3 Minutes on Building an Energized Board

Does your Board have the right Values, Expectations, and Assessment?



If you enjoy this video, also see our Blog post on April 14th - Sample Form to Aid in Clarifying Board Expectations:
http://artsjourneysolutions.blogspot.com/2013/04/sample-form-to-aid-in-clarifying-board.html

Arts Nonprofits Now Keynote Conversation

House Subcommittee Cuts NEA by 49%‏

From Americans for the Arts -


Dear Arts Advocate:
 
This week, the U.S House of Representatives Interior Appropriations Subcommittee approved its initial FY 2014 funding legislation, which includes a proposed cut of $71 million to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). This would bring funding of the NEA down to $75 million, a level not seen since 1974!

Please take two minutes to send a customizable message to your members of Congress rejecting these dramatic cuts to NEA funding.

While the subcommittee bill includes a 20 percent reduction in total spending as a part of the House budget plan, the proposed cuts of 49 percent to the NEA are significantly disproportionate. The arts community recognizes the challenges our elected leaders face in prioritizing federal resources, but funding for the NEA has already been cut by more than $29 million over the past three years. These disproportionate cuts recall the dramatic decline of federal funding for the arts in the early 90s, from which the agency has still not recovered.

In her statement during today’s markup, senior appropriator Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) said these cuts “harken back to a time when a misguided war on the arts and culture ignored the educational and cultural benefits they provide our communities.”
 

	Final FY 2013 (includes 5% sequester cut)	FY 2014 President's Request	FY 2014 House Subcommittee Proposal
National Endowment for the Arts	$138.4 million	$154.466 million	$75 million
National Endowment for the Humanities	$138.4 million	$154.466 million	$75 million

 
This is just the first step in an annual appropriations process, which this year appears to be heading toward a dysfunctional ending. It is expected that the full House Appropriations Committee will consider this legislation next week; however, as the Senate and the House have vastly different appropriations levels, it remains unclear whether this bill will reach the House floor or a final version will ever be completed with the Senate. A message from you now registering your concerns with your member of Congress would be well-timed to arrive prior to any possible next step in the appropriations process.

Government Funding of the Arts (or Explaining an Arts Nonprofit, the Saga Continues)

The saga continues....



If you enjoy this, also see our Blog from April 17, 2013:
http://artsjourneysolutions.blogspot.com/2013/04/explaining-arts-nonprofit.html

Teaching Philosophy & Art Advocacy

The critical need to measure program accomplishments

By Jim Abernathy, The Grantsmanship Center -

{Centered}: April 2013 (Vol. 6, No. 5) 

The critical need to measure program accomplishments

An increasing number of grantmakers want to see evidence of your effectiveness before they'll fund your proposals. But what can you do to convince them? In "How to Impress Donors With Your Programs in a Tough Economy" (The Chronicle of Philanthropy, April 25, 2013), Valerie Dao offers this advice: Show what changes are happening with the population you servebecause of your work. Stating how many people you served or listing the activities in which they participated won't cut it in today's environment. Instead of using only line-item expenditures to account for use of funds, show how spending in specific budget areas affected your program's accomplishments. Don't wait for funders to demand that you measure results. Start measuring your accomplishments as soon as you begin operating your programs, and be able to show how you use the findings to increase your effectiveness.

Fundrasing - Give Us Your Money

Are the donations drying up?  Are people less generous than they used to be?

Consider this:

Giving USA Shows Where The Money Is — And Is Going - June 20, 2012 By Judith H. Dobrzynski
ArtsJournal.com

“Despite the crazy, seesawing stock market, philanthropic giving is growing for the second consecutive year, according to the 2011 Giving USA report. Last year, an estimated 117 million U.S. households, 12 million corporations, 99,000 estates and 76,000 foundations gave money to charities, its annual study found – a total of $298.42 billion. That’s up 4% versus 2010, when the total was $286.91, but still shy of the record $309.7 billion given away in 2007.”

Federal Grant Applicants Must Keep Big Picture in Mind

By Jim Abernathy, The Grantsmanship Center -

{Centered}: April 2013 (Vol. 6, No. 5) 

When preparing a federal grant application, you have to pay close attention to the guidelines. But in "Beyond the Instructions: Preparing a Federal Grant Application" (Local/State Funding Report, April 5, 2013), Glenda O'Neal describes five ways to strengthen your proposal by keeping your eye on the big picture:   When you're seeking a federal grant for an existing project, focus on what you will do, if you're awarded the grant, and be clear about how this will differ from what you're already doing. Show that you will be able to track expenditures in accordance with federal grant requirements, even if this means you'll have to change your methods. Make sure the proposal budget reflects the resources the project will need to go forward. In planning the application, be sure to include all staff who will be involved in preparing it and all staff who will be involved in operating the program. To maximize your chances of getting all possible points from the grant reviewers, incorporate the selection criteria outlined in the grant announcement into your proposal as you are writing it. To stand out from your competitors, show how you will use best practices in addressing the needs described in the proposal; use relevant data to highlight any unique aspects of the constituency you are proposing to serve; and point out how your work could be replicated in other communities. Emphasize the importance the grant would have in addressing the need; if the grant would enable your program to become self-sustaining, emphasize that, as well.

Now Read This....: Don't Check Your Email Till 11:00am: productivity ...

Now Read This....: Don't Check Your Email Till 11:00am: productivity ...: You've seen Stephen Covey's matrix on the Urgent/Important. Here's one step I've taken in order to get more done.  If some...

