Opening of An Adventure

So as I begin this let me say three things:
1. This blog will have no common thread other than what happens to be on my mind that particular day.
2. I do not consider myself an expert on any topic; so please excuse any arrogant, ignorant, or incorrect remarks and please feel free to add your own opinion or correction of mine. I'm always open to learn new things.
3. I hope I can pass on new and interesting ideas, products, events and services that I find through out the day.

I do not hope to create a horrifically successful blog, nor do I expect more than maybe 5 people, (that is a few nosey friends and my mother) to actually read and have interest in my daily musings. That said here is today's pondering.
-------------------------------------------------------------
As I entered into the interesting world of (art) nonprofit administration work it was with little idea of what I would be getting into; I imagined beautiful galas, fantastic performances, compt-ed tickets, promotional offers and so much more. What I have found is a world of clashing egos, financial crisis, chaotic environment, lagging image and marketing principles, and a whole bunch of unhappy customers. Oh wait, I'm sorry, in the nonprofit world, we refer to these people as donors or patrons, not customers. Nor do the ideas and foundations of business apply to running of nonprofits. My bad, I was obviously confused.

I quickly learned than in the nonprofit world, or at least the ART nonprofit world, people were more interested in creating a fabulous "artistic product" that pushed boundaries and showed off new talent. What they were not interested in was finding money to install the piece, explaining the art to their audience, making sure that there was even an audience in their market, bridging the gap between the artist, the work, and the audience, balancing their budget, using donations as they were restricted, following the board of director's advice (if there was an active board at all) or working with media and donor relations.

Well great. So you have this "wonderful" piece of art that no one but the artist and the program team understands if even appreciates, you can't market it or get donations because no one gets it, you write them off as amatures, alienate those people supporting you, yell at the media because they don't have a trained enough eye and THEN get upset when you're bankrupt with no donor or media support and get told you uphold the standards of elitism.

Ok now what?

That's kind of the question for many art nonprofits out there. What does an organization do when it has not cultivated new members or donors, cannot pay the bills, has negative media attention, diminishing member retention, and is staring into the barrel of an unhappy gun which screams "YOU LOSE" and they happen to have aimed directly at themselves?

For decades many art, and also education, organizations have not paid heed to the warnings to develop an endowment or create a nest egg for future events. Instead they have believed, (albeit with some precedent set 30 years ago), that despite their lack of business principals and questionable monetary ethics, they would be bailed out by their large-wealth donors.

The Columbus Symphony found this out the hard way in 2008. Just short of their fiscal year they were $2.2 million in debt. Unlike in 2003 when their philanthropic community came in and bailed them out, their donors weren't as readily volunteering to step up to the plate.
As one Wall Street Journal Author put it:

"The crisis isn't for lack of an audience. Attendance in the 2,800-seat theater, a 1920s-era movie palace, was up 11% this year, and four of its 55 concerts were sellouts. The predicament was precipitated by several years of operating deficits and a history of problems in the boardroom. Donors finally refused to provide bailouts or "bridge funding" to tide the orchestra over, insisting that the board come up with a vastly trimmed annual budget." (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121383086628186513.html)

The Columbus Symphony did manage to barely stay afloat but heavy restructuring, 40% salary cuts and limiting orchestra size all took its toll on the symphony's sound and product it was able to produce. Donors and concert goers still keep a leery eye on the symphony to see if it will rebound.

Unfortunately they are not alone. There have been many articles written on failing art-producing nonprofits in the last 2 years. Some would say let them fall to the Darwinian "Survival of the Fittest" theory, while others grudgingly take out their wallets and write yet another check to keep them afloat. On top of it, according to a Bank of America study from the Center on Philanthropy, arts organizations lost approximately 70% of their donations between 2007 and 2008. (http://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/file.php/502/BAC-Study-HighNetWorthPhilanthropy.pdf) While health care has increased donations by approximately 50% and social clubs and causes are gaining support as well.

Sadly, this is not just because of Hollywood trends set by country-adopting Bradgelina or PETA supporter Pam Anderson. It is rather because as people are upset by the lack of consideration shown for donors and their money in the arts, people have begun to look for other causes to support. Aging baby boomers find solace in giving to health care and knowing they will be well provided for as they lay dying in comfy hospital suites in their name. Younger social injustice supporters following the trends want to give money where it will make a difference and help some one who really needs it-not a blowhard artist who sells his abstract subjective paintings for millions of dollars nor a symphony who plays old war-horses and has done nothing to incorporate new generations and new compositions for 30+ years.

Maybe it's time the art organizations start talking to their donors and audiences to see what matters to them. Give them feed back opportunities and advertise in places their demographics interact with on a daily basis. Make the community feel needed, important and a part of the organization. Find that old personal touch and "the customer is always right approach again. And above all, how about some financial transparency? It's not that hard to show the world what you're doing with its money when you're doing it ethically and legally! Utilizing business principals does not compromise artistic integrity. So why can't we step up to the plate, save our organizations, and ultimately put out a BETTER artistic product, which we can afford and attract audiences to? But that is just my BIG question for the day...

Some shout outs:
Check out Tara Hunt's book "The Whuffie Factor", penned as the new "Tipping Point", or "Freakanomics", she uses business practices, social networks, a new version of Karma and interesting products to explain how to build your business using social networks.

The Hangover opens today. I cannot wait to see it.

Sprint's new Lotus is incredible. Yes, it's tailored to the female population but it is easy to use, able to be personalized, has great screen and sound quality and has a full but SMALL keyboard. Only problem is it is a really strange size!