Bourbon, bats, and basketball. Mint juleps, fast horses, and “Keep Louisville Weird.” Muhammad Ali, Jennifer Lawrence, and Mitch McConnell. And, happily, Teddy Abrams. LOUISVILLE, KY — Horses race in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday of every May. The college’s sports teams (the ones who wear red, not the ones who wear blue) tend to be pretty good … [Read more...] about Behold LO: The Louisville Orchestra Walks the Walk of a Nonprofit Arts Organization
Leadership
The Mellon Foundation Did a Nice Thing. Next Time, Look at Where the Action Is.
If the Mellon Foundation would start to look at the next-level budgets, they’ll find transformation is the purview of better-run organizations. A local nonprofit arts organization realized that it had never received a donation from the town’s most successful lawyer. The volunteer in charge of contributions called him to persuade him to contribute. “Our research shows … [Read more...] about The Mellon Foundation Did a Nice Thing. Next Time, Look at Where the Action Is.
Art Doesn’t Need to Be Served. People Do.
The Mellon Foundation almost got it right for nonprofit arts leadership in the 2020s. Why aren’t nonprofit arts subscribers renewing their subscriptions? Because you can’t get good seats in a coffin. You may not have heard about this, mostly because the news has not been reported as much as it should have been, but the Mellon Foundation, the meat of whose mission … [Read more...] about Art Doesn’t Need to Be Served. People Do.
SPECIAL POST: Rewarding Bad Nonprofit Theater Behavior By Using Trickle-Down? Just Say No.
The latest bill wasting resources right now is on the floor of the Senate and House. It will never pass. Thank goodness. Nonprofit arts leaders: I don’t want to pee on your birthday cake or anything, but this idea is ludicrous. The New York Times reported recently that Senators Peter Welch (D-Vermont), John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania), and Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island) have … [Read more...] about SPECIAL POST: Rewarding Bad Nonprofit Theater Behavior By Using Trickle-Down? Just Say No.
Useful Idiots, Harmless Kitsch, and Nonprofit Arts Organizations Doing the Right Thing, No Matter What (Part Two)
A two-part column about you, your nonprofit arts company, and the power of your choices (Continued from last week) Last week, we talked about people-pleasing. I urge you to read that piece before this one. Among the two choices we utilize as humans in unconscious reaction to dissonance, attack, or unreasonable pressure is the idea of “fight.” If you’re on the job, … [Read more...] about Useful Idiots, Harmless Kitsch, and Nonprofit Arts Organizations Doing the Right Thing, No Matter What (Part Two)