Stephanie Evans from Americans for the Arts, a national arts advocacy organization, sent out this list of Arts and Arts Management blogs. I haven't looked at most of these yet...but it seems like a great list.
Notable Blogs:
Americans for the Arts Blog
Arts for LA
Barry's Blog
Board Life Matters
Chronicle of Philanthropy Blog
Creating the Future
Kennedy Center – (must create an account to read blog, but it is free)
Leadership as a Field of Study
Little Red Suit – Making it in a New Media World, Generation Y Style
Marketing for Nonprofits
Modite – Career and Life Advice for Generation Y
Nonprofit Blog Exchange
Nonprofit Leadership 601
NP2020 – Bringing Together blogs from and about ELs in the non-profit sector
Philantopic (Philanthropy News Digest Blog)
Robert Egger
Rosetta Thurman
The Artful Manager
Stephanie Evans
Local Arts Agency Services Coordinator
Americans for the Arts
Friday, February 5, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Kaiser's 20 rules for Planning
I'll be participating in an online chat with the Kennedy Center today. Michael Kaisers handout is a nice supplement to my last post. I'm re-posting it here:
Kennedy Center Arts Management Institute
Twenty Rules for Planning
Page 1 of 2
1. Planning is more a state of mind than a fancy document or a lengthy process
2. The best planners and strategists do it so naturally it appears intuitive. But in fact, they are working through a logical framework in their heads.
3. A well crafted planning process can result in a strong plan in a short amount of time if the resources needed are committed and the leadership is strong.
4. Make sure someone who has planning experience guides the process. This can be a staff member, a board member, an outside volunteer or a paid consultant.
5. Make sure your planning committee includes board, staff and artists. Everyone should feel enfranchised.
6. However, the planning process is not a democratic one. The goal of the plan is to present the best possible option for achieving the organization’s mission, not writing a bland statement that appeases everyone. Do not expect a committee to write the plan – make sure the planning leader is willing to write drafts of each section; the committee should give input to each draft
7. The best plans are comprehensive and integrated; simply adding up a series of everyone’ favorite strategies rarely results in success. Planning is about scarce resources. One must be willing to make difficult choices.
8. A framework for planning makes the process so much more efficient and results in a better plan. If you simply gather a group and ask them to plan you will accomplish little in a long period of time.
9. The plan must be motivated by a strong directional mission. The mission helps ensure that everyone is working in the same direction and provides the only means of measuring success. A plan without a mission is meaningless
10. A mission without a strategy, however, is a wish. A plan has to be more than series of goals. It has to be specific.
11. What makes a plan a strategic plan is an explicit acknowledgment of the importance of the environment. What is happening around you and how does that determine the keys to success in your ‘industry.
12. Use your industry association, media, outside experts, internet research, etc. to obtain information about the environment in which you operate. Don’t guess or accept conventional wisdom.
13. If the analysis of the environment tells you the keys to success, an objective review of your own organization’s strengths and weaknesses – an internal analysis – tells you if you possess these success factors or not.
Kennedy Center Arts Management Symposium
14. It is imperative that the internal analysis is based on an objective view of your organization. It is not helpful to be too self-congratulatory or too self-deprecating. Planning is about honesty.
15. One can compare ones own organization to other peer companies to understand your true strengths and weaknesses. Interviews with objective outsiders can also be instructive.
16. The strategies should result from the internal and environmental analysis. If your organization does not have what it takes to be successful, which strategies will help you overcome this? If you do have what it takes to be successful, how do you protect and exploit these strengths?
17. The strategies must be supported by an operating plan that indicates who will be responsible for achieving each strategy and in which time frame.
18. A financial plan must indicate that the projected strategies are affordable. If not, then a review of the strategic and operating plans is essential.
19. The finished plan can be an important tool for communicating to funders, potential board members, staff, Board and the press. Experienced funders will appreciate thorough and honest analysis.
20. A planning process is only successful if participants understand the planning logic well enough to change the plan as the environment changes. If everyone in the organization learns to ‘think strategically’ the organization is certain to succeed.
Kennedy Center Arts Management Institute
Twenty Rules for Planning
Page 1 of 2
1. Planning is more a state of mind than a fancy document or a lengthy process
2. The best planners and strategists do it so naturally it appears intuitive. But in fact, they are working through a logical framework in their heads.
3. A well crafted planning process can result in a strong plan in a short amount of time if the resources needed are committed and the leadership is strong.
