Podcast: Download (Duration: 4:21 — 4.0MB)
Bob Lynch, President and CEO of Americans for the Arts, talks with Jamie Boese about what makes the Green Paper initiative so revolutionary. Both Jamie and Bob invite our readers and listeners to let their voices be heard as we plan for the future of the arts field and different art disciplines.
Green Paper topics and partners can be found here.
Popularity: 13%
Jalyce Mangum
Since Day 1 of my internship at Americans for the Arts, I have toiled to digest the information detailed in the National Arts Index: The good …the bearable, and the…unsavory. This report measures the health and vitality of arts and culture in America. My status so far, is ‘processing.’
Nonetheless, the NAI exposes compelling realities. One in particular caught my eye: “Nonprofit arts organizations are losing their ‘market share’ of philanthropy to other charitable areas.” The share of corporate and foundation funding directed toward the arts has decreased from 10.3 to 4.6 percent and 14.8 to 10.6 percent between 1998 and 2007 respectively. I would hate to acknowledge the existence of even a tinge of competition among nonprofit organizations for planned giving. But if there was a competition for funding in the cause world, we would be losing.
We spend hours upon end explaining why the arts are important. The Private Sector Blog Salon, held March 8-12, offered tools to strengthen your case for arts funding among private contributors. But for some reason, the arts are still overlooked as a legitimate cause. The arts do not build houses, feed the poor, dig for wells, etc. Right? Wrong. Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 8%
Welcome to the Green Paper discussion on Private Sector Support for the Arts. As a way to celebrate the successes of the past 50 years, Americans for the Arts has partnered with over twenty arts service organizations and peer groups to collect Green Papers. And most importantly, we want your feedback!
I’m proud to serve as an Ambassador to the Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties’ Green Paper on Private Sector Support for the Arts. This short vision of the future is meant to inspire a dialogue on the future of the arts, so I invite you to comment, make suggestions, and offer alternative visions in this virtual exchange of ideas through the ARTSblog Green Papers.
Andy Witt is the Executive Director of the Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties. I encourage you to read Andy’s Green Paper on Private Sector Support for the Arts in its entirety, but here is a quick summary with questions at the end: Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 24%
Marete Wester
I love the spring for many reasons. For one, it often marks the start when the Americans for the Arts staff members begin receiving requests to meet with international visitors who are traveling in the United States. I love the visits, because it is always a fascinating opportunity to learn about cultural policy across the globe—from Iraq to South Korea to Germany.
In addition to government support in the United States, the question we are asked most often is, “How does our private sector model of support for the arts work?” It is no secret that in other countries throughout the world it is usually the government that is the largest patron of arts and culture. However, it is fair to say that many countries are putting increasing pressure on their cultural sector to think about how businesses and corporations and philanthropy can play a greater role in their support.
For better or worse, because the public/private sector support system is firmly embedded in our cultural DNA, we are the model the rest of the world comes here to learn more about. Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 16%
Brian Reich
We last discussed the key to an effective social media campaign. Here are some additional thoughts and resources from me to help you going forward.
When I wrote my book, Media Rules!, I set out to address this challenge faced by organizations and help shape the ways organizations can communicate with their audience, in the face of rapid innovation in technology and the massive social change we are currently (and it seems constantly) experiencing. The book offers a roadmap for helping organizations, including newspapers, to understand what the audience expects and how to use technology to meet those expectations. More than that, however, it highlights the other things that you need to take into account—how you staff and manage your team, how you support your partners, and how customer service has changed. These things are important to consider because executing on an effective new media strategy, whether it is online community based or something else, requires buy-in from all levels and close coordination among all the different elements of your organization.
Second, there are literally hundreds of books, articles and blog posts that offer interesting insights into the opportunities that exist for using web 2.0 technologies to support your work, and your communications. I try to look for articles that are not specific to one subject, so that you can take lessons and ideas from other sectors and apply them to your work. So that is what I have tried to do here—below is a list of recent articles that I have found particularly interesting and useful: Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 9%
I have just had the pleasure of attending the “Great Ideas Conference” sponsored by ASAE and the Center of Association Leadership. While the main focus of the conference was sharing new and exciting ideas in the association world, a lot of attention was focused to online giving and fundraising strategies. Not only the importance of embracing these new methods of giving through mobile texting and social media, but also how businesses should link these fundraising efforts with their marketing plan. So, you have implemented these great tools and strategies (Blog, Facebook, Twitter etc.) to cultivate a broad base of donors, now what? Don’t stop there! It is just as important to close the loop on these efforts by tracking your new media efforts regularly. Sure, we can do the basic math and compare the monetary contribution as it relates to each social tool but what will this tell you about the leads you have created? Who are the donors going to your site and how are they getting there? Here is a collection of free tools from Hubspot that evaluate the effectiveness of various marketing initiatives which will hopefully guide you in this final step of your new media fundraising strategy. Read the rest of this entry »
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My last blog post gave you an intro into the vast—and largely misunderstood—world of social media. There is a lot to consider when using this communications tool. But here are the key points I want you to keep in mind:
Media Rules! At the end of the day, what people want more than anything is good information, compelling experiences, or high-quality stuff. In the most basic of examples, consider that when you go to a store, find a product you like, and have a good experience with the person behind the register, you are probably more likely to shop their again. If you have a terrible experience, or the product you buy breaks, the company doesn’t care when you call to ask for help, or your friend says something negative about their experience—you are probably going to find somewhere else to spend your money. And though the world of nonprofit organizations and the business of arts and culture is not specifically product-driven, the same principles applies to every aspect of your work. The information people pursue and the experiences they spend time with are the ones they find most valuable. Period. Its not about today’s modern, fast-moving, connected society… its about understanding and adapting to basic human behavior. Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 9%
The vision of the future of music education, as it relates to string instruments and orchestras, has been succinctly stated in five points by the American String Teachers’ Association. Let’s take a look at these points and see in what direction they are pointing us.
