Bourbon, bats, and basketball. Mint juleps, fast horses, and “Keep Louisville Weird.” Muhammad Ali, Jennifer Lawrence, and Mitch McConnell. And, happily, Teddy Abrams. LOUISVILLE, KY — Horses race in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday of every May. The college’s sports teams (the ones who wear red, not the ones who wear blue) tend to be pretty good … [Read more...] about Behold LO: The Louisville Orchestra Walks the Walk of a Nonprofit Arts Organization
Development and Fundraising
The Mellon Foundation Did a Nice Thing. Next Time, Look at Where the Action Is.
If the Mellon Foundation would start to look at the next-level budgets, they’ll find transformation is the purview of better-run organizations. A local nonprofit arts organization realized that it had never received a donation from the town’s most successful lawyer. The volunteer in charge of contributions called him to persuade him to contribute. “Our research shows … [Read more...] about The Mellon Foundation Did a Nice Thing. Next Time, Look at Where the Action Is.
You Cannot Be Serious.
Sackler Donations Are Back… And No, That’s Not Good News On September 18, 1926, H.L. Mencken wrote the following in The Sun, Baltimore’s daily newspaper: Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance. No one in this world, so far as I know—and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me—has ever lost money by … [Read more...] about You Cannot Be Serious.
Nonprofit Arts Organizations: In 2024, There’s Going to Be a Lot of Noise. Take Advantage.
Take the time to understand that your art is not your company’s product. Impact is, whether you want it to be or not. And if your company doesn’t aim for impact, it’ll never be essential. Everything that happens in 2024 in the nonprofit arts world will go relatively unnoticed. At least in the United States. The news will cover the poorly-written trash soap/reality show … [Read more...] about Nonprofit Arts Organizations: In 2024, There’s Going to Be a Lot of Noise. Take Advantage.
The Craven
A Halloween poem for the nonprofit arts leaders among you. Laugh at your own peril. With apologies to the Poes. Once upon a desk so dusty, while I called a sixteenth trustee, All about a new donation that would keep open our door— While I wept and gave a holler, “Oh, why can’t we raise a dollar?” And the tightness of my collar made me sweat profusely … [Read more...] about The Craven