{"id":925,"date":"2024-06-04T13:35:09","date_gmt":"2024-06-04T13:35:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/?p=925"},"modified":"2024-06-04T13:35:13","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T13:35:13","slug":"sometimes-theres-a-pretty-good-reason-to-swim-upstream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/2024\/06\/04\/sometimes-theres-a-pretty-good-reason-to-swim-upstream\/","title":{"rendered":"Sometimes There\u2019s a Pretty Good Reason to Swim Upstream"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For nonprofit arts organizations, the choice to use the art as a final product is the easiest way to swim downstream.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Unfortunately, there are times when swimming with the current can be fatal. Like now. (Photo by Sergey Pesterev on Unsplash.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Oh, before I forget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If June 30 is a special date for your company and you need\/want\/are being forced to raise a bunch of money before then with a big campaign, here\u2019s an email to print out and show your various bosses:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Don\u2019t force people to give early to meet some arbitrary date (it\u2019s arbitrary to them, which is all that matters) and your company\u2019s donation goals. It\u2019ll only hurt you next year. And it will piss off your donors. Or at least make them lose their trust in you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway. Back to the column.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

I just received sales reports on my new book, Scene Change: Why Today\u2019s Nonprofit Arts Organizations Have to Stop Producing Art and Start Producing Impact<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>and got conflicting data. On the one hand, the reviews have been fantastic, at least the few that have been published or left on online websites. People in the business \u2013 especially those who are young in their leadership roles (which is who I had in mind when I wrote the book) \u2013 have contacted me directly to discuss the book, its purpose, and try to figure out how they can \u201cswim upstream\u201d to change the minds of the people currently in charge of their organizations. Others have written to say that they wish they could have said the things in the book, but feared that they\u2019d lose their jobs by \u201cswimming against the tide\u201d of art-for-art\u2019s-sake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upstream. Against the tide. Maybe they\u2019re getting that subliminally by the story in the preface:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you remember a 1972 disaster movie called The Poseidon Adventure? An enormous, obsolete cruise ship gets flipped upside-down by a tidal wave. A small, courageous, but ordinary band of passengers recognizes that to escape, they have to travel upward, toward the hull. A priest (Gene Hackman) leads them, both physically and spiritually.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was a scene in the movie early on where our plucky gang of travelers came across a large group of passengers led by crew members downwards, toward what they believed was the only exit from the ship, the deck. The crew members only knew one way to behave in this situation, and that was to get the passengers to the upper decks, which were submerged under hundreds of feet and hundreds of thousands of gallons of water.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hackman pleaded with those lemmings to join their group and move upward, but the lemmings continued downward to their certain, violent, drowning demise.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going the wrong way, dammit!\u201d yelled the priest.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think of this book as Gene Hackman.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The easier path\u2014the path to produce art for its own sake, for acclaim, or for vanity\u2014is to travel downward. It is a well-worn path to panic-ridden discussions of institutional survival (never a goal), financial ruin, and taking money from an increasing number of toxic donors, all of which will be discussed.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The harder path upward is the one that can lead to success\u2014 producing art as a tool of community impact in order to help people. It is to remember that of the words, \u201cNonprofit,\u201d \u201cArts,\u201d and \u201cOrganization,\u201d the word \u201cNonprofit\u201d is far more important than the other two.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If, after reading this, you insist on traveling the \u201cart\u201d path instead of the \u201cnonprofit\u201d path, all I can say is this:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re going the wrong way, dammit!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or maybe not so subliminally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

