Is the Arts and Culture Community on Your List of Potential Collaborators?

Few would argue the value of arts and culture. The vibrancy of arts and culture within a community has long been a key indicator of its livability. Individuals and companies looking to move into an area frequently evaluate the number and diversity of offerings as part of their decision-making process. Art therapy has proven helpful in treating a wide variety of conditions, from Alzheimer’s to physical and emotional trauma. And, a great deal of attention has recently been paid to the substantial economic impact of arts and culture. According to the 2010 National Arts Index, a report issued by Americans for the Arts, economic activity in the U.S., while losing ground during the recession, is still a $150‐$160 billion a year business that puts more than 2 million people to work and increasingly attracts cultural tourists (the number of foreign visitors who attend cultural events or venues has increased 23% since 2003).

However, today we have another reason to value arts and culture. It’s being used “in increasingly diverse ways to engage and build communities and address the root causes of persistent societal problems, including issues of economic, educational and environmental injustice as well as inequities in civil and human rights.” (“Fusing Arts, Culture and Social Change: High Impact Strategies for Philanthropy” by Holly Sidford for the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, 2011) Artist-activists are pulling us in, forcing us to examine our assumptions and the way we do business.

To-date, most of this work has emerged from and been centered in the art world. Just one example from my community is the Center for Folk and Community Art, which involves the community’s residents in story-telling, using a combination of written work, murals and public presentation. In the past it has focused attention on societal issues such as gang culture and violence, bullying, abuse and violence in teen dating relationships, the environment and homelessness.

But, arts and culture could be so much more. It could be totally integrated into the fabric of social change, where artists sit at the same table as nonprofits, private businesses and governmental agencies committed to creating a healthier place for each of us to live. This is particularly important as the artistic voices of those who have previously often been disenfranchised – i.e., those making art outside of the better supported and recognized Western European, “classical” art forms – break through, since there is much to be learned from these voices.

According to the Animating Democracy’s 2010 report, “Trend or Tipping Point: Arts and Social Change Grantmaking” there are currently more than 150 funders nationwide that have recognized the value of supporting coalitions that are dedicated to social change and are inclusive of artists. I am proud that our own local community foundation is one of them. But what of the many nonprofits currently putting together coalitions to more successfully tackle community issues that are at the heart of their mission?

If your organization is contemplating collaboration, I would like to know if your board is considering the contribution artists, arts and culture could make in your success? How intentional is your board about including artists, especially those outside “mainstream arts and culture”? How are you going about finding the appropriate partners? Please write in and share your experiences and learnings.

Little Salt Spring: A Model to Explore Your Possibilities

Last week, we had the privilege of attending an event cosponsored by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County and the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. The event shared the University of Miami’s work at Little Salt Spring, uncovering prehistoric remains in south Sarasota County. Attendees at the standing-room-only event were members of the Community Foundation’s Legacy Society and Rosenstiel alumni.

While I ate my plantain and bacon skewer, I identified these win-win outcomes for the event’s cosponsors.

For the Community Foundation of Sarasota:

- An interesting program about a local resource for Legacy members as a benefit for their continued relationship with the Foundation

- An opportunity to meet local University of Miami graduates and share with them the Foundation’s work

- Open the door to future partnerships with University’s’ advancement office and explore using the joint program model with other institutions

For the University of Miami:

- Offer an onsite program to the many University of Miami graduates in the greater Sarasota area

- Share an interesting project in need of funding for its next phase with alumni and Sarasota philanthropists

- Open the door to future partnerships with other community foundations across the state

- Enhanced name recognition in the Sarasota area for freshmen recruitment efforts

How can you use this model, or elements of it, in your nonprofit to grow and expand your relationships with people who potentially care about your mission? Consider these questions to help you identify potential partners and programs:

1. Which universities or colleges either local or outside your area have a large alumni presence in your community? Or if you are a college, where do you have a large alumni presence?

2. For any college or university you identify, does the college have a distinguished speaker or project in your field locally? For the college, what connections do you have with that community?

3. Can you offer an education program using their resources at your site to appeal to your donors/community and to their alumni?

4. If no, what other possibilities for interactions are there to create win-wins for future partnerships?

For more on partnerships see: Added Value February 2010

Partnership Unknowns

Partnerships always include unknowns. This summer, my husband and I vacationed in the Canadian Rockies. In Banff, because of grizzlies, Consolation Lake Trail was limited to groups of four or more. Day Three of the trip, we headed to the trailhead hoping it wouldn’t take long to double our party so we could use the highly recommended, but less frequently used path. As we approached it, we discussed that since we were Floridian flat-landers still getting our mountain legs, we didn’t want to hold up any eager young athletes. We needed older adults or a family for hiking partners.

