by Amelia Northrup-Simpson This post is part of a series in conjunction with TRG Arts on developing relationships with both new communities and existing stakeholders through artistic programming, marketing and fundraising, community engagement, and public policy. (Cross-post can be found at Analysis from TRG Arts.) Do you treat arts patrons like customers, clients, or collaborators? In the first post in this series, Doug Borwick laid out … [Read more...]
Funding Is Not an “Issue”
Title got your attention, didn't it? Recently Doug McLennan wrote about ArtsJournal's survey of readers about issues in the field: We Asked: What’s the Biggest Challenge Facing the Arts? By far the most cited was funding, beating out relevance, diversity, and leadership by a wide margin. In one way this is surprising in that the most talked about issues in the field of late have been diversity, equity, relevance, and leadership. On the other … [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...]
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...]
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...]
Inside Out vs. Outside In
Inside Out vs. Outside In: Community engagement and loyalty building work together Guest Post by Amelia Northrup-Simpson, 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. There are two schools of thought when it comes to eating a cinnamon roll. There are those who eat the cinnamon by unrolling it, eating along the edge, slowly making their way to the … [Read more...]
Farmer and the Cowman Redux
Three years ago I published a post titled The Farmer and the Cowman in which I acknowledged an epiphany about the relationship between arts marketing and community engagement. In the past six months I have, on several occasions, been re-confronted with the truth of their close relationship (when both are being done well). This was really driven home to me in the highly flattering (and most embarrassing) post written by Trevor O’Donnell Taking a … [Read more...]
Engage Now!
It has been some time since I first hinted that another book was coming out. And I am happy, nay ecstatic, to say, it's here. Engage Now! A Guide to Making the Arts Indispensable is now available in paperback. The ebook version will be out very soon. It's wonderful to have this completed. Two years in the making is a pretty long gestation period. Regular readers of Engaging Matters have seen a good deal of it in draft form in this location. I'm … [Read more...]
More? You Want More?!!
There is an iconic scene in the musical Oliver in which the young orphan Oliver Twist approaches Mr. Bumble, the workhouse supervisor, and asks for a second bowl of gruel. Bumble's enraged reaction is "More! You want more?!!" In his mind, the little whippersnapper had unmitigated gall to request seconds. The firsts were more than generous. This, of course, put me in mind of fundraising. (While my mind may not have only one track, the number is … [Read more...]