The sales of Scene Change<\/a><\/em>, which were quite high in the launch month of February (it rose to #2 on Amazon\u2019s bestseller list of new books on art), dropped to a trickle in March. And although they\u2019ve picked up again in April (I have no May figures yet), they still don\u2019t reveal that the movement toward better choices among nonprofit arts organizations has taken hold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In that vein, a good friend and a fan of the book recently wrote me. \u201cYou are pushing upstream. Against an entire industry that wants to call miniscule iteration a \u2018tectonic shift.\u2019 Even DEI has become a feeding trough exploited by folks who want to \u2018get theirs.\u2019 People are paranoid and terrified that their livelihoods are going to be taken away by the economy and by calls for change\u2026. Frankly, I think many of these people have never been challenged and are terrified they cannot keep up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pushing upstream is tiring. One doesn\u2019t choose to swim upstream unless one is caught in a riptide, undertow, or a deadly current that inevitably leads to, say, a fatal waterfall. Swimming upstream is neither profitable nor all that popular, at least for me. I never wrote the book to make money (although not losing money might be a nice thing). I just wanted people to know how to fix the problem. I didn\u2019t realize just how many people\u2019s egos (and, presumably, livelihoods) are tied to continuing the elitism issues in the nonprofit arts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And these columns come not out of spite or ill will toward the hundreds of wonderful people with whom I\u2019ve worked in New York, California, Alabama, Washington, Michigan, or Pennsylvania. Amazing people, for the most part. An honor to have worked with them. And the ones who know that, know that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I write these columns for the leaders who have become tired of producing art for the wrong reasons \u2013 among them: vainglory, peer acclaim, r\u00e9sum\u00e9 building, and strictly personal satisfaction. I wrote the book for the leaders who want to find a path toward a terrific future for their communities. People who float from job to job, from city to city \u2014 as I myself had done in the past \u2014 are participants in a system that rewards childlessness, independent wealth, and 168-hour weekly availability among its leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s not limited to arts organizations, of course, but it\u2019s a problem with the nonprofit workers who want a better community. The pandemic shutdown proved that family time is more important than work time. Abusive jobs and caustic workplaces where employees are asked to donate 20 hours or more per week back to the company \u2013 and don\u2019t even get a tax break for doing so \u2013 have become anathema to most Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why unionization is up and the National Labor Relations Board is being sued by Trader Joe\u2019s<\/a>, Starbucks<\/a>, and Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX<\/a>. And those companies might win in a business-lackey Supreme Court, setting workers\u2019 rights back 100 years. Companies have been trained to drain every last drop out of its workers in order to serve the shareholders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is that the kind of nonprofit arts industry you want? This is not a plea to buy the book. Although, to be honest, you should<\/em> buy the book<\/a>. See for yourself. And finally, consider that the blaring noise you hear from unenlightened nonprofit arts organizations (the endless begging) \u2014 despite the obvious failings of a half-century system of art-for-art\u2019s-sake hogwash \u2014 are sending the industry over the falls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are times when swimming with the current can be fatal. Like now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":926,"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":[21,20,22,100,40,32,29,25,23,19,18,17,27,99],"tags":[50],"class_list":{"0":"post-925","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-book-recommendation","11":"category-change","12":"category-charity","13":"category-dei","14":"category-development-and-fundraising","15":"category-executive-director","16":"category-leadership","17":"category-nonprofit","18":"category-nonprofit-arts-organizations","19":"category-philanthropy-and-donors","20":"category-scene-change","21":"tag-nonprofit-management","22":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/sergey-pesterev-wZLsZ9DRLSI-unsplash.jpg?fit=1920%2C1280&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":764,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/2024\/02\/20\/nonprofit-arts-organizations-just-land-the-mf-plane\/","url_meta":{"origin":925,"position":0},"title":"Nonprofit Arts Organizations: Just Land the M*****F***** Plane!","author":"Alan Harrison","date":"February 20, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Stop. Land. Let the current passengers deplane. Start the conversations with your community leaders.","rel":"","context":"In "Arts and Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Arts and Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/category\/arts-and-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/fixing-the-plane-while-flying.jpg?fit=1200%2C709&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/fixing-the-plane-while-flying.jpg?fit=1200%2C709&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/fixing-the-plane-while-flying.jpg?fit=1200%2C709&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/fixing-the-plane-while-flying.jpg?fit=1200%2C709&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/fixing-the-plane-while-flying.jpg?fit=1200%2C709&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1517,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/2025\/10\/07\/a-punchy-outspoken-argument-for-how-nonprofit-arts-organizations-should-be-run\/","url_meta":{"origin":925,"position":1},"title":"“A PUNCHY, OUTSPOKEN ARGUMENT FOR HOW NONPROFIT ARTS ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD BE RUN.”","author":"Alan Harrison","date":"October 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\"An example-driven new map to success in the realm of nonprofit theater.