First, ASTA’s vision includes “providing access to strings and orchestra for all children, protecting these programs from economic uncertainty, and teaching members how to advocate for these programs.” That’s a tall order. It’s not that string music educators aren’t up to the task, and it’s not that it’s too much to ask. Those of us in the profession are doing this every day, to a certain extent. Some of us are doing more than others – but that’s not the fault of those who are doing less. The truth of the matter is that many younger members of our profession aren’t being taught how to advocate and how to fight for our programs. Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 16%
Brian Reich
On March 3, I led a webinar on social media. I had three goals for my presentation. First, I wanted to re-frame the way you think about using the internet and technology to communicate, engage, educate, and the like. I wanted to make sure you understood the need to re-consider, and in some cases re-set, everything you are doing because of the influence that these new tools are having on society—and particularly nonprofit organizations and the arts/culture space. Second, I wanted to address the fears that most organizations have about social media—the loss of control, the costs and ability to measure impact, the burden of management, the challenge of getting buy-in from senior management who aren’t intimately familiar with the latest innovations online, and of course the disconnect between you and the audience you are serving. Instead of living in fear, I hoped to show all the opportunities that exist, that technology is not scary, and that the opportunities to reach, engage, educate, and ultimately mobilize audiences to support nonprofits and social causes are continually expanding. And third, I wanted to share some specific examples and put some ‘next practices’ together that anyone could begin to apply to their work almost immediately.
From my perspective, when it comes to communicating with an ever-evolving audience, today’s organization has more than enough tools to get the job done—blogs, podcasts, social networks, mobile, games, search, wikis, and much more. Still, the combination of rapid technological innovation and continuous social shifts has left many organizations struggling to stay focused and execute their ideas. Everything is changing and nothing we are doing is working anymore (at least not entirely). Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 9%
by Anna Sebourn
As a second year graduate student in Arts Management getting ready to move from academia to a career, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the difficulty of the transition. Sure, I’ve taken a graduate level Arts Marketing class and had a marketing internship . . .but what kind of marketing jobs should I apply for? Am I considered entry-level or mid-level? And sure, I know how to market an arts event fairly well, but how well can I market MYSELF to employers?
I know I’m not alone in this. Several of my friends and I have been discussing this very topic at length anytime we peruse job listings or talk about our plans after graduation. We’re just not sure which jobs we’re qualified for and how to stand out among the sea of other applicants.
On the other hand, I have numerous friends on the opposite side of the spectrum. They have several years of work experience under their belt, but trying to transfer into the arts field from the ‘outside’ is tough. Some have already broken into the field, but have questions about advancing and sustaining their careers and staying current on best practices. Read the rest of this entry »
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Podcast: Download (Duration: 4:56 — 4.5MB)
Bob Lynch, President & CEO of Americans for the Arts, discusses the upcoming National Arts Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C. on April 12-13, and talks about memories from past events.
For more information on National Arts Advocacy Day click here. And you can also find video highlights from last year’s event, including Josh Groban and Wynton Marsalis, on this page.
We ask that you post your favorite Arts Advocacy Day memory below!
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Greetings from sunny California. I am excited to be an ambassador to this project and to help Americans for the Arts celebrate its 50th anniversary.
My hope is to have a productive and meaningful interaction around the topic of a cultural democracy. Over the next 12 months, this will be a place where we can discuss our vision for the future of the arts through a culturally democratic lens, the obstacles in achieving this vision, and the strategies to overcome those obstacles and make that vision a reality.
My hope as an ambassador is that this cultural democracy green paper, its responses and the dialogue it catalyzes will be taken to the next step. That as practioners and cultural policy makers, we will use these ideas and dialogue to inform our own work and make change in the current environment. I expect this discussion may become spirited, as we are talking about how we can respect differences and contrary beliefs, as well as universalities within the context of arts and culture in America. Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 19%
American Express and cause-related website TakePart.com have chosen to feature Americans for the Arts as one of only 10 Arts & Culture organizations in their new social media Members Project campaign. The participation of Americans for the Arts means added visibility and exposure for our organization and its work in arts advocacy and other critical programs, but also a chance to win a $200,000 award from American Express. TakePart.com is a go-to site for volunteering and donating in a variety of topics and causes and is the social action network of Participant Media, the social change-oriented media company behind An Inconvenient Truth and Food Inc.
The Americans for the Arts page of the Member Project can be found here, with links to registering for TakePart.com and for voting in the campaign which runs through May 24, 2010. If you have a Facebook account, you can easily register from this page through Facebook Connect. Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 28%
A few weeks ago, I was out to dinner with some colleagues and friends. We are all emerging leaders who work in the nonprofit arts field, for very different types of organizations and at various job levels within our organizations. During the course of our dinner, one of my friends brought up the subject of supervising staff. She had a question related to her personal experience supervising her own staff, and wanted to get our input. After we had all discussed my friend’s question, and gave a few tidbits of advice, I thought the conversation may morph into a different subject. However, I was surprised to find out that ALL of us had a story related to supervising staff—some good experiences, some not so good experiences.
The next week, my colleague sat down in my office and said he was out to dinner with some arts friends, and the same subject of supervising staff came up.
Therefore—the seed for this blog post had been planted. Read the rest of this entry »
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In reading all the great content here over the past few days, I’ve learned a lot. And I’ve had some new thoughts as well, inspired by others. So now, in honor of Broadway’s Hitchcock parody, I’ve come up with my own to-do list – 39 Next Steps, if you will – to build more private sector engagement of the arts here in Portland. Read the rest of this entry »
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