4. Make sure someone who has planning experience guides the process. This can be a staff member, a board member, an outside volunteer or a paid consultant.
5. Make sure your planning committee includes board, staff and artists. Everyone should feel enfranchised.
6. However, the planning process is not a democratic one. The goal of the plan is to present the best possible option for achieving the organization’s mission, not writing a bland statement that appeases everyone. Do not expect a committee to write the plan – make sure the planning leader is willing to write drafts of each section; the committee should give input to each draft
7. The best plans are comprehensive and integrated; simply adding up a series of everyone’ favorite strategies rarely results in success. Planning is about scarce resources. One must be willing to make difficult choices.
8. A framework for planning makes the process so much more efficient and results in a better plan. If you simply gather a group and ask them to plan you will accomplish little in a long period of time.
9. The plan must be motivated by a strong directional mission. The mission helps ensure that everyone is working in the same direction and provides the only means of measuring success. A plan without a mission is meaningless
10. A mission without a strategy, however, is a wish. A plan has to be more than series of goals. It has to be specific.
11. What makes a plan a strategic plan is an explicit acknowledgment of the importance of the environment. What is happening around you and how does that determine the keys to success in your ‘industry.
12. Use your industry association, media, outside experts, internet research, etc. to obtain information about the environment in which you operate. Don’t guess or accept conventional wisdom.
13. If the analysis of the environment tells you the keys to success, an objective review of your own organization’s strengths and weaknesses – an internal analysis – tells you if you possess these success factors or not.
Kennedy Center Arts Management Symposium
14. It is imperative that the internal analysis is based on an objective view of your organization. It is not helpful to be too self-congratulatory or too self-deprecating. Planning is about honesty.
15. One can compare ones own organization to other peer companies to understand your true strengths and weaknesses. Interviews with objective outsiders can also be instructive.
16. The strategies should result from the internal and environmental analysis. If your organization does not have what it takes to be successful, which strategies will help you overcome this? If you do have what it takes to be successful, how do you protect and exploit these strengths?
17. The strategies must be supported by an operating plan that indicates who will be responsible for achieving each strategy and in which time frame.
18. A financial plan must indicate that the projected strategies are affordable. If not, then a review of the strategic and operating plans is essential.
19. The finished plan can be an important tool for communicating to funders, potential board members, staff, Board and the press. Experienced funders will appreciate thorough and honest analysis.
20. A planning process is only successful if participants understand the planning logic well enough to change the plan as the environment changes. If everyone in the organization learns to ‘think strategically’ the organization is certain to succeed.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Strategic Planning
I've been recently asked several times about Strategic Planning. I want to start out by saying that I believe the leadership of an organization should be in a constant state of strategic planning. I don't think it should be something that is done once every three years until you need a new one. If a company is only 'going through the motions' of doing its daily business, it risks ignoring the changes in the market or worse, becoming obsolete.
However, strategic planning is a great way to get the board and other constituents engaged and involved in the big picture of the organization. I see the formal process of strategic planning as a way to make sure that everyone agrees which direction the company is going. It's the big picture: North, South, East, or West. The day to day decisions need to be based on what is necessary to keep heading in that direction.
Something that I could not stress enough in this process: the Strategic Plan needs to be a living document. Things change quickly in the NP world. The plan needs to be able to adapt with the landscape. Also, I find myself implementing things as we think of them instead of according to a 'timeline.' So those things get added to the plan even though it's already adopted. There are other instances that may take more time and financial planning (such as becoming a Union theater company) in which a three year plan is extremely helpful in identifying the financial implications and what conditions need to be met before the company can safely venture into that change.
The three questions you should ask during the process are:
1. Where have you been?
2. Where are you now?
3. Where are you going and is that still the right direction for the company.
It's also a good idea during this process to do a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats).
After having done this kind of work with both smaller and larger organizations, I realized that Strategic Planning will affect the company in different ways depending on where the non-profit is in its life cycle.
For instance, for Starting Gate Productions, our process mainly focused on sustainability. We were less interested in changing our organization or adding to it than we were about making sure that we had person power and finances to keep the company running.
For Mu, the company was in a much different place. The company had been around for 17 years, has had a major impact on the Twin Cities theater scene, and was growing at an unprecedented rate. Combine that with succession planning of a founding Artistic Director and you have a lot to consider and talk about. Also, the company needed to change according to it's new size. This included change in our marketing strategies, Board culture, and fund raising culture. Being a larger company with a higher profile creates more Opportunities (identified through a SWOT analysis).
