In early 2009, five local funders, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Seattle Foundation, The Boeing Company, the Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs and 4Culture, with help from Philanthropy Northwest, commissioned Helicon Collaborative to survey local arts organizations about the impact of the recession on their operations.   The funders were motivated by a desire to fully understand how organizations were coping in an increasingly uncertain economic environment and to learn how they might be able to help.

The survey respondents wanted opportunities to gather with colleagues to learn about effective ways to navigate significant change.  Dynamic Adaptability: Arts and Culture in the Puget Sound, a three part series of talks and workshops by national “thought leaders” that concluded this past Monday at Town Hall, was created in response.

I thoroughly enjoyed the three presentations by Clara Miller of the Non-Profit Facilities Fund, Chip Heath, author of Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard and Doug McLennan, founder of Arts Journal.   If you were unable to attend any or all of the talks, materials from the presentations are available on the Grantmakers in the Arts website (www.giarts.org).

  • Clara Miller made some observations about the importance of access to working capital, noting that funders make it easier to raise money for high risk activities (i.e. capital projects and program expansion,), than for low-risk investments like program continuation, overhead or maintenance. .  While no one would argue that having reserves for program expansion and facility maintenance makes good business sense, in the current economic environment, which is impacting funders as well as organizations, where those reserves would come from is unclear.
  • Chip Heath spoke about how organizations seem to resist change when in fact they don’t know how or what to change, and gave specific tips on how to make change easier.  My favorite take-away from Chip’s talk was the simple concept of following the “bright spots.”   Build on what works well for you now, rather than get bogged down in saving programs that aren’t working.
  • Doug McLennan spoke about technology as a tool for connecting to audiences, but he also talked about how the internet continues to evolve how  people engage with their communities, and organizations connect with constituents..   We’re all hell-bent on getting followers and fans onFacebook or Twitter, but too often do so without a clear plan for what we want to achieve with regard to our organizational goals.   Doug’s presentation will be posted on the GIA website soon, and I encourage you to check out his five basic principles for thriving in the new technology environment.

To me, the value of these presentations went beyond the content that was provided.   Each of the three sessions was attended by more than 100 arts administrators from throughout the Puget Sound.   We have too few opportunities to gather with our colleagues and simply talk to each other about how and what we’re doing.   If you missed the talks, I encourage you to go to check out the free content on the GIA website.

The four funders and Philanthropy Northwest, Helicon Collaborative and GIA will be meeting soon to debrief on the series and determine future steps, if any.    We all remain concerned about the health of the field and will continue to explore ways in which we can collectively support our dynamic cultural communities.