Thursday, May 28, 2009, at 12 noon, U.S. Eastern time

Arts organizations face special challenges in weathering the recession. Many groups will see a significant decline in ticket buyers as patrons cut spending, while others have seen charitable contributions stall.

This discussion will give arts leaders and those who support them an opportunity to talk about new, promising approaches to overcoming financial pressures, increasing revenue, managing costs, and connecting with audiences in new ways.

Related Articles

• Recession and the Arts: Act II(5/7/2009)
• Painting a Grim Picture(1/15/2009)

The Guests

Clara Miller is president and chief executive officer of Nonprofit Finance Fund in New York. Ms. Miller and her consulting firm provide financial advice to nonprofit groups nationwide.

Chris Elam is the founder, artistic director and choreographer for Misnomer Dance Theater, a repertory dance company in New York. In this role, Mr. Elam blends his experiences with choreography, public policy, and computer-science training.

Steve Runk is Executive Director of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, in Trenton, N.J., where he manages the agency's operations, programs, communications, planning, and budgeting. He is a member of the board of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, past president of the board of the Arts and Cultural Council of Bucks County, a founding member of the Cultural Access Network of NJ and has served on grant review panels for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Holly Sidford is president of the Helicon Collaborative, a consulting company for cultural institutions in New York. She has more than 25 years of experience as a strategic planner, program developer and fund raiser for nonprofit cultural and philanthropic organizations. A transcript of the chat follows.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    Welcome to today's live discussion, the second in our series of exclusive live events with Nonprofit Finance Fund in New York that are aimed at helping nonprofit groups navigate the recession.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    Today, we are going to turn our attention to arts organizations. Arts groups have been among the hardest hit during this recession. The economy is hurting fund raising efforts, attendance at events, and membership numbers at many organizations. And this triple whammy is pushing many leaders to face some tough choices in the coming months.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    Hopefully, today's discussion will help your group make these decisions. Along with Nonprofit Finance Fund, we've assembled a team of expert guests who will be available to take your questions for the next hour.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    Our panel includes:

Guest experts include:

Clara Miller, president and chief executive officer of Nonprofit Finance Fund in New York. Ms. Miller and her consulting firm provide financial advice to nonprofit groups nationwide.

Chris Elam, the founder, artistic director and choreographer for Misnomer Dance Theater, a repertory dance company in New York. In this role, Mr. Elam blends his experiences with choreography, public policy, and computer-science training.

Steve Runk, Executive Director of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, in Trenton, N.J., where he manages the agency's operations, programs, communications, planning, and budgeting. He is a member of the board of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, past president of the board of the Arts and Cultural Council of Bucks County, a founding member of the Cultural Access Network of NJ and has served on grant review panels for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Holly Sidford, president of the Helicon Collaborative, a consulting company for cultural institutions in New York. She has more than 25 years of experience as a strategic planner, program developer and fund raiser for nonprofit cultural and philanthropic organizations.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    They will be available to discuss topics as diverse as financing options, marketing and social-media strategy, organizational issues, and recession-related trends.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    To ask a question, simply click on the "ask a question" link on this page and type in your query. I'll direct your question to the appropriate guest and we'll post the answer on this page once it is available. This page will refresh every minute with the latest info.

Chris Elam:
    Good afternoon. I am the Artistic Director of Misnomer Dance Theater, a contemporary touring dance company based in NYC. In addition to creating and presenting dances, we are also developing a web-based software platform, called the Audience Engagement Platform (AEP), that aims to assist arts organizations to enhance the ways that they interact with their audiences, both on and offline. We have also spent much of the past two years experimenting with ways of using the web to involving audiences in our work.

Here are a few conversation starters:

It’s essential to know your community and work to understand what they value, so that you can identify the places that their needs, interests, and values overlap with your organization’s mission.

-- What motivates your community to have an experience with you? -- What are their social interests and the causes that they care about? -- How might you include them in defining the ways that they can interact with you? --How much real influence do you invite them to have in the organization?

