Regardless of the elections, the issues haven’t changed for US nonprofit arts organizations. But the stakes are higher than ever. It’s been a week since election day, and rather than discussing that process, let’s take a moment to congratulate whichever ones of us survived the last couple of years. We may not last through the next four, but at least we’ve gotten this … [Read more...] about So. THAT Happened. Now What?
Development and Fundraising
Why Does Transforming a Country of DōnWänüs Take Just as Much Effort Than Transforming a Nonprofit Arts Industry of DōnWänüs?
Is charitable resistance just another instance of the Peter Principle at play at your nonprofit arts organization? It’s election day in the United States. November 5. If you’re not reading this on November 5, then it is not election day in the United States, but it’s likely there is still no real result as yet. Although…who knows? Maybe the country’s citizens either became … [Read more...] about Why Does Transforming a Country of DōnWänüs Take Just as Much Effort Than Transforming a Nonprofit Arts Industry of DōnWänüs?
Talking To or Talking At? Or Even Talking at All?
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?
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?
What’s Next, Fair Harvard? The Alois Hitler Theaterzentrum?
Despite everything, Harvard chooses to keep the Sackler name on its museum. Why? Back in 2022, members of the Harvard College Overdose Prevention and Education Students, a campus group dedicated to overdose awareness, petitioned Harvard’s administration to remove Arthur M. Sackler’s name from campus buildings. The petition was not a haphazard one and had teeth because it … [Read more...] about What’s Next, Fair Harvard? The Alois Hitler Theaterzentrum?