As Kate Larsen so brilliantly puts it, a strategic planning session is not the same thing as a strategic plan session. I’ve contributed to them. I’ve written them. I’ve defended them. And more than once, I’ve been burned by them. But still, it’s always the first thing every board chair tells every consultant that their company really needs one. A strategic … [Read more...] about A Strategic Plan for Your Flailing Nonprofit Arts Organization Is Just a Waste of Time
Nonprofit Arts Organizations
Arts Organizations: Laughing, Yelling, Insanity, and You
Nonprofit arts organizations are dropping like flies. Got a problem with that? You’re 12. You’re at the park, sitting under a tree, drinking cola out of a can. A wasp buzzes toward you. You get a little startled, but you get up and walk over to a nearby bench, swatting at the air to make sure the wasp doesn’t follow you. The wasp seems curious about your sugary drink, … [Read more...] about Arts Organizations: Laughing, Yelling, Insanity, and You
For Nonprofit Arts Organizations, It’s August and the Fan Is Clogged with S**t
Big protests about the war and immigration, but the arts? Just a little Monday night shindig. Before that, a subtle announcement. In early 2024, we laid out the problem and gave you a path. In late 2024, we gave you discussion prompts and rules to help you figure out the answers on your own. And now, in late 2025, we show you that not only can success happen when you … [Read more...] about 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
Lost amid a string of inside-baseball phrases and ideologies, officials have little idea as to why they would possibly fund institutions that serve themselves first. This article was originally posted in April, but things have only managed to get worse. For further evidence of that, click here and read an article that came out about a month later: "NO. JUST NO." With … [Read more...] about SUMMER RERUN: Advocacy for the Nonprofit Arts Sector is Currently Meaningless
SUMMER RERUN: Art Doesn’t Need to Be Served. People Do.
From 2024: The Mellon Foundation almost got it right for nonprofit arts leadership in the 2020s. Why don't people subscribe to nonprofit arts organizations anymore? Because you can’t get good seats from inside a coffin. You may not have heard about this, mostly because the news has not been reported as much as it should have been, but the Mellon Foundation, the … [Read more...] about SUMMER RERUN: Art Doesn’t Need to Be Served. People Do.