Question from Daniel Kertzner - The Rhode Island Foundation:
    Can you provide some models of arts organizations that have successfully combined administrative functions. Are there characteristics of arts organizations (as compared to other non-profit groups) that make pursuing these kinds of collaborations uniquely challenging? What are two or three critical questions to address when exploring these options with arts organizations?

Clara Miller:
    There is a large array of cooperative/sharing arrangements among arts organizations, from straightforward sharing of space, copier and office functions (reception, telephone, IT) to artistic collaborations, artist cooperatives and similar. Our merger expert at NFF likes to say, "in mergers, culture eats strategy for breakfast!" and in arts organizations, organizational culture/vision/persona is strong because it's a critical business requirement. This frequently makes mergers OK from a distance, but problematic up close and personal. Also, from a purely practical perspective, sharing performance space or tech equipment, for example, can be challenging because the nights when ticket sales are highest tend to be the same, and times when rehersal is needed is similarly clustered. I think that "neutral" platforms--those run commercially, sometimes as cooperatives themselves--are worth looking into because they are already scaled, and actually large enouugh to benefit from economies of scale--two (or even 12) small arts organizations may get some scale economics, but internal complexity will be problematic in reaching true economies, and will require new skill sets and systems to be built. The one I know about it CCA Global, operating from New Hampshire. The Tides Foundation is also an example of a build platform, and is expert in this area. My take: rent don't buy shared platforms for the quickest economies.

Question from Sheri Emerick, Art Museum of South Texas:
    Our City announced yesterday of drastic cuts (up to 50 percent) in their arts funding budget. How best can we, as an institution, "Lobby" our elected leaders to lessen the blow?

Holly Sidford:
    Join with others to make the case, not just for one institution, but for the way the whole arts sector serves the community. And get leaders from other sectors -- education, health, community development -- to speak on your behalf. Pleas for the interests of one institution -- unless that institution is powerfully connected politically -- are unlikely to win in this environment.

Question from Fred Winter, Association of American Colleges and Universities:
    Two questions, but related: what differences will (1) the $50-million ARRA stimulus funding, and (2) the new NEA chair make?

Holly Sidford:
    In my view, the $50-million will save jobs in the nonprofit arts sector. That's the total focus of the money -- allowing organizations to re-hire people they have had to lay off or hire people. I'm not sure anyone knows what changes Rocco Landesman will make as the new chair of the NEA, maybe even Rocco. Give the man time to get oriented. But clearly he brings a perspective that includes the for-profit side of the arts as well as the nonprofit, which will build on Bill Ivey's efforts to broaden our world view. Rocco has been very successful at everything he's touched; I have no doubt he will bring that same magic to NEA.

Question from Peter Panepento:
    Steve, it seems that arts groups are having a harder time than, say, social-services agencies in terms of making their case for funding. How can groups get the message across that their programs are relevant and important in this climate?

Steve Runk:
    Arts groups need to be able to talk about all the ways their programs and activities produce public value, whether that is impact on the local economy, in education, addressing at-risk youth, contributing to tourism, healthcare, aging, etc. The arts play a role in advancing all these community issues and priorities, as well as having an impact on individual and community quality of life. We need to measure and document that impact and then tell that story. We are currently finding and have found in the past that in the public/government sector the economic argument has been the most persuasive.

Comment from Julie Peeler, Americans for the Arts:
    This is really a response for Sheri but we also need to learn to make the broadest possible case for the arts using all the tools in our tool chest from "art for art's sake" to the economic impact arguement to workforce development. The arts can no longer allow themselves to be sidelined by the "icing on the cake" arguement we get from legislators and business leaders. Our web site at www.AmericansfortheArts.org has loads of resources in this area.

Question from Talia Stinson, TCC Group:
    What are your thoughts regarding strategies for increasing audience participation during this current economic climate? Further, given recent discussions of economic progress, should arts organizations be more optimistic or even more cautious about engaging the community/ticket sales/etc.?

Chris Elam:
    Hi Talia,

Thank you for your question.

During this climate there are a lot that is unknown about what audience behavior will be. I believe an organization always needs to be both optimistic (key ingredient) and plan realistically.

