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Scene Change

Arts are essential. Your nonprofit is not.

Development and Fundraising

The Mellon Foundation Did a Nice Thing. Next Time, Look at Where the Action Is.

April 23, 2024 by Alan Harrison 6 Comments

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.

March 12, 2024 by Alan Harrison Leave a Comment

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.

November 28, 2023 by Alan Harrison Leave a Comment

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

October 24, 2023 by Alan Harrison 6 Comments

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

$500,000,000 a Year for Five Years for Nonprofit Theaters? Wow, Is That Ever a Bad Idea.

October 10, 2023 by Alan Harrison 3 Comments

Desperation can cause bad and even damaging ideas. Sometimes, those ideas get funded. And then there’s this. I read recently that an informal group that calls itself the Professional Non-Profit Theater Coalition has put forth an effort to get $500,000,000 (five hundred million dollars) per year allocated to nonprofit theater organizations in America. The group has … [Read more...] about $500,000,000 a Year for Five Years for Nonprofit Theaters? Wow, Is That Ever a Bad Idea.

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About Scene Change

In early 2024, we laid out the problem and gave you a path. The result: SCENE CHANGE: WHY TODAY'S NONPROFIT ARTS ORGANIZATIONS HAVE TO STOP PRODUCING ART AND START PRODUCING IMPACT. In late 2024, we gave you discussion prompts and rules to help you figure out the answers on your own. The result: … [MORE] about About Scene Change

About Alan Harrison

Alan Harrison is a writer, father, performer, consultant, recovering artist, and the author of the industry best-seller "Scene Change: Why Today's Nonprofit Arts Organizations Have to Stop Producing Art and Start Producing Impact" and “Scene Change 2: The Five REAL Responsibilities of Nonprofit Arts … [MORE] about About Alan Harrison

Recent Posts

  • For Nonprofit Arts Organizations, It’s August and the Fan Is Clogged with S**t
  • SUMMER RERUN: Advocacy for the Nonprofit Arts Sector is Currently Meaningless
  • SUMMER RERUN: Art Doesn’t Need to Be Served. People Do.
  • SUMMER RERUN: “The Planet Will Be Fine. It’s the People Who Will Be F**ked.” — George Carlin
  • SUMMER RERUN: The Con Is On – Raising Emergency Money at the Expense of Everyone Else Is Not a Heroic Act

Recent Comments

  1. Benjamin Lemon on SUMMER RERUN: What Would a Post-NEA (Arts) America Look Like?
  2. Tom Tresser on No. Just No.
  3. Alan Harrison on Nonprofit Arts Success in a Changing Environment, Tip 6 — Don’t Talk About It; Do It.
  4. Joyce Linehan on Nonprofit Arts Success in a Changing Environment, Tip 6 — Don’t Talk About It; Do It.
  5. Trevor O’Donnell on “Duck and Cover” — Is That Your Motto for the Next 46 Months?

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