My entry yesterday raised the idea of ‘carrots and sticks,’ or the tools that governments, philanthropists, community organizations, and others can use to reshape their immediate environment. It seems it might be worth a moment to explore that toolset to see what’s inside.
Let’s assume for a start that the goal of all such institutions is to change the shape of the world, if ever so slightly. If our community or city or region or state had just the right mix of artists, art, venues, audiences, engaged students, brokers, presenters, and civic participants — without anyone adjusting the rules — there would be no point in messing with the system.
But initiatives to support the arts or creative activity are built on the idea that the balance isn’t right, and needs to be adjusted (more artists, more art, more audiences, more venues, more small businesses, whatever).
So, how do you change a world with limited money, staff, and time? The toolset is actually more diverse than you might think. Here are the elements of the world-changing toolkit that I can think of, each designed to influence the choices of individuals and groups. I’m sure there are others, but it’s a start.
- Distributing cash:
The most obvious incentive system involves distributing money. You develop a grant program with certain rules to receive the money (create a new education program, focus more activity in an underserved area, present a certain kind of work), and artists, individuals, and organizations will grow toward the light. Less obvious elements in this toolset include other financial vehicles such as microgrants, loans, monetary awards for good behavior, and such. - Connecting the Dots:
Governments, organizations, and individuals can also change their environment by leveraging the efforts of others. They can connect organizations, lobby for such connections, and nudge their friends and associates to move in a certain direction. - Defining Reality:
Sometimes, by just defining a hole in your environment with clarity and persuasion, you can help other people see the hole themselves. By aggregating, generating, sharing, and analyzing information about the environment, governments, individuals, and organizations can shape a collective vision of what might be. If you create an obvious and compelling vacuum, it might just suck someone in to fill it. - Convening:
A corollary to ‘connecting the dots’ and ‘defining reality’ is the noble art of convening — bringing people together to synchronize their efforts, challenge their progress, or just to broaden their network can have powerful impacts on the shape of a regional culture. - Being an Agent:
On the less glamorous side of the spectrum, organizations and governments can assume some of the back-office headaches of active individuals or collectives serving the chosen cause. This agency can come in the form of shared infrastructure, shared staff, shared office space, or even shared nonprofit status called fiscal sponsorship (which I’ll discuss at another time). By providing this form of agency and structural support, organizations can encourage much more activity and much lower barriers to joining the fray. - Leveraging the Policy Toolkit:
Governments create general incentive systems that can be used to benefit a specific cause (like the arts). If you understand your region’s zoning rules, specialized tax credits, development incentives, and the like, you can help arts initiatives reap their benefits. A great example of this is Artspace Projects, which uses low-income housing credits (among other things) to finance artist live/work spaces. - Magnetizing the Environment:
If your goal is to attract a certain type of individual or initiative to a community, you can sometimes just create a positive environment that draws them in — through advertisement, branding, public relations, aesthetic improvements, or collective word-of-mouth. - Coercion:
There are times when you can force an individual, organization, or group to behave in a certain way. It’s not common in the toolbox of nonprofits, but governments can play this card with care. For example, many cities have a requirement that certain public building projects must allocate a portion of their construction expense to public art (here’s such a program in Wisconsin). Even outside of government, organizations that license or certify can make requirements, as well (the American Association of Museums, for example, has strict behavior, structure, and organizational requirements for their museum accreditation process). - Do It Yourself:
Even more obvious than all of the above is to fill the hole yourself. Municipal governments are often the local landlord of arts facilities (especially outside urban areas). They can also be the presenter and employer of creative workers. While this path can be the most expensive and challenging, it’s often the only way through.
There’s one major warning that should be emblazoned on the toolbox, however: beware of success. In a complex world, you can never change just one thing. As you monkey with the ecosystem around you with your grants and convenings and lobbying, always be aware of what other outcomes your work might spin out. If you’re not careful, you might actually destroy the cause you had hoped to support.