Some things to consider:

Researching and learning about your audience, and their wants, is less expensive then ever given the proliferation of web survey tool, and ways of messaging and collecting responses. One can ask their audiences - how are you changing your behavior? What would you like to see from us this year? Engage them in a conversation.

I would emphasize more time spent on upfront active research with your audiences (engage them in the research) - before investing in significant changes off-line (which typically costs more money than online development.)

Consider, conducting an online survey, and letting the community know that you want their input about how you reach out and involve them. Transparency and inclusiveness will win you a core team of advocates that are excited about being included in the defining of the relationship. You do not need to have them drive your ultimate choices, but including them will 1) help you know what is most desired and 2) build a team who can be an important partner in many areas of the organization’s progression.

Now is a time that I'd invest heavily in understanding how one's organization can make more effective relationships with their audiences as partners. Not everyone will respond equally of course, but those who do can be invaluable.

Comment from Amy DeWys-VanHecke:
    This is not a question so much as a model example for the first question. Here in the greater Detroit region, the Great Lakes Music Festival, the Eisenhower Dance Ensemble and the Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings, share physical space, marketing staff, and development staff, and accounting among other numerous functions--the person to speak with directly would be Maury Okun. Another example, though not Arts in focus here in Detroit is Matrix Human Services, they offer a number of accounting, development, and marketing functions for their "affiliates". The person to speak with here would be Peter Franklin.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    Thanks to those in the audience who are offering additional resources and examples. We welcome your comments, as well as your questions. To share your comments and questions, please feel free to click on the "ask a question" link at any time during this discussion and then type away.

Comment from Adeeba Deterville, Sankofa Cultural Institute:
    a great resource for making the case for arts funding is a book entitled: The Creative Community Builder's Handbook: How to Transform Communities using local assets, art and culture. It's by Tom Borrup with Partners for Livable Communities. Fieldstone Alliance press

Question from Amy Main Morgenstern, Nonprofit Consultant:
    What changes should boards be making to best support the challenges facing arts organizations?

Steve Runk:
    It is more important now than ever that boards be fully engaged and involved and truly carry out their role as guardians and supporters of the organization's mission. We are seeing many organization's right now "cleaning house" on their boards - getting rid of dead weight, shrinking down the size of their boards to the committed core, and being more strategic about board recruitment. This climate I think has presented a wake-up call for many arts nonprofits about looking more closely at governance issues, board roles and responsibilities, and board composition.

Question from Peter Panepento:
    Holly, your organization recently studied the impact of the recession on cultural groups in the Puget Sound region. What findings from that study are relevant to groups outside of that region?

Holly Sidford:
    Thank you for this question (and for knowing about the Puget Sound study)! This report has gotten pretty wide circulation, and we have been contacted by a number of communities (Cleveland, Minneapolis, San Francisco, New York among them) to make presentations of the information. What we are hearing from these visits (and other conversations) is that the profile of responses in Puget Sound applies in most other places, with a few tweaks here and there. Some funders who support the arts and other fields have also told us that they think the patterns we found in the Puget Sound report hold up for nonprofits in other sectors. Notably that the nonprofit groups that started dealing with the larger changes in the environment (demographics, technology, audience behavior, weaknesses in the nonprofit business model), and those deeply embedded in their communities, are faring better.

Question from Peter Panepento:
    Clara. Can you offer some examples of arts organizations that have made smart organizational or financial decisions in recent months that have helped them navigate this difficult economy?

Clara Miller:
    Arts leaders are market-attuned and highly resourceful. And there are some great examples of smart management among organizatiions we're working with: SITI, Wooster Group, Alvin Ailey, Merce Cunningham, and that's only a few among many! I think that smart arts organizations started adjusting months ago: freezing salaries, using part-timers, getting creative about production expenses, and that's paying off. But there are some things they're pursuing aggressively: reaching out to audiences, keeping quality high, staying in touch with donors, patrons and others, and innovating with respect to contact with same. The toughest situation is among organizations in the midst of a capiital campaign/project.

Holly Sidford:
    Regarding questions about strategies arts groups are using to boost revenue, we've seen the following: 2 for 1 tickets, pay-as-you-can admissions, free outdoor events with a pass-the-hat request for donations, special deals for members and subscribers (perks like free parking, better seats, meet the artists opportunities, free admission to other events), to draw the loyal audience closer and pump up revenue.

