Ask artsmanager.org
All Q & A
Is your arts organization facing a critical business problem? Ask artsmanager.org gives you the opportunity to receive practical advice about challenges facing your organization.
Viewing 16 items. Click the column headers below to re-sort items.
| Title | Area of Focus | Date Posted |
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Should every organization do planning? Even the healthiest organizations could benefit from strategic planning. For more on strategic planning, visit Strategic Planning in the Arts: A Practical Guide http://www. |
Strategic Planning
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20-Sep-2007 |
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How much time should be used for strategic planning? When creating a strategic plan, a lot of time should be spent by someone on that plan, but it should generally not by the full board of directors or even the planning committee. There should be one person responsible for producing/writing the plan. |
Strategic Planning
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20-Sep-2007 |
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How do I keep the audience and the theatre happy? This gets into the issue of what not-for-profit arts professionals are striving to accomplish. If you are trying to get across a particular artistic perspective, it may not be what the audience wants. |
Programming
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20-Sep-2007 |
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How does a smaller non-profit gain funding and recognition? First and foremost, distinguish yourself. You may need to think about a need that larger organizations can’t meet. |
Development
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20-Sep-2007 |
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How can we be more effective without hiring more people? It is really difficult to deal with donors one-by-one, especially when you have small (or no) staff. Setting up groups or committees or boards is a nice way to batch up donors. |
Development
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20-Sep-2007 |
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How do we make the most of media coverage? The way to take advantage is to make sure that the right people see it. Send an email or fax to all major donors, prospects and board members about the event and show a tape at board meetings or at any donor conclave. |
Marketing
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20-Sep-2007 |
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How do I launch an individual donor campaign? Send a mailing to all past audience members and give a small curtain speech at each performance asking for a reasonable amount. Then nurture the ones who give you funds and get to know them. |
Development
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20-Sep-2007 |
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Can I target donors as potential board members? It is great to target a potential donor as a Board member. Always ask potentially helpful people you meet if they want to serve on your Board. |
Boards
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20-Sep-2007 |
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What kind of listserv should I use? Determine what the listserv will be used for. Is it only open to a select group of invited participants (which requires someone to manually subscribe and unsubscribe participants). |
General
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15-Mar-2006 |
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What payroll taxes apply to board members who are paid for their services? The question asked presents three different interpretations and applications of the rules and regulations as cited in Code Secs. 3121(d)(1), 3306(i) and 3401(c); Reg 31. |
Boards
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15-Mar-2006 |
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Can you recommend the top undergraduate programs in arts administration? Information on accredited undergraduate and graduate programs in arts administration is available from the Association of Arts Administration Educators: www.artsadministration. |
General
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01-Mar-2006 |
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What kind of listserv should my organization use? Determine what the listserv will be used for. Is it only open to a select group of invited participants (which requires someone to manualy subscribe and unsubscribe participants) or is it open to everyone, in which case an automated subscribe and unsubscribe function is very helpful. |
General
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17-Feb-2006 |
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Is it wise to write a letter to the editor in response to bad press? No, it is a bad idea. It is virtually never helpful to respond to bad press because you simply keep the bad story alive. |
Press Relations
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05-Jan-2006 |
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How can I market on a small budget? For those arts organizations trying to make an impression in a large market, the key requirement is to focus on the small set of prospective audience members or donors who are most likely to support the organization. This typically takes the form of direct mail/email marketing and as aggressive a public relations effort as can possibly be achieved. |
Marketing
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05-Jan-2006 |
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What is the ideal relationship between an Executive Director and an Artistic Director? Ideally, the Artistic and Executive Directors of an arts organization value the unique contributions each makes to the enterprise, come to agreement on all important matters affecting the organization and present a unified front to the staff, Board, press, donors and audience. But this ideal rarely is achieved. |
General
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05-Jan-2006 |
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How can we "fire" board members? It is crucial to eliminate the "dead weight" from any Board. Members who are not productive set a bad example for other members, and certainly for new members of the Board. |
Boards
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05-Jan-2006 |
