Oh, nonprofit model. Where do we go from here?

DER Blogging on AftA's ARTSblog May 16-20

MayÂ 16-20 IÂ blogged for Americans for the Arts on ARTSblog. AftA broughtÂ together a group of thinkers to ponder the future of the nonprofit model.Â (Cue dramatic music.) In all seriousness, I’m honored to have been asked to contribute to the discussion.

Here’s theÂ framing postÂ for the discussion, written by Valerie Beaman and my three posts: L3C Cha Cha Cha, Need a new way of working? How about the old way?, and The Blurring/Vanishing/Missing Line Between Commercial and Nonprofit. And if you go to AftA’s Private Sector BlogÂ and scroll to posts during the week of May 16-20 you can read the rest!

Andrew Taylor on On a Strategy of Indeterminacy: Or, the Value of Creating Pathways to the Unforeseen: “Love this line of thinking, Diane! Although I also wonder about the many small, safe-to-fail ways you could explore randomness…” Feb 21, 22:54
Rick Heath on On a Strategy of Indeterminacy: Or, the Value of Creating Pathways to the Unforeseen: “Thanks Dianne Compelled and confused! (Not for the first time, and not entirely because of your words, but somewhat because…” Feb 5, 07:20
Diane Ragsdale on On a Strategy of Indeterminacy: Or, the Value of Creating Pathways to the Unforeseen: “Hi Ella! Thanks so much for taking the time to read and engage with the post. Thank you for reminding…” Feb 2, 18:19
Diane Ragsdale on On a Strategy of Indeterminacy: Or, the Value of Creating Pathways to the Unforeseen: “Caroline! Thanks so much for reading and sharing reflections. I am compelled by your idea to have an entire college…” Feb 2, 18:18
Diane Ragsdale on On a Strategy of Indeterminacy: Or, the Value of Creating Pathways to the Unforeseen: “Margaret, Thank you for taking the time to read and comment and for the warm wishes for my recovery. I…” Feb 2, 16:57

"Surviving the Culture Change", "The Excellence Barrier", "Holding Up the Arts: Can We Sustain What We've Creatived? Should We?" and "Living in the Struggle: Our Long Tug of War in the Arts" are a few keynote addresses I've given in the US and abroad on the larger changes in the cultural environment and ways arts organizations may need to adapt in order to survive and thrive in the coming years.

If you want a quicker read, then you may want to skip the speeches and opt for the article, "Recreating Fine Arts Institutions," which was published in the November 2009 Stanford Social Innovation Review.

Here is a recent essay commissioned by the Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts for the 2011 State of the Arts Conference in London, "Rethinking Cultural Philanthropy".

In 2012 I documented a meeting among commercial theater producers and nonprofit theater directors to discuss partnerships between the two sectors in the development of new theatrical work, which is published by HowlRound. You can get a copy of this report, "In the Intersection," on the HowlRound Website. Finally, last year I also had essays published in Doug Borwick's book, Building Communities Not Audiences and Theatre Bay Area's book (edited by Clay Lord), Counting New Beans.