December, 2005
Holiday
Greetings and Good Wishes from the Alliance Board of Directors and Staff. We cheer
all our adventurous and passionate artists and arts leaders in New York State.
It is your vision and "can do" attitude in the face of sometimes daunting
odds that drives arts programming in communities across the state. Have
a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.
Look for the much anticipated FAST FORWARD REPORT in early December. The complete online report will be sent to all Alliance members.
The Alliance completed a comprehensive three part research and analysis project in 2005 to understand the trends and the issues facing New York State's cultural organizations. Written by Anne Ackerson, the report documents the data from the online needs assessment survey sent to more than 3,000 organizations, summarizes 7 regional forums convened across the State, and analyzes the data from the state-wide think tank meeting, Fast Forward, in Glens Falls in September 2005.
You will want to read this most informative report. It documents and analyzes findings and provides insight into the most relevant and effective services and resources needed to strengthen and build the capacity of cultural organizations.
We
welcome three new Directors to the Alliance Board in 2006:
Anita Durst,
Chashama
Gary Schiro, Hudson Opera House
Stephanie Simon, NY1
We thank
our continuing members of the Alliance Board and congratulate our 2006
officers:
President: Kristin Swain, Corning Incorporated Foundation
Vice President: Linda Earle, Skowhegan School of Painting and
Sculpture
Treasurer: John Thorne, PriceWaterhouseCoopers
Secretary: Seymour Knox, Hunt Commercial Real Estate
Ellen Butz, Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts
Robert Harris, CPA
Donald Mawhinney, Hiscock & Barclay, LLP
Hal Payne, Buffalo State College
Francis
M. Pitts, Managing Partner, Architecture Plus
Paula Joy Reinhold, Artist, Joy Family Foundation
Sidney Sutter, Pennysaver Group
FROM
THE UPSTATE OFFICE
Our field is beginning to lose
one of its strongest resources --- executive directors who have worked passionately
over many years to promote the arts and