Over a two month period last year, TRG Arts and Engaging Matters partnered on a series of posts examining relationship building as the foundation of effective fundraising, marketing, and community engagement. (Relationships All the Way Down) Coincidentally, in the midst of that series, voters in Cuyahoga County overwhelmingly approved (by a 3:1 margin! Yes, you are reading that correctly.) the renewal of a tobacco tax specifically earmarked for … [Read more...]
Transformative Engagement
In Artcentric Engagement I discussed a kind of engagement in which an arts organization is attempting to bring people to it. As I said there, nothing is wrong with that; it's simply not the goal toward which I and many others in the arts who are deeply committed to community engagement are working. Upon a very little reflection, it becomes clear that the engagement about which I write and speak is intended to change the organization or at least … [Read more...]
Driving While . . . .
An October article in the New York Times presented research into the nature of the African-American experience of police traffic stops. Concentrating on Greensboro, NC and a small group of cities that have made a commitment to keep detailed records which can be reviewed (credit is due for that), the article presented a powerful assessment of the reality experienced by people of color in dealings with the police. The findings are not (or should … [Read more...]
Relationships All the Way Down
This is the last of a series of blog posts in conjunction with TRG Arts on the interrelationships among marketing, development, fundraising, and community engagement. (Cross-post can be found at Analysis from TRG Arts.) Two months ago, Jill Robinson and Amelia Nothrup-Simpson of TRG Arts and I (OK: the commercial–of ArtsEngaged) began exploring the fact that almost every important facet of arts administration is (or should be) rooted in … [Read more...]
Learn-Unlearn
What the field needs to learn and “unlearn” about developing arts audiences by Jill Robinson This post is part of a series of collaborations with TRG Arts and is cross-posted to their blog Analysis from TRG Arts. I recently delivered a keynote at the Conferencia Anual de Marketing de las Artes (Annual Conference on Marketing the Arts) in Madrid and Barcelona, hosted by Spanish consulting firm Asimetrica. The focus of this year’s … [Read more...]
Fracking and Arts Marketing
This is part of a series of blog posts in conjunction with TRG Arts on the interrelationships among marketing, development, fundraising, and community engagement. (Cross-post can be found at Analysis from TRG Arts.) The point of the series is that they are all rooted in relationship building and maintenance. Can’t wait to see where I’m going with this, can you? As I understand it, fracking is a technique to get at hydrocarbon reserves that have … [Read more...]
Both Sides, Now
Both Sides, Now: Short-Term Income vs. Long-Term Engagement in the Arts By Jill Robinson, TRG Arts This post is part of a series of collaborations with TRG Arts and is cross-posted to their blog Analysis from TRG Arts. A year or two ago a mentor introduced me to the concept of “polarity management.” It sounds like just another business buzzword, but—stick with me—it gave a name to something that I and many of us have experienced and struggled … [Read more...]
Making My Peace with Sales
This is part of a series of blog posts in conjunction with TRG Arts on the interrelationships among marketing, development, fundraising, and community engagement. (Cross-post can be found at Analysis from TRG Arts.) The point of the series is that they are all rooted in relationship building and maintenance. Nearly four years ago, shortly after I started Engaging Matters, I published a post (What Is Arts Marketing?) in which I outlined a … [Read more...]
Measure Revenue Differently. Cultivate Loyalty Collaboratively
By Jill Robinson, TRG Arts This post is part of a series of collaborations with TRG Arts and is cross-posted to their blog Analysis from TRG Arts. Arts Journal blogger Doug Borwick recently wrote a post on the role of marketing and development departments that captured my attention. In the following quote he summarizes an issue that I’ve been thinking about for a long time: In the nonprofit world, marketing and development have been … [Read more...]
Marketing and Development Terminology
This is part of a series of blog posts in conjunction with TRG Arts on the interrelationships among marketing, development, fundraising, and community engagement. (Cross-post can be found at Analysis from TRG Arts.) The point of the series is that they are all rooted in relationship building and maintenance. Today we’re talking about definitions. Oh great! But if all of these things are related, we’ve got to be able to understand how they are … [Read more...]