This summer, we have been reading The Cycle: A Practical Approach to Managing Arts Organizations by Michael M. Kaiser. It's been great parsing out the reading – to make it be only 1 or 2 chapters each week. This book is valuable if you have your own dance company or if you are an arts administrator. No matter the size of your organization, Kaiser's wisdom is accessible and applicable. Please feel free to jump into the discussion anytime here on the blog.

Today we are discussing chapters 6 and 7 of the book. We are now in the belly of the beast – talking about fundraising and revenue for arts organizations. I know…..this isn't the fun part of our work. But, cultivating supporters and donations is imperative for our work to keep going.

As I mentioned in another post yesterday, chapter 6 might be the most valuable gem of the whole book. Kaiser clearly and succinctly describes different revenue sources – earned income, donations, foundations, etc. I have never read a clearer description of the various ways to fund an arts organization. 

Let me share some of the language I highlighted:

• "Individual prospects can also be identified by reviewing the lists of donors to other arts organizations in the community. I rip out the donor page from the program of every event I attend and cross-reference it with a list of our donors to determine who we are missing"(109).
• "I suggest hosting a debriefing meeting of staff and board after every major event to review the new prospects who were met, the discussions that were had, the donors who need attention, and the prospects who are most likely to become involved. It is also very helpful if one can also identify which aspects of the organization the prospect might be most interested in supporting" (110).
• "And yet a remarkable number of arts organizations only communicate with existing donors when it is time to renew their gift, or when their is another reason to ask for more – for the annual gala, for a subscription, for a special appeal, etc. When you ask for money every time you see a donor, they will start to ignore you or run in the other direction when they see you approaching" (127).

I really like what Kaiser is talking about with the idea of "stewardship" with donors. It is a relationship to cultivate, value, and support — all year long. It is about building a relationship and connection. In this busy world – we need to work even harder to make our work  matter in donors' lives.

So….those are some of my initial thoughts. I look forward to hearing from you!

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