Here is an example of some specifics that we identified in our plan:
1. Since we are an Asian American arts company, we realized the importance of keeping a pipeline of artists that are trained and can allow us to maintain the level of artistic achievement that we have acquired. Due to this we have created two programs that would invest in future artists of the company.
2. We have been working on a succession plan of our founding Artistic Director. This process includes delegating workload that only a founding member would take on. The position of Artistic Director needs to change in order for a sane person to take the job.
3. Our outreach into schools and community groups has taken a HUGE hit in the last two years. We are reworking the language and approach to our programs in schools to better fit curriculum as well as creating better sales tools such as online videos of samples of our work. We have also created a marketing/strategic plan just for this department.
4. Our desire to increase our local and National profile has led us to experiment in future seasons with bringing in National artists which Mu would present in the Twin Cities. We are also looking at booking higher level venues on a more consistent basis and are budgeting more money for advertising dollars.
5. Our Taiko programs are going through a reassessment process to decide what direction we want to take it. To increase our artistic level requires more commitment from the artists and a strategy.
6. Our board has created committees that are responsible for reporting back on a monthly basis of progress. The committees include Funding/Development, Strategic Planning, Gala, and Marketing.
These are just a few things that have come out of our Strategic Planning process. I put out these examples in hopes of inspiring you into the kind of thinking that will affect change for your organization. I have found that this process is continuous. We are still having deep, serious conversations about things that have come up in this process and we are still reaching out into wider circles (audiences and other focus groups) to get an idea of where our constituents want us to go.
Again, I want to reiterate that Mu is in a very unique situation in it's lifecycle. For you, a strategic planning might be to re-assess your programs and realize that you are still on the right track and no changes are needed. This affirmation is still important to move forward with a new energy of assurance that everyone is behind the work.
However, strategic planning is a great way to get the board and other constituents engaged and involved in the big picture of the organization. I see the formal process of strategic planning as a way to make sure that everyone agrees which direction the company is going. It's the big picture: North, South, East, or West. The day to day decisions need to be based on what is necessary to keep heading in that direction.
Something that I could not stress enough in this process: the Strategic Plan needs to be a living document. Things change quickly in the NP world. The plan needs to be able to adapt with the landscape. Also, I find myself implementing things as we think of them instead of according to a 'timeline.' So those things get added to the plan even though it's already adopted. There are other instances that may take more time and financial planning (such as becoming a Union theater company) in which a three year plan is extremely helpful in identifying the financial implications and what conditions need to be met before the company can safely venture into that change.
The three questions you should ask during the process are:
1. Where have you been?
2. Where are you now?
3. Where are you going and is that still the right direction for the company.
It's also a good idea during this process to do a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats).
After having done this kind of work with both smaller and larger organizations, I realized that Strategic Planning will affect the company in different ways depending on where the non-profit is in its life cycle.
For instance, for Starting Gate Productions, our process mainly focused on sustainability. We were less interested in changing our organization or adding to it than we were about making sure that we had person power and finances to keep the company running.
For Mu, the company was in a much different place. The company had been around for 17 years, has had a major impact on the Twin Cities theater scene, and was growing at an unprecedented rate. Combine that with succession planning of a founding Artistic Director and you have a lot to consider and talk about. Also, the company needed to change according to it's new size. This included change in our marketing strategies, Board culture, and fund raising culture. Being a larger company with a higher profile creates more Opportunities (identified through a SWOT analysis).
Here is an example of some specifics that we identified in our plan:
1. Since we are an Asian American arts company, we realized the importance of keeping a pipeline of artists that are trained and can allow us to maintain the level of artistic achievement that we have acquired. Due to this we have created two programs that would invest in future artists of the company.
2. We have been working on a succession plan of our founding Artistic Director. This process includes delegating workload that only a founding member would take on. The position of Artistic Director needs to change in order for a sane person to take the job.
3. Our outreach into schools and community groups has taken a HUGE hit in the last two years. We are reworking the language and approach to our programs in schools to better fit curriculum as well as creating better sales tools such as online videos of samples of our work. We have also created a marketing/strategic plan just for this department.
4. Our desire to increase our local and National profile has led us to experiment in future seasons with bringing in National artists which Mu would present in the Twin Cities. We are also looking at booking higher level venues on a more consistent basis and are budgeting more money for advertising dollars.