\" \u2014 Kirkus Reviews.","rel":"","context":"In "Arts and Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Arts and Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/category\/arts-and-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Scene Change, Scene Change 2, and Scene Change 3 - 3 books to improve your arts organization","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/3-book-titles.jpg?fit=1200%2C606&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/3-book-titles.jpg?fit=1200%2C606&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/3-book-titles.jpg?fit=1200%2C606&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/3-book-titles.jpg?fit=1200%2C606&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/3-book-titles.jpg?fit=1200%2C606&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":757,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/2024\/02\/13\/nonprofit-arts-organizations-you-missed-the-point-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":925,"position":2},"title":"Nonprofit Arts Organizations: You Missed the Point. Again.","author":"Alan Harrison","date":"February 13, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Yes, you're a nonprofit. Big deal. Like tennis, if you don't serve well, it's your fault.","rel":"","context":"In "Arts and Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Arts and Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/category\/arts-and-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Tennis-ball-into-the-net.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Tennis-ball-into-the-net.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Tennis-ball-into-the-net.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Tennis-ball-into-the-net.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Tennis-ball-into-the-net.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1782,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/2026\/04\/02\/doing-the-right-thing-with-nonprofit-arts-organizations-like-walking-in-high-heels-through-meat\/","url_meta":{"origin":925,"position":3},"title":"Doing the Right Thing With Nonprofit Arts Organizations: \u201cLike Walking in High Heels Through Meat\u201d","author":"Alan Harrison","date":"April 2, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"...while the attention to charity has evolved, the nonprofit arts behemoth class has not.","rel":"","context":"In "Arts and Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Arts and Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/category\/arts-and-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Three-women-walking-in-high-heels-through-meat.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Three-women-walking-in-high-heels-through-meat.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Three-women-walking-in-high-heels-through-meat.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Three-women-walking-in-high-heels-through-meat.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Three-women-walking-in-high-heels-through-meat.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1640,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/2026\/01\/06\/its-2026-oy-is-the-nonprofit-arts-sector-in-america-any-healthier\/","url_meta":{"origin":925,"position":4},"title":"It\u2019s 2026. Oy. Is the Nonprofit Arts Sector in America Any Healthier?","author":"Alan Harrison","date":"January 6, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Now that it\u2019s 2026, the public expects its charities to be charitable \u2014 including your theater, opera, ballet, museum, and symphony.","rel":"","context":"In "Arts and Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Arts and Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/category\/arts-and-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-10.jpeg?fit=612%2C377&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-10.jpeg?fit=612%2C377&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-10.jpeg?fit=612%2C377&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":415,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/2023\/05\/23\/framing-art-why-do-nonprofit-arts-organizations-hire-managers-instead-of-leaders\/","url_meta":{"origin":925,"position":5},"title":"Framing Art: Why Do Nonprofit Arts Organizations Hire Managers Instead of Leaders?","author":"Alan Harrison","date":"May 23, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Leadership is not the same as management. Are we teaching people in the nonprofit arts world how to be leaders or how to get a job as a manager?","rel":"","context":"In "Arts and Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Arts and Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/category\/arts-and-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Helicopters-and-buggy-whips.jpg?fit=1200%2C807&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Helicopters-and-buggy-whips.jpg?fit=1200%2C807&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Helicopters-and-buggy-whips.jpg?fit=1200%2C807&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Helicopters-and-buggy-whips.jpg?fit=1200%2C807&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Helicopters-and-buggy-whips.jpg?fit=1200%2C807&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=925"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/925\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":955,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/925\/revisions\/955"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}