Comment from Julie Peeler, Americans for the Arts:
    Peter, The Arts & Business Council of Miami has a program in Strategic Budget cutting that takes the board and staff through a profit and loss process and a "core mission check" for each program. Laura Bruney there tells me she's constantly amazed at how few organizations do this, how unaware boards are of programs that are costing the organization dearly and what an eye opener this process can be for them.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    Thanks Julie. I wonder if that program is being replicated in other parts of the country. It seems that type of financial literacy is crucial to all organizations -- not just arts groups.

Question from Peter Panepento:
    Hi Holly. Is there a link to the study that you can offer to our audience? I'm sure they would find it useful.

Holly Sidford:
    www.heliconcollab.net (link on the homepage) or www.pgafoundations.com (Paul G. Allen Foundation was one of the sponsors of the study)

Question from Peter Panepento:
    Chris, what are some ways the organizations can be using the Internet and social media to communicate with patrons and supporters? What are some things your company has done in these areas?

Chris Elam:
    In terms of inexpensive ways to extend the impact of our audience outreach I‚Äôd suggest looking for ways to take what you are already doing, or the opportunities that come to you, and get more millage out of them.

I’d call this “Opportunity extension”. It is particularly useful for audience development since content or events can continue to have potency, if they are contextualized and linked to in relevant ways on the web. Most of the time this takes active coordination; however a little activity here can go a long way.

For instance, last year the small business section of the NY Times wanted to include us in an article in print. We were excited, and we asked them if we were to create a special web-video specifically to complement the theme of their article, if they would embed it in the NY Times’ blog. They liked the idea and did this.

We shot the video in our office with inexpensive technology, and turned it around in 3 days.

This took one opportunity with particular reach, and vastly expanded it. Large numbers of people through the Times’ site saw the video and passed through to our website.

Another important approach that we’ve embraced is looking at the broader community of which we are a part, and participating in cross-pollinating web commenting. For example, we keep up with several online communities (some in the arts and some not) and we write blog posts about things that are happing beyond within our own company. Other companies are reciprocal, and whenever we see that someone is posting about us, we respond, and engage with them. This plays two functions: 1) it benefits our audiences but alerting them to things that they may enjoy our side of our work and 2) it creates a broader audience awareness both for us and for the organizations with whom we cross-link and comment.

Question from Ann Coulter, Kennedy Coulter :
    Do you have any good examples of arts agencies that are adding on innovative revenue generating activities - the kind that they would normally not think of unless they were in an unusual financial situation?

Clara Miller:
    I haven't seen many "de novo" initiatives, possibly because starting up and growing a new line of business requires investment all its own, and may take years to actually contribute net revenue to operations. And earned revenue is the lion's share of most arts orgs' revenue now. I have seen a variety of creative approaches to wringing more net revenue out of the current business platform: "meet the artist" salons and other forms of patron engagement, deployment of artists into the community in various venues (hospitals, schools, etc.) and partnerships with business, universities and others.

Question from Anne Corbett, Cultural Development Corp in DC:
    I feel sure we haven't seen the bottom yet -- trite, I know, but in terms of philanthropic dollars, I think the rebound will come even later than it comes to the general economy. and $50-million to the NEA spread among 50 states, isn't going to make a big impact. has anyone found other pockets in ARRA to use to support the arts economy?

Steve Runk:
    I agree that it will be some time until we see things improve. Certainly in the government sector, based on historical trends, it takes 2-3 years for government budgets to rebound after a recession ends. Many are also saying that we are seeing a permanent environmental change and things won't rebound in the sense that they will be as they were before this downturn. In terms of ARRA funding, the $50-million will have impact but it will be modest in relation to the need. The NEA received requests that I believe are several times more than the $30-million they will distribute. In NJ we received requests that are almost four times the funding we will have to distribute for job preservation in the sector. In tapping other ARRA funding, we have been working in NJ in helping arts groups tap the Workforce Development funding and recently did a Webinar and panel discussion on the arts as community partners in workforce development with our State Dept. of Labor. Our public art program is working on commissioning of work for a Dept. of Transportation project - light rail stations - that is being funded by federal ARRA DOT funds. We are also working with our Dept. of Education to get them to remind schools that the ARRA education funding can be used for all core subjects including the arts (a core subject in NJ). Much of the communication on the education funding has been around math and reading. We are also waiting to hear more about the funds that will come through AmeriCorp for a volunteer artists corps to go into schools. Our AmeriCorp office in NJ is in the same department we are and hope to be working together with them.

