Interesting thoughts from Jack Shafer in Slate about the current lot of newspapers, and their loss of ”social currency.” Says he: The phrase, which comes from sociology, is often used to describe the information we acquire and then trade — or give away — to start, maintain, and nurture relationships with our fellow humans. Although […]

It’s always a challenge to convey the experience and emotion of one medium in the language of another medium (dare we call it an art?). But as attempts go, this one for the Zürich Chamber Orchestra isn’t bad at all. Thanks, Neal, for the link!

The redesigned IRS 990 tax forms and instructions may not be beach reading, but if you run a nonprofit, they’re a must-read.

The New York Times article and the corresponding blog entry may be a few months old, but they’re still worth a moment, as they flag a different future than many in philanthropy have been awaiting. ”8 Reasons You Should Not Expect an Inheritance” in the Times and ”Transfer WHAT wealth?” in Philanthropy 2173 suggest that […]

Yesterday, I was a typical schmoe, with a university day job, a blog, and a mortgage. Today, I am the 11th most powerful person in the nonprofit arts. I hope it comes with valet parking!

The old British expression, ”horses for courses,” references the fact that certain race horses run better on certain tracks (dirt, mud, etc.). A primary challenge of the thoroughbred owner was therefore matching the horse to the course for the best results. The idiom now suggests that you match the right people to the task, or […]

If your work in arts and cultural management includes a concern for arts in public education (and it should, by the way), you need to understand and engage with education policy at every level. At the national level, that means understanding the hopes and problems the No Child Left Behind Act, passed by congress and […]

Because arts and cultural organizations are so often creatures of place — serving a geographic region or community more often than not — it’s worth watching how the ”sense of place” is evolving in our audiences, our artists, and our other constituents. Obviously, the Internet has reconfigured place — who cares where the information or […]

As the social world becomes increasingly connected and complex, and as social issues and responses to them begin to intertwine, the discipline of design is becoming an essential toolset for anyone hoping to make a positive difference. Gone are the days, if they ever were here, when you could create an isolated response to a […]

Consumer segmentation systems have been around for a long while now in the commercial world. The junk mail you receive, the special on-line offers that clutter your inbox, even your in-store experiences are all influenced by the market segment you’ve been assigned — whether your among the ”Young Digerati,” the ”Multi-Culti Mosaic,” or the ”Shotguns […]