At the trailhead, we found Walter and Granita, an older adult couple from Germany, waiting to hike to the destination. Delighted, we set off on the gorgeous, cool morning following their lead past the bear warning sign and over the boulders covering the trail. As we walked, we discussed travels, this trip and our respective homes. As we waked father we discussed-- us huffing-- that they loved to hike in the Alps and that they did so year-round. Walter and Granita, it turns out, were excellent, experienced hikers who attacked Consolation Trail with gusto. For three hours, we pushed to keep up with them.

Partnerships, even when you get exactly what you hope for, often turn differently than you expect. Nonetheless, they may have great value. The trip to Consolation Lake was a highlight. Even though arrived at the destination much faster than expected, our partnership with Walter and Granita, made the journey much more rewarding . . . and amusing.

To expand your thinking about partnerships review our September Added Value Newsletter (http://www.kedconsult.com/wp-content/themes/kedconsult/newsletters/sept-2010.php)

Summer Reading 2010 Work Hard. Be Nice.

by Jay Matthews

Although they did not start out as a nonprofit, Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin’s work resulted in one: the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) Foundation. In 1994, Feinberg and Levin, Teach for America graduates, started an inner-city school program for middle school students. Today, 82 schools in 19 states and the District of Columbia are KIPP programs. KIPP serves 21,000 mostly middle school age children. While many KIPP students begin fifth grade at least one or more grades behind their peers in math and reading, after four years at KIPP, 100 percent of eighth grade classes outperformed their district averages in mathematics and reading based on state tests. Word Hard. Be Nice. tells the story of the early years of KIPP.

What can a nonprofit leader learn from this book? The value of partnerships and perseverance. While the relationships were not always rosy, in fact they were often difficult and challenging, KIPP had to work with local schools and school boards to succeed. If you are faced with a partnership you must make work, Work Hard. Be Nice. will give you insights about how to survive, grow and thrive in this environment and how to hold on to your vision in tough times.

Do Nonprofits Partner Enough?

Last Thursday while leading a Manatee Human Services Network training session on the Power of Partnerships, I conducted an index card survey of the 60 participants. The goal was to compute the number of their current partnerships. The total? 1,076.

Do you often hear that your nonprofit needs to cooperate more? If so, to respond with strength, tally the number of your partnerships and share it often. For instance, “Did you know that we are already involved in 47 partnerships of various sorts? We’re always interested to learn more about potential partners –who do you have in mind?”

We need to educate the community about the highly cooperative nature of nonprofits. What’s your number?

Partnership First Steps

Lately, we’ve been focusing on partnerships as a way to increase nonprofit resources. We developed a list of ideas to help the nonprofits we work with to expand their resources for mission. The suggested activities can help you to expand your resources too—and explore potential relationships. They all are geared to be short-term to “see how the relationship works,” and to establish trust. Here is one of them:

*Meet quarterly for one year to brainstorm topics for your monthly newsletter column and other places where you contribute regularly but often feel “stale” and short of ideas.

For a list of the 25 other ideas email me at Info@kedconsult.com. Write “partnership list” on the reference line.

Why The Word Charity Should Makes Me Shudder

Charity is top down, it is “I have the solution and you need my help.”

The late Millard Fuller, founder of Habitat for Humanity, once stated, “What the poor need is not charity, its capital. … We give them an opportunity. That’s the only thing that is given away. They’ve got to make the payments so that money can be used to help somebody else.”

Apply your concept of partnership to more than just your donors; apply it to your customers. Without your customers’ efforts and willingness to work with you, you cannot create outcomes.

The Secret

In the parking lot after a meeting, I asked him for the secret to his long success at running his prosperous and innovative nonprofit organization. With his 30 years of leadership the nonprofit grew from a fitness organization with budget struggles to a leader in social programming and fitness with a budget of 90 million dollars.

What was his secret?

After looking carefully around us, perhaps to confirm that we were alone, he whispered, “Control the nominating committee.”

Dear Executive Director: Think twice about taking a job that doesn’t offer you this opportunity.

Why Volunteer?

During a recent conversation, with other writers on this blog, we discussed why we volunteer. Here is our list of reasons. Check the ones that motivate you:

1. To give back

2. To be part of the community

3. To learn important information to help other organizations

4. To gain visibility and create useful connections

5. To redeem or collect favors

6. To stay grounded

7. To have fun

8. To gain skills or expertise

9. To create results and impact

10. (For leadership roles) To lead the effort, because it’s more comfortable than participating (i.e., If I run the meetings, we will end on time.)

11. So the work will be taken seriously

12. To respond to our passion for the mission

Now that you have a better idea about why you volunteer, go to Volunteering As a Nonprofit Leader to discover a tool to help you rate your different volunteer opportunities. It will help you to select opportunities that will provide you the most value.

Trust is Your Building Block

All successful partnerships, collaborations and mergers are essentially trust exercises.