Question from Dave Barrett, Jacob's Pillow:
    In trying to weather the recession, we seem to be hearing two different schools of thought about how long it might last. One says that it will be a matter of a year or two, the other says that the world as we knew it has shifted in some profound ways, and it will be a very long time until we see a return to the kind of prosperity we had become somewhat accustomed to. Obviously, how we as arts organizations adapt would be very different depending on which scenario we choose to believe. While I know no one has a crystal ball, I'd be interested to hear Clara's thoughts on this.

Clara Miller:
    While the recession is a gigantic "train wreck," -- and the effects will be felt for years, in a way it's a distraction from a much more fundamental economic change that was underway long before the financial system imploded. This is familiar to all--explosion of information technology, decline of the pull of place in industrial location, globalization of markets (including labor markets) and disintermediation. In many ways, this tectonic change is being felt in the arts, media and creative industries ("thought workers" as the saying goes) most deeply now, and this is a time not only for survival but for dynamic adaptation to this. We must change the way we think about our work, the way we do it and the way we relate to patrons.

Comment from Julie, Americans for the Arts:
    Peter, we do some work in financial literacy through our National Arts Marketing Project which does workshops on earned income issues throughout the country. But adding more resources in this area to our web site at www.artsmarketing.org is a good idea. Chris Elam is on our advisory body for the web site so maybe we can work on this together.

Question from Michael Cagno, Noyes Museum of Art:
    As we face these challanges and consider a variety of options, what is the most effective way to let the general public know how relevant the arts are on a daily basis? Or, do we focus only on the proven patrons?

Holly Sidford:
    A wise foundation president said to me recently, "This country needs what the arts have to offer more now than ever before. What do the arts give us? Hope. Understanding. Patience. Joy. The long view. Opportunities to join together with friends, family, neighbors. Respite from our woes, and insights about how people have dealt with adversity in the past." I think the most effective way to "let the general public know" is to show them, to be present at the places in the community where people are gathering, to provide people with opportunities to participate in the arts themselves (singing, dancing, painting, taking pictures, writing poems or journals) and to interact with artists. In my view, we can't convince anyone that you are relevant with words alone. We have to make them feel it.

I recognize that many organizations are locked into programs and activities that they planned long before the recession. But I think that every institution be reviewing its current programs to make them relevant to the current circumstances. The information I am seeing is that audiences are holding; that most organizations are not seeing a big drop in attendance. So clearly there is an appetite. Serve it well.

Question from Laura Deaton:
    How are folks in the symphony orchestra field going to survive moving forward. I'm in the southeast and the Atlanta orchestra and the Charleston SC orchestra have been struggling publicly, amongst others. What strategies can panelists suggest to "keep the music playing"?

Steve Runk:
    The symphony orchestra field has been struggling for some time and this downturn has intensified that struggle. In NJ our major symphony, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra recently announce a new collaboration with Opera NJ where the Orchestra will play for the Opera productions allowing both groups to cross-fertilize audiences and extending performance venues for both which will help each reach new geographic audiences. There has also been a lot of talk in our state about mergers or other kinds of strategic alliances and the question has been raised, how many separate orchestras (or galleries, or theater companies) are sustainable given audiences and resources, and can multiple artistic visions be housed under one organization or dovetail? Some orchestras have been reinventing how they package performances giving audiences much more flexibility than the traditional subscription. Some are providing a deeper audience experience with intensive pre- and-during-performance interpretation. To reach younger audiences our statewide marketing campaign Discover Jersey Arts partnered with arts groups including the Orchestra to create a series of events targeted to under 40-year-olds that pair a performance with a social event with a low cost combined ticket. It is definitely a time to think outside the box.

