I recently got a little lesson in how easy it is to apply criteria to other people that you resist having applied to yourself. This weekend I was listening to a recent episode of This American Life which was covering the efforts of an organization called Give Directly which gives money directly to the poorest … Read more
You may have heard about Dan Palotta’s recent TED Talk about how judging charities on concepts like administrative overhead ratios is hobbling their ability to solve huge problems. He makes some persuasive points, though some of the concerns I had with his proposals when they appeared on the Harvard Business Review blog three years ago … Read more
So I recently read a rather thought-provoking guest post by Anna McKeon, on Daniela Papi’s Lessons I Learned blog. In the post, McKeon basically says non-profits are making it too easy to donate and volunteer. Now she is mostly speaking in relation to programs that non-governmental organizations run internationally, but I read with interest thinking … Read more
Non-Profit Quarterly (NPQ) had a piece today encouraging people to pay attention to the fact that Chinese are using social media service Weibo to give directly to the needy. The NPQ piece is in reaction to a Washington Post article about how recent charity scandals had turned a lot of Chinese off from giving to … Read more
Today at lunch a musician friend was picking our brains about a fund raiser he wants to do for a cause he really believes in. He outlined his vision and then asked for ideas of places he could hold it. There were a couple assumptions he made about his budget that were unrealistic which we … Read more
The Los Angeles Times has a video of the change over process between the LA Opera productions of Cosi fan Tutte and Eugene Onegin. My first reaction was how cool the magic of theatre is that such transformations can take place in a short time to generate the illusion of two different places. Then I … Read more
Non-Profit Quarterly linked to an interview in Fast Company in which Warren Buffet’s grandson talks about his approach to philanthropy as he takes up the reins of the family foundation. As I read the interview, I vacillated between mild dread where I hoped no one else decided to adopt the approach and feeling that his … Read more
It seems like dynamic pricing may start to creep into the non-profit performing arts sector as a common practice. Stories about it are starting to crop up more and more frequently. When the topic of changing prices based on market demand comes up, people often use the phrase “like the airlines do.” So should I … Read more
I love it when, in the course of a few minutes, I come across different web pages that seem to go together like chocolate and peanut butter in a Reese Peanut Butter cup. In this instance one link was provided by Drew McManus who noted Harvard Business School’s “Elevator Pitch Generator.” Based on the old … Read more
Via the ever interesting Non Profit Law Blog and apropos to the portion of Barry Hessenius’ interview with Fractured Atlas’ Adam Huttler I recently focused on, is a piece by Ezra Klein in the Washington Post about politicizing your giving to non-profits. In a piece titled “Giving is personal. Make it political,” Klein paraphrases Shakespeare, … Read more
I had to wonder if people were intentionally misreading the post I made about the Arts Council of England requiring applications for funding. My declaration that “Once again, Europe proves their arts policy is superior to that of the U.S.!” was meant to be read a little tongue in cheek lampooning the constant refrain that … Read more
There was a fair bit of discussion on Adaptistration two weeks ago about the Joffrey Ballet’s success in gaining over 2000 subscribers in a single day using the GroupOn discounting site. As a theatre manager, I get caught in the debate between making 25% of my ticket price vs. having an empty seat against possibly … Read more
Lucy Bernholz at Philanthropy 2173 makes some fascinating reflections on the impact of technology on giving vis a vis the Haitian earthquake relief efforts. I confess a huge amount of skepticism when I had first heard that one could donate to the relief effort via text messaging on your cell phones. I wondered how much … Read more
Couple weeks back I mentioned I wanted to explore the idea of greater standards and training for administrators and board members Numa Saisselin floated in his “Arts Presenting Is Dead” piece. As one might imagine, from the number of times I have cited it, I was pleased to see Saisselin cite the Conversations With The … Read more
I have been participating in some interesting exchanges lately. The drama production class produced a pretty dark adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the Lab Classroom this semester. I wasn’t too keen on the show in principle because it was set in a dance club and an organization in town had just finished their … Read more
The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently reported on some interesting research that has emerged about what motivates people’s giving. Scholars have found that fund-raising appeals do best when they are crafted around a single gripping image, informing donors about big gifts that their peers have contributed helps expand giving, and holding an athletic marathon – or … Read more
I am approaching the end of the process of writing text for my next season brochure and I am trying to keep my descriptions interesting as per my earlier entries (here and here) in response to Greg Sandow’s post back in March 04 about keeping press releases interesting. He has actually since posted some examples … Read more
I came across an article on the Inc website titled: An Entrepenure’s Declaration of Independence, by Rhonda Abrams. Because many elements involved in running an arts organization are similiar to running a small business, I saw a number of declarations included here that an arts administrator would do well do heed. Among them are: “Independence … Read more
This is such a thought-provoking post! It’s fascinating to consider how everyday beauty in design, even in functional spaces like…
There is another way. The Gewandhaus Leipzig in Germany (concert venue) offers flex- tickets for a small premium. Not an…
Thanks for what you are doing to bring cultural change to the arts. It is so important to represent everyone.…