Do taxpayers pay for your nonprofit arts organization to wrestle with artistic satisfaction or to make their community better? In deciphering whether nonprofits, especially nonprofit arts organizations, deserve funding, acclaim, or zealous advocacy, there are a number of factors that we keep forgetting. The first thing is that nonprofits cost you a lot of money. Not … [Read more...] about Nonprofit Art and The Tyranny of Happiness
Leadership
The [Insert Letter Here] Word and the Arts
DEI is not a contest between. It’s a contest for. The C word (no, not that one — the 5-letter one that’s not just for Chinese people anymore). The E word (if you want to get abandoned in a snowdrift in Yellowknife, just use this slur). The F word (no, not that one — the 6-letter one). The G word (not just for Koreans anymore). The I word (unless the … [Read more...] about The [Insert Letter Here] Word and the Arts
“Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics” – Another Bad Research Project About the Arts Leads to Worse Conclusions
Benjamin Disraeli might have been referring to the latest irrelevant data on the economic power of the arts in 2021. [Jeez Louise. Why do they make me have to write this?] Let’s start with a basic question. What constitutes relevant data? If you’re really hungry and you find yourself in an apple orchard, which one of these points is the most relevant to you? If … [Read more...] about “Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics” – Another Bad Research Project About the Arts Leads to Worse Conclusions
Nonprofit Arts Organization Boards: An Epilogue
You don’t have to follow what others call “best practices” if it doesn’t work for your community If you are a nonprofit arts board member, you have a chance to build something great. And no, the best way is not to copy what your fellow arts organizations are doing. In fact, it might behoove you to look at other kinds of nonprofits that fit under the IRS guidelines. If … [Read more...] about Nonprofit Arts Organization Boards: An Epilogue
What’s Your Nonprofit Arts Board’s 6th Through ∞th Most Important Responsibilities?
After the first five, the rest will grow your skills in all you do All nonprofits are essentially scientific, social experiments in bettering our various lots in life. Including nonprofit arts organizations. The background of that experiment is this: there is a thing that needs to be done or else the community suffers. Private businesses can’t do it. The government … [Read more...] about What’s Your Nonprofit Arts Board’s 6th Through ∞th Most Important Responsibilities?