Comment from Betty Brewer, Minnetrista Cultural Center:
    For Julie -- Re: the Strategic budgeting program in Miami -- is this something they can share and, if so, do you have a contact? My leadership team is going through that process now and any additional resources are welcome.

Question from Candace Jackson, CJAM Consulting:
    To Clara's earlier comment about organizations that are in the midst of capital projects, I'm seeing several that seem to be seizing opportunities to build now and take advantage of tax credit deals, mixed-use commercial development partnerships and the like. In short, "what gives"? Can any of the panelists speak to how (perhaps why) a portion of the art sector is proceeding with major projects in this climate?

Holly Sidford:
    Really interesting question, Candace (and hi!). I would say that it's all situational. Some institutions that had secured financial commitments from public and private sector sources prior to the recession can see opportunity in this changed real estate market, and they're moving on it.

Comment from Julie, Americans for the Arts:
    McGraw Hill has through its corporate responsibility programs a focus on financial literacy (http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/cr/overview.shtml). They have a series of videos on YouTube on the subject which are aimed at teachers to both help them teach the subject more effectively but also improve their own financial literacy.

Holly Sidford:
    Daniel Kertzner, if you're still on the line, I'd like to add to Clara's excellent response to your question about shared administrative services. Which is this: arts groups ought to look for opportunities to economize on shared services with non-arts organizations as well as arts groups. And that goes for mergers too. Given the egos involved in any arts organization, it may be more difficult for two arts groups in a given discipline to combine forces than for arts groups to collaborate across discipline lines (dance and theater, for example, or music and dance), or to combine with educational, social service or even health organizations.

Question from Sheri Emerick, Art Museum of South Texas:
    Thank you for the book suggestion. Now, another question. How successful has Web-driven development and marketing been for arts organizations? Has anyone received funding for Web site improvements?

Chris Elam:
    There are many organizations that have been conducting interesting Web-driven development, marketing - and audience engagement - experiments, many of which are quite effective.

In our case, we conducted a live video-streaming of our recent New York dance production, that was viewed online by 2,000 people, from 19 countries, including being viewed by a platoon in Iraq and projected on the wall of a coffee shop. During the showing, there were an average of 150 people web-chatting about the performance as they watched it in a window directly below the video player. We housed it directly on our Website, misnomer.org, through an embeddable video player from ustream.com. We conducted a social media campaign in advance, and had numerous other sites syndicating the video in real-time. The total costs to us was approximately $1,500, and that was mostly salaries.

There is a proliferation of valuable experiments being conducted by many organizations and artists, especially as the costs of experimenting decreases.

There is also funding for Website improvements, and equally important - Web usage development. These types of grants are increasing. Organizations like Dance USA, The Nonprofit Finance Fund, and the Rockefeller Foundation - have had grants for innovation in audience engagement which welcomes Web-based solutions. We've received some of these grants, and there are other such grants and organizations building value in this way.

Question from Talia Stinson, TCC Group:
    There are some arts organizations that are in partnerships with their respective cities- some binding (i.e. leasing core facilities, programmatic initiatives, etc.). As many cities are making cut-backs to budgets, how can an arts organization protect itself and navigate this precarious situation?

Clara Miller:
    Great question and big challenge. Government (or capital campaigns) rarely provide the working capital organizations need to fund the costs of growth and change to operations within a new facility: to build in the engine that will attract more reliable revenue to cover an expanded cost structure. NFF research has found these costs are 3 to 4 times the cost of bricks and mortar and exist in any type of enterprise growth. It's just capital projects both reduce liquidity levels and raise cost structure, and adaption is very difficult in the best of circumstance. My suggestion: be direct with the funder (government or other) and make the case in specific program terms--"we need working capital to attract revenue that is dependable in relation to the new (and larger)cost structure, or the facility won't serve the public--or the economic development agenda of the city."

