{"id":245,"date":"2023-02-21T12:01:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-21T12:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/?p=245"},"modified":"2023-02-16T02:48:52","modified_gmt":"2023-02-16T02:48:52","slug":"what-is-your-nonprofit-arts-boards-second-most-important-responsibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/2023\/02\/21\/what-is-your-nonprofit-arts-boards-second-most-important-responsibility\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Your Nonprofit Arts Board\u2019s Second Most Important Responsibility?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Read last week\u2019s article<\/a> for #1. This week: raise the funds to pay for why you do what you do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
\u00a9 2023, Alan Harrison.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You probably don\u2019t think this is your second most important responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is, because no matter who is working for the company, it is every board member\u2019s task to make sure money is there to enact your charitable mission (which is your most important responsibility<\/a>). So, regardless of everything else you do to help the company function well, finding the donations to suit the mission is up to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best\/only way to raise the funds necessary is twofold:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Increase the quantity and quality of your relationships with those who might have the same interest as you do;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Have the \u201cwant-to.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    You don\u2019t need a budget from the company to set up relationships with like-minded people. In fact, if you have to ask the company for financial support to ask for financial support for the company, you set yourself up for a loop of wholly inappropriate behavior. In the arts, that gets even more treacherous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In the business of asking for support, many\u200a\u2014\u200aif not most\u200a\u2014\u200aboard members seek leverage, rather than help. That might speak to the personality of the connections, the personality of the board members, or the insecurity that what the nonprofit arts organization is doing is not all that important to the lifeblood of the community. The insecurity can be solved if your mission speaks to a community need instead of honoring or feeding an artist\u2019s vision. It is why, in previous articles, we\u2019ve talked about firing your artistic director<\/a>. That vision\u200a\u2014\u200athe one that is artistic in nature but not tangibly helpful to a community in need\u200a\u2014\u200ais a major culprit in the industry\u2019s headlong rush to irrelevance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Those with artistic visions tend to place them ahead of the community need, even if the community is screaming for help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There is a large arts organization on the west coast that is currently experiencing what most would call its denouement. The COVID pandemic sped its inevitable destruction, but it would not have survived the social justice movement nonetheless. That organization, led by good people, has a mission tied directly to its artistic roots, as though its community is secondary to the art. Exposing people to art is not what the community needed or needs right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In the city in which the arts organization exists, there is a burgeoning homeless problem. Thousands are living on the streets, in parks, in tents, and the shelters are full. The city is working hard to increase housing units in response, but that\u2019s a slow process for the people are homeless right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    It might be too late for this particular arts organization to recover. And, if its board (much of its key staff has already left) doesn\u2019t look to the community for the answer to \u201cWhat do you need us to do?\u201d (and by \u201ccommunity,\u201d not just major donors and the visitors\u2019 bureau, but those who help the homeless as well), they might as well close up shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If your young son is screaming in pain about having skinned his knee, you don\u2019t solve that by singing a song. Even if the performance is superb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cWant to\u201d refers to the idea that you don\u2019t have to gin up interest from yourself <\/em>to insure the finances of the company. You don\u2019t have to be good at the art of the ask\u200a\u2014\u200aultimately, you\u2019ll hire people who will help you with that. You just need to make sure that those relationships are all teed up, so to speak, for success. Understanding that some people have bought into the sad idea that isolation is the way to go<\/a>, it behooves anyone involved with an arts organization to recognize that a successful physical and virtual community requires interaction, not a VR headset. Celebrating that, fighting against the current whirlpool of isolation is the hallmark of a board member with a \u201cwant to\u201d attitude toward supporting a truly valuable mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There are two, and only two sources for donations for nonprofits: your money and other people\u2019s money. Your donation is etched into your contract, presumably. I recommend that it be among the 3 largest donations you give to anyone that year. Many nonprofits (of all kinds) expect it to be the largest gift you give in a year. Either way, you must make the financial statement, for lack of a better term, that you have put your money behind a winning proposition. After all, if you don\u2019t support your own nonprofit at the highest level, how can you expect the community (or your contacts) to support it at any<\/em> level?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/a>
    Got it? Good.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Now, on to other people\u2019s money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As far as \u201chow to raise money from other people,\u201d there are literally hundreds (maybe thousands) of valuable resources that can help you do that. I won\u2019t go into them here because a good search engine (I use Ecosia<\/a>) can help you find your local chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), various support groups on LinkedIn and other professional sites, and maybe even a short-term consultant, of which there are thousands. Don\u2019t call a consultant if you haven\u2019t completed the most important responsibility<\/a>. They can\u2019t help you discover what the community really needs; only you know that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To summarize, this second most responsibility is not finding people to raise money. It is finding people with whom you will find it a pleasure to want<\/em> to raise funds to support a mission. You\u2019re not looking for \u201crainmakers,\u201d whose goals are tied to the raising of money. You\u2019re looking for \u201cbarn-raisers,\u201d whose goals are to help build a community in the best way it can and see your organization as a key wall of support to make that happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Based in Kirkland, Washington, <\/em>Alan Harrison<\/em><\/a> is a writer and speaker specializing in nonprofit organizations, strategy, the arts, and life politics. His columns appear regularly in major publications. Contact him directly at <\/em>alan@501c3.guru<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you\u2019re feeling generous or inspired, just <\/em>click on the coffee cup<\/em><\/a> above. You don\u2019t have to, of course, but if you can afford it and find some value here, please provide the desperate need for caffeine.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Alan is always looking for good opportunities to write and consult for nonprofits that need a hand. And, of course, that elusive <\/em>Perfect Opportunity\u2122.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    BIG NEWS: Alan\u2019s new book, \u201cScene Change: Why Today\u2019s Nonprofit Arts Organizations Have to Stop Producing Art and Start Producing Impact\u201d will be published in January by Changemakers Books<\/a>. Pre-orders in the fall. A few copies may be available as early as May for those booking conferences, reading engagements, and speaking engagements. Just let Alan know if you want him to visit your bookstore or your boardroom!<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Regardless of everything else you do to help the company function well, finding the donations to suit the mission is up to you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":246,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,20,22,32,25,19,18,17,27],"tags":[41],"class_list":{"0":"post-245","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-culture","8":"category-board-of-directors","9":"category-board-of-trustees","10":"category-charity","11":"category-development-and-fundraising","12":"category-leadership","13":"category-nonprofit","14":"category-nonprofit-arts-organizations","15":"category-philanthropy-and-donors","16":"tag-fundraising","17":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Lunch-meeting-ArtsJournal.jpg?fit=1100%2C708&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":993,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/2024\/09\/03\/scene-change-2-now-available-for-preorder\/","url_meta":{"origin":245,"position":0},"title":"Scene 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