A Most Necessary Indulgence

Wars are being waged; natural disasters are wreaking havoc; people are living in poverty; and children continue to be abused. In these troubling times, international- and domestic-relief agencies and social-service nonprofits have their work cut out for them. The need is disturbingly obvious.

But what of organizations that support the lovely things life has to offer? Music, dance, art, literature? No matter how ugly the world gets, they still have their missions. And it’s not always easy to convince people that their donations should go to support the arts instead of — or even in addition to — those organizations with seemingly more consequential missions.