Comment from Julie, Americans for the Arts:
    Betty, contact Laura Bruney at Arts & Business Council of Miami
111 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 201
Miami, Florida 33130
Phone: (305) 326-1011
E-mail: arts-business-miami@att.net

Question from Leigh, WNET:
    In your opinion, what role can public media play in cultivating new and diverse audiences for the arts beyond traditional broadcast? Also, in this economoic climate, funders seem less interested in supporting public media programs versus service organizations, even though our cultural programs can have a significnat impact on building audiences for the arts. How can we make our case? What kinds of new partnerships can we form with arts/cultural organizations that will further leverage public media's strengths to serve the arts community?

Steve Runk:
    Media and how people seek out and access cultural programming is changing rapidly. We co-sponsor and partner on several programs in New Jersey with NJN. They have increasingly put program offerings in an on-demand opportunity through the Internet. We have also had some success in increasing arts content on public affairs shows aimed at target audiences. Our main arts magazine show we co-produce works in tandem with our statewide arts marketing campaign so promotion is more coordinated. We have also moved to short podcasts that can be downloaded. In terms of making the case for resources, I think there needs to be more done to track and measure the impact the programs have - who is watching/accessing, how does viewership lead to live attendance, etc. In terms of partnerships NJN is also promoting itself as a production facility. With more arts groups looking to put more content on their Web sites, they are offering services for fee on producing material for newer media applications.

Question from Peter Panepento:
    Holly, what do you see as some of the most typical organizational challenges that arts groups face? What part of the traditional structure is most in need of change to help groups adapt to changing times?

Holly Sidford:
    I think there are three huge challenges for arts organizations (for organizations of any kind, really): 1) taking a fresh and honest look at the evolving environment (letting go of sentimental attachments to the way things used to be), 2) rethinking the function that the organization can and wants to play in that environment (genuinely refreshing the mission, which may necessitate changing the organization's shape), and 3) letting go of the things (people, programs, spaces, policies, practices, etc.) that have outlived their usefulness in order to increase flexibility and dynamic adaptability.

Question from Justin Norris:
    Seton Hill is a small, Catholic institution in Greensburg, PA with over 2,000 students. We just completed the building of a 21 million dollar performing arts center for our music and theatre programs as well as our community music and dance programs. The building will be located in our downtown cultural district area and features a concert hall and flexible theater-in-the-round. What are your recommendations for a small private college to build revenue for our programs. Where would you first start? Marketing, donors, building a booster club or donors circle? Are ticket sales and approaching donors our only ways of building revenue?

Clara Miller:
    You're in both the presenting (real estate, filling venues) and the production (mounting shows) business it sounds like, and each has skills, needs and business requirements that are distinct from the other. 1) make sure you know your costs of operations of the venue; 2) learn about your market and develop a strategy; 3) understand the relative investment you need to make in marketing infrastructure, skills, etc. to sustainably operate the venue, and make sure you raise the working capital to make it a success; and 4) get outside help if you don't have expertise on staff! It's a wonderful but tough, complex business.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    Our time is up. Thank you to all of our guests -- and to our audience -- for helping us stage what has been a very informative and interesting discussion. In addition to our guests, I'd like to thank Julie Peeler from Americans for the Arts for offering an array of suggestions and resources during the past hour.

Chris Elam:
    Thank you to everyone for your questions today.

I'd be glad to read any further questions and see if I can offer any input. You are welcome to email me at chris@misnomer.org and if I can provide thoughts.

Also, if you'd like for us to keep you posted on the development of our Audience Engagement Platform for arts organizations, please feel free to email us at aep@misnomer.org.

Best wishes,

Chris Elam
Artistic Director & Choreographer
Misnomer Dance Theater
www.misnomer.org
Ph: 917-602-0478

Fractured Atlas, Advisory Board Member
Americans for the Arts' National Arts Marketing Project, Advisory Committee Member

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    If you found this conversation useful, I invite you to join us for the next two installments of this live discussion series with the Nonprofit Finance Fund. The next discussion in this series will be held on Thursday, June 11, at noon Eastern time. More details are available here: http://philanthropy.com/live/recession_series/

We also offer a weekly live discussions series every Tuesday at noon Eastern time. You can learn more here: http://philanthropy.com/live.

Thanks again.