as Director of Marketing Communications. Prior to Cobalt, she worked for the Pacific Science Center as part of the team that raised $29 million to build The Boeing IMAX® Theater. She is a member in good standing of the American Marketing Association’s Puget Sound Chapter.

For more information, please contact:

Steve Schwartz

206.788.5672

sschwartz@unitus.com

About Unitus: Unitus, an international nonprofit organization, fights global poverty by accelerating the growth of microfinance—small loans and other financial tools for self-empowerment—where it is needed most. We seek out and partner with young, high-potential microfinance institutions (small banking organizations that serve the poor, often called MFIs), helping them build capacity, attract capital, and unite with our network to achieve rapid, sustainable growth. Nearly half the world’s population survives on less than $2 a day. For millions of families in need, microfinance offers the hope for a successful small business and more: increased economic stability, better healthcare and housing, the opportunity for education, and ultimately, the real possibility of self-sufficiency. In just eight years, we’ve helped our partners serve more than 10 million families throughout India and Southeast Asia, East Africa, Mexico, and South America. Unitus is a 501(c)3 with offices in Seattle, USA; Bangalore, India; and Nairobi, Kenya. For more information, please visit www.unitus.com

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