5. Our Taiko programs are going through a reassessment process to decide what direction we want to take it. To increase our artistic level requires more commitment from the artists and a strategy.
6. Our board has created committees that are responsible for reporting back on a monthly basis of progress. The committees include Funding/Development, Strategic Planning, Gala, and Marketing.
These are just a few things that have come out of our Strategic Planning process. I put out these examples in hopes of inspiring you into the kind of thinking that will affect change for your organization. I have found that this process is continuous. We are still having deep, serious conversations about things that have come up in this process and we are still reaching out into wider circles (audiences and other focus groups) to get an idea of where our constituents want us to go.
Again, I want to reiterate that Mu is in a very unique situation in it's lifecycle. For you, a strategic planning might be to re-assess your programs and realize that you are still on the right track and no changes are needed. This affirmation is still important to move forward with a new energy of assurance that everyone is behind the work.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Server Crash/Backup
I recently had a minor emergency where our server crashed. Apparently our directory got corrupted so the server didn't even know where the operating software was. Two things I think I should share before I get deeper into this post:
1. We are a mac company. So my choices for solutions are more limited as not all software/solutions are made for macs.
2. We had a 'back up system' that included me burning disks of our files every few months and taking the disks home so that they were off site.
So this was how I dealt with the situation.
I bought software called Disk Warrior which would allow me to look at the files on the computer even without an operating system.
I then made the server a 'slave' by connecting it to a computer that is functional.
I was able to go into the server through my 'good' computer and dig through the files. There were literally hundreds of folders with names like "na00002385" which meant that I had to look in each one to see if I could find the files.
After a few hours, I managed to find the server files I needed. I copied all of those files onto my good computer, bought a new server (even though someone told me the old one was still good and we could just reinstall an operating system...I just wanted to play it safe), and transferred the files there. Yay! Fully recovered.
My next step was to make sure this wouldn't happen again. The new server has Time Machine on it, which does it's own back up on a different partition (sorry for the geek speak). This works for an in house solution, but it's also highly recommended to have files backed up off site.
I did some research and found an online back up product called Carbonite. For about $50/year (or cheaper if you buy multiple years), they keep an ongoing backup of all of your files and only upload backups as you make changes. So on the front end it takes awhile to upload all of the files, but after that, it only backs up changed files.
So far I've been really pleased with it. If you don't have a back up plan for your computer files, you should really implement one. It should include something on site (this makes it easy to just grab files as you might need them) and off-site. Off-site is in case of fire or damage/theft of your on site solution.
Don't wait until disaster strikes.
1. We are a mac company. So my choices for solutions are more limited as not all software/solutions are made for macs.
2. We had a 'back up system' that included me burning disks of our files every few months and taking the disks home so that they were off site.
So this was how I dealt with the situation.
I bought software called Disk Warrior which would allow me to look at the files on the computer even without an operating system.
I then made the server a 'slave' by connecting it to a computer that is functional.
I was able to go into the server through my 'good' computer and dig through the files. There were literally hundreds of folders with names like "na00002385" which meant that I had to look in each one to see if I could find the files.
After a few hours, I managed to find the server files I needed. I copied all of those files onto my good computer, bought a new server (even though someone told me the old one was still good and we could just reinstall an operating system...I just wanted to play it safe), and transferred the files there. Yay! Fully recovered.
My next step was to make sure this wouldn't happen again. The new server has Time Machine on it, which does it's own back up on a different partition (sorry for the geek speak). This works for an in house solution, but it's also highly recommended to have files backed up off site.
I did some research and found an online back up product called Carbonite. For about $50/year (or cheaper if you buy multiple years), they keep an ongoing backup of all of your files and only upload backups as you make changes. So on the front end it takes awhile to upload all of the files, but after that, it only backs up changed files.
So far I've been really pleased with it. If you don't have a back up plan for your computer files, you should really implement one. It should include something on site (this makes it easy to just grab files as you might need them) and off-site. Off-site is in case of fire or damage/theft of your on site solution.
Don't wait until disaster strikes.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Open Source Software
I'm sure many of you are aware of Open Source and how it is changing the technological landscape. I just read this morning that there are going to be a few options for us in the next year or so. This will be a free database/modular system that will eventually include donor tracking, customer management, and ticketing.
The possibilities also include sharing information and trends among the various organizations that use this service. I think this is an exciting development for small and medium arts organizations who cannot afford expensive software that is out there. Read more about it HERE.
