Nonprofit Arts Leaders: Don't tell them about your mission, show them how you are fulfilling it. Don't just present, discuss. Do you talk about what’s happening to other folks in your community? Or are you “too busy?” This is an exchange that happened during a recent “Town Hall” with Vice President Kamala Harris taking questions from “undecided” voters in Pennsylvania, … [Read more...] about Talking To or Talking At? Or Even Talking at All?
Breaking Free of Your Longtime Role Is Hard. But It’s the Key to Progress.
Just look at the US presidential election... and US nonprofit arts organizations. We have established roles for ourselves. We can’t help it. “In human life, social roles are ubiquitous. Historically, social and personality psychologists sought to understand the relation between social roles and psychological functioning. Contemporary social and personality … [Read more...] about Breaking Free of Your Longtime Role Is Hard. But It’s the Key to Progress.
Why Do Donors Ask for Irrelevant Data?
Could it be that you never talked to them about your nonprofit’s charitable goals and how they mesh with the donor’s? Whose fault is that? A few weeks ago, I participated in a discussion about the arts and measuring impact in the community. As every other author does, I believed that the message that the arts are not a tax-exempt activity had been spread far and wide among … [Read more...] about Why Do Donors Ask for Irrelevant Data?
Is Pay-What-You-Can a Real Community Issue for Arts Organizations to Solve?
The well-intentioned, ghettoized program asks us: are Abe and Sophie still the ones coming, only now they’re paying less? An elderly couple in Florida are going out to dinner. Abe’s at the door, but Sophie’s still upstairs in the bedroom. Abe: Hurry up, Darling! Sophie: I’m coming, Sweetheart! I just have to put on my 18-inch, double-strand pearls! Abe: Hurry up, … [Read more...] about Is Pay-What-You-Can a Real Community Issue for Arts Organizations to Solve?
How Does Your Nonprofit Arts Organization Use History to Tangibly Make Things Better?
Presenting art is not enough, at least if you’re running a nonprofit. Something has to be done or else the opportunity is lost forever. I was watching the 1953 version of War of the Worlds recently and it struck me that as time passes, the perspective on this particular story changes wildly. Secondly, and more importantly for the nonprofit arts industry, those perspective … [Read more...] about How Does Your Nonprofit Arts Organization Use History to Tangibly Make Things Better?