Is charitable resistance just another instance of the Peter Principle at play at your nonprofit arts organization? It’s election day in the United States. November 5. If you’re not reading this on November 5, then it is not election day in the United States, but it’s likely there is still no real result as yet. Although…who knows? Maybe the country’s citizens either became … [Read more...] about Why Does Transforming a Country of DōnWänüs Take Just as Much Effort Than Transforming a Nonprofit Arts Industry of DōnWänüs?
Leadership
Special Commentary: Of All the Times I’ve Wanted to be Wrong…
Remember that war we talked about in February and March? In two days, there's a time change. After two more, a consequential and particularly ugly US election. And yet, here we are again, talking about war. Only this time, it's not just me. On February 27 and March 5 of this year, we published two consecutive articles about the inevitable war that will start within the … [Read more...] about Special Commentary: Of All the Times I’ve Wanted to be Wrong…
Talking To or Talking At? Or Even Talking at All?
Nonprofit Arts Leaders: Don't tell them about your mission, show them how you are fulfilling it. Don't just present, discuss. Do you talk about what’s happening to other folks in your community? Or are you “too busy?” This is an exchange that happened during a recent “Town Hall” with Vice President Kamala Harris taking questions from “undecided” voters in Pennsylvania, … [Read more...] about Talking To or Talking At? Or Even Talking at All?
Breaking Free of Your Longtime Role Is Hard. But It’s the Key to Progress.
Just look at the US presidential election... and US nonprofit arts organizations. We have established roles for ourselves. We can’t help it. “In human life, social roles are ubiquitous. Historically, social and personality psychologists sought to understand the relation between social roles and psychological functioning. Contemporary social and personality … [Read more...] about Breaking Free of Your Longtime Role Is Hard. But It’s the Key to Progress.
Why Do Donors Ask for Irrelevant Data?
Could it be that you never talked to them about your nonprofit’s charitable goals and how they mesh with the donor’s? Whose fault is that? A few weeks ago, I participated in a discussion about the arts and measuring impact in the community. As every other author does, I believed that the message that the arts are not a tax-exempt activity had been spread far and wide among … [Read more...] about Why Do Donors Ask for Irrelevant Data?