No one else cares what you do or how well you do it. They care about why your community is made better by you having done it.
It’s college football season in the United States. Not the “beautiful game,” but a completely different game in which the foot is used on the ball sparingly. Still warmish in many places, possibly some wildfires and hurricanes still going on, but college campuses (especially those in the old Confederacy and in the Midwest) are all abuzz about the season.
Why?
Most football games are forgotten almost as soon as the final whistle is blown, except for the diehard fans. But that’s not why college football is played. At least until recently, when league realignment threw the sport into a giant Cuisinart of money-grubbing by individual college presidents and league commissioners (and boy, do they get paid well), the game was played for pride and opportunity. A tiny few go pro, but 98.4% either never make it or don’t try.
But at least they have the satisfaction of having represented their college. They have a built-in alumni network to help them move forward in their careers. And, unless they’ve been hit in the head too many times (a real thing), they may have even completed a degree in a subject that they’ll use to achieve in a way that would never have been possible had they not played college football and received a scholarship and an education.
On the other side of campuses, there is usually an underfunded theater, symphony, art studio, art history, or dance program. Performers there are training to become better artists. Few are given scholarships just because they were standouts in high school.
And off campus, there are a litany of artists of all kinds trying to use their talents to create a career from skills that are rare and wondrous when successful. These are the people who make the magic, who create something where there was never something.
Unfortunately, some of those artists become arts organization leaders who believe, just as they did as artists, that the magic is in what they do. Anything outside of that – including any charitable intention – is therefore flawed. When asked about establishing and controlling their impact, they simply reply, “That’s not what we do. We do art.”
And there you have it. Now you know why nonprofit arts organizations are going belly-up all over America.
Years ago, I asked a director (of a theater company with which I was not affiliated) why he planned on doing a particular play. To me, it was an odd choice: a 50something-year-old American play that had been done recently by another theater in the same city. There was no emotional tie to the play, even though it was a near-classic (with the accent on near), to the community. Nor was there an obvious marketing gimmick attached – no major anniversary of the play, no major birthday of the author, etc. So, why?
“It’s a great play,” he replied.
“Okay, it’s a great play, but why? And why now? Is there something new about this production? What do you want your audience to do with the information in the play?”
“You can’t manipulate an audience like that,” he replied. “That’s not what we do.”
“You manipulate an audience anytime there is an audience,” I told him. “How is putting on a play any different from church? Isn’t that manipulation?”
“I don’t see it that way. I just put the play on the stage and let the audience think for themselves.”
We were equally stunned at each other’s seeming lack of knowledge as to the purpose of an arts organization vis-à-vis the purpose of art. And, sadly, that’s not an unusual conversation between artistic leaders and others who ask them “why.” But now the chickens have come home to roost.
We know why people produce ART. It’s a wondrous product, a magical formation of thoughts, ideas, and tools to contextualize life. But anyone can produce art. Anyone.
What the public doesn’t care about (and why they’re not coming) is that YOU produce art. If you have been given the gift of a 501(C)(3) status from your state, you can provide that same public a “why” that differentiates you from that universe of “anyone.” You can find ways to solve the hardest problems that your particular community faces. Right now. And use that magical substance called art not as the culmination of a project, but as the beginning of an answer.
By virtue of that 501(C)(3) golden ticket, you now have a wide path to success. By choosing to be a charity that measurably and positively affects others who need it, you won’t be hemmed in by the outdated and perverted notion of “art for art’s sake” that is killing the whole industry, company by company (as the news keeps coming in). That means that you’ll need to investigate everything it takes to travel that charitable path, not just the attractive vehicle you choose to ride.
Manipulate your audience freely if you believe the world is measurably better off because of it. Then show us all the measurements (we own your company, after all). Why? Because, as a charitable organization in your community, that’s what you do.
Alan’s new book, “Scene Change: Why Today’s Nonprofit Arts Organizations Have to Stop Producing Art and Start Producing Impact” will be published in just a few short months! CLICK HERE TO PRE-ORDER IN THE UNITED STATES.
If you live in the UK, CLICK HERE. If you live in Australia, CLICK HERE.
And, of course, it is available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other large bookstores. If you can’t find it, just give the bookseller the ISBN: 978-1-80341-446-1. They’ll know what to do.
A few advance copies may be made available for those booking conferences, reading engagements, and speaking engagements. Recruit your local bookstore, conference panel, or boardroom to get a visit from Alan.
SPECIAL OFFER! For a limited time, Alan can offer a free copy for every board member of your nonprofit arts organization when you sign up for a consultation. Contact him at alan@501c3.guru for details.
To better understand your thinking, I’d like you to comment on a specific example. The Petronio Residency Center in the Catskills closed this past summer after a six-year run. What should they have done differently to “find ways to solve the hardest problems that [their] particular community faces” and remain solvent?
According to the website, the mission of the company is listed as this:
“The mission of Stephen Petronio Company (SPC) is to support the vision of choreographer Stephen Petronio, which includes the creation and presentation of his existing and new works, alongside legacy initiatives meant to preserve the history of postmodern dance lineage, while also advancing its future through new works that honor and extend the history and offer a platform for a greater inclusivity of artistic voices.”
None of that has to do with Greene County, New York, or any charitable purpose. Supporters today, especially after the heart of the pandemic, are seeking organizations that are essential to the health and welfare of people. This is why organizations like this (and others around the country) are in the process of closing. They (like many nonprofit arts organizations) chose their own idea of need rather than asking the people in their community. If they had chosen dance as a catalyst for positive outcomes in homelessness, education, etc. and proved it with measurable data, donors would have lined up to support them. Instead, sadly, they appear to have chosen to do their own thing. This is their right, but it’s a failure scenario in 2023 and the near future.
Bingo! It’s all about impact. Why is the world a better place, not why are you in a better place.
David Othmer, Philadelphia
Alan, you continue to confuse the arts with social services. While arts organizations certainly need to provide something of value to their community, they can do so by providing artistic and educational experiences which, hopefully, elevates the entire community’s well-being.
And Len, you continue to confuse charity with only falling to social service organizations. Nonprofit is nonprofit, including arts organizations. What you’re missing is that it’s the “nonprofit” portion of the nonprofit arts sector that will prove to determine success post-pandemic, not the “arts.” Donors are departing in droves, supporting the kinds of charities that don’t talk about “elevating,” but instead show proof of making lives better. Impact is the coin of the realm now, not art, which is why current arts donors (who are also their own beneficiaries) are not being replaced. Social service, social justice, health, welfare, and other nonprofits have shown to be a better investment for donors post-COVID. The arts have proven to be pretty, but have no proof of elevating a community except someone’s say-so. Charity-driven data is necessary for charities to succeed. When we discuss arts organizations needing to provide something of value, remember: if it can’t be measured, it doesn’t exist.