When You Are Leaving, Do So With Class

If it is a good leaving or a bad one, what people will remember is your final words and actions.  Be graceful to the end, be the better person if you have to, make sure when you leave you give them a reason to be as grateful and gracious as possible also.

Here is an example.  Upon leaving my latest position here is a copy of the letter I sent to all mu Board Members.

Dear John,

I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to all of you for the past three years we have spent together.  Thank you for your hard work and support.  We have been able to achieve many significant goals - vast audience expansions, a stronger community footing, largely expanded sponsorship base, and a more solid financial balance. 

As Christine Smith often says, Board Members are a variety of people that give their “Time, Talent, and Treasure.”  Over the last three years, as we have worked hard together to establish committees that meet regularly to help our organization, so many of you have stepped forward to go above and beyond your duties and contribute all three of those valuable attributes to this organization.  I am proud of you and of how all of you have stepped up to make this organization grow and become more successful than it had ever been before.  I hope that you are also proud of yourselves.

If you would like to do something to say goodbye to me before you go, please instead do something for the Erie Philharmonic.  I would like to encourage each of you to make a gift, or an additional gift, to the 100^th Anniversary Fund.  I feel that the best way you could say goodbye to me would be to continue to step forward together and support this organization.  When I leave for Springfield and the wonderful opportunity it offers me, please continue to help yourselves to have the best opportunities possible here.

I wish you all a tremendous Anniversary Season and a wonderful future!

Thanks!

Audrey J. Szychulski 

Executive Director 

Fireworks from an Artistic Perspective

Happy 4th of July!

Building Community through Twitter Chats

9 Ways Board Members Can Raise Money Without Fundraising

Can you tell we love articles on ways Board Members can help raise money????

Here's another great example of things Board Members can do to help contributed revenue, and this article never mentions asking for money.

9 Ways Board Members Can Raise Money Without Fundraising

By Nell Edgington

I’ll admit it, I’ve been on a board fundraising kick lately in the blog . I just think that if your nonprofit is going to become more strategic and financially sustainable, you have to start from the beginning (or the top, as it were). In my last blog post I discussed how to overcome excuses for why a board member can’t bring money in the door. But the fact remains that a majority of people don’t like to (or simply won’t) ask for money.

The good news is that there are lots of other things board members can do to bring money in the door. And remember, if you are financing not fundraising your organization, your definition of “bringing money in the door” should be very broad.
Here are 9 things you could ask your fundraising-shy board members to do:

1. Help create or evaluate a business plan for an earned income venture. If you have business leaders or entrepreneurs on your board this would be a great use of their time and add tremendous value to your organization. If they can help you create a more profitable business, they are directly contributing to your organization’s bottom-line.
2. Advocate for government money. You may have a board member that can’t stand the idea of asking their friends for money, but they are well connected in city, county, state or federal government and could open doors to you for government contracts, grants, fee-for-service or other government monies.
3. Provide intelligence on prospects. If you have a board member that seems to know everyone in town, but for whatever reason refuses to ask any of them for money, they can still be incredibly useful. You may be getting ready to ask a prospective donor for $1,000, and this board member can tell you what that person has already given to, at what level, who else might know them and so on. When you make an ask, the more information you have going into it, the more successful you will be.
4. Set up a meeting with a prospective customer. If your nonprofit is engaged in an earned income venture, you probably always need help with new sales. If you have a board member who is part of, or connected to, the target customer(s) of your business, they could open doors to new customers. Or at the very least, they could help you think through your sales and marketing strategies and make them  more effective so that you can attract more customers.
5. Email, call or visit a donor just to say thanks. The stewardship of a gift is an often forgotten, but incredibly critical, part of the fundraising process. According to Penelope Burk’s annual donor survey, 84% of donors would give again if they were thanked in a timely way. And being thanked by a board member is a bonus. A donor who renews their gift to a nonprofit is providing more money for the organization.
6. Explain to a prospect why you serve. A board of directors is a group of volunteers who care so much about the mission of the organization that they are willing to donate their time (a precious resource) to the cause. As a donor, it is affirming to see that a volunteer is contributing time, but it is even more motivating to hear, in the board member’s own words, why they feel compelled to serve this organization. That story can be enough to convince someone to give.
7. Host a small gathering at your home. Over the course of a year, most people invite a gathering of friends and/or family into their home at least once. A board member could take a few minutes at their next dinner party, birthday celebration or Super Bowl feast to talk about something that is near and dear to their heart: the nonprofit on whose board they serve. They don’t have to ask people for money, but they could simply say, “If you’re interested in learning more, let me know.” And then the nonprofit’s staff could take it from there with those who are interested.
8. Recruit an in-kind service. If a board member could remove an expense line item from a nonprofit’s budget that would directly contribute to a stronger bottom-line. For example, if a board member works at an ad agency, could they convince their company to provide some pro-bono marketing services to their nonprofit? But keep in mind, these in-kind donations must be of value to the nonprofit and provide an offset to a direct cost that the nonprofit would otherwise have to bear.
9. Negotiate a lower price from a vendor. Do you have a board member with great negotiating skills (think of all of those lawyers on your board). Could they negotiate with your insurance providers, office space rental company, or printers, for a lower price? If so, that’s more money in the bank.

If you think of a board member’s “get” responsibilities in these much broader terms, then I find it difficult to imagine a board member who cannot bring money in the door. You just have to get strategic about how each individual board member can best contribute to the organization’s bottom-line.