Open source does come with a cost. Though the open source community has been working relentlessly to make everything out-of-the-box user friendly, it always still requires some time to learn the system and how it works.
Mu Performing Arts currently uses Drupal to run it's web site. Drupal is an open source web engine. I think it has been great in many ways, but I've also had to spend quite a bit of time and money to learn the system.
The other thing about it is that they are constantly upgrading, so there is need for consistent upkeep and management if you want to keep up to date in order to use the latest features. There are some services that will keep your modules up to date for you. We use Advantage Labs to provide a managed hosting of our web site.
There are other open source options that I have been wanting to check out, such as using free Operating Systems such as Ubuntu, Open Office (a free office suite comparable to what Microsoft offers), and some others.
Rumor has it that these projects are now much more user friendly and streamlined to be compatible with most Microsoft office.
Google has been a big proponent of Open Source and, in some ways, we have them to thank for the growth in the movement. It brings a lot of freedom...which also gives us a lot of choices...some times too much.
Either way, I think it is the way of the future as far as technology goes.
The possibilities also include sharing information and trends among the various organizations that use this service. I think this is an exciting development for small and medium arts organizations who cannot afford expensive software that is out there. Read more about it HERE.
Open source does come with a cost. Though the open source community has been working relentlessly to make everything out-of-the-box user friendly, it always still requires some time to learn the system and how it works.
Mu Performing Arts currently uses Drupal to run it's web site. Drupal is an open source web engine. I think it has been great in many ways, but I've also had to spend quite a bit of time and money to learn the system.
The other thing about it is that they are constantly upgrading, so there is need for consistent upkeep and management if you want to keep up to date in order to use the latest features. There are some services that will keep your modules up to date for you. We use Advantage Labs to provide a managed hosting of our web site.
There are other open source options that I have been wanting to check out, such as using free Operating Systems such as Ubuntu, Open Office (a free office suite comparable to what Microsoft offers), and some others.
Rumor has it that these projects are now much more user friendly and streamlined to be compatible with most Microsoft office.
Google has been a big proponent of Open Source and, in some ways, we have them to thank for the growth in the movement. It brings a lot of freedom...which also gives us a lot of choices...some times too much.
Either way, I think it is the way of the future as far as technology goes.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Number of Donors versus Amount of Money
I recently subscribed to The Non-Profit Quarterly Magazine and read something that got me thinking. The article, "The United Way: Missed and Missing Goals", suggested that some non-profits are trending to not focus on $$ goals for individual giving, but rather the number of donors.
This reminded me of how Minnesota Public Radio uses this strategy for matching funds during campaign drives. It usually sounds like "if we get 2,000 contributors today, we will secure an extra $30,000 from ____ donor."
I think this kind of goal setting is especially great for newer or smaller organizations. Especially if you have little to no track record of individual giving, the best thing to do is bulk up your numbers. Every donor, including the one that gives $25 a year, could be a potential major donor in the future. Plus, donors tend to be great advocates for your organization. The more you have at any level the merrier.
A goal like this may be easier to sell to board members and the organization's core community. The message is simply "We would like to welcome 100 new contributors this year." You could easily divide and conquer a goal like this amongst the board, staff, subscribers, and current donors.
This reminded me of how Minnesota Public Radio uses this strategy for matching funds during campaign drives. It usually sounds like "if we get 2,000 contributors today, we will secure an extra $30,000 from ____ donor."
I think this kind of goal setting is especially great for newer or smaller organizations. Especially if you have little to no track record of individual giving, the best thing to do is bulk up your numbers. Every donor, including the one that gives $25 a year, could be a potential major donor in the future. Plus, donors tend to be great advocates for your organization. The more you have at any level the merrier.
A goal like this may be easier to sell to board members and the organization's core community. The message is simply "We would like to welcome 100 new contributors this year." You could easily divide and conquer a goal like this amongst the board, staff, subscribers, and current donors.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Marketing Blog
Chad Bauman gave a presentation at the Arts Learning Xchange that is sponsored by Arts Midwest, Minnesota Community Foundation and The Wallace Foundation. He is currently the Director of Communications at Arena Stage. I found his presentation to be very thoughtful, practical, and in tune with the times.
His bio mentions that he has an Arts Marketing blog. I checked it out and find it very useful.http://www.arts-marketing.blogspot.com/
His bio mentions that he has an Arts Marketing blog. I checked it out and find it very useful.http://www.arts-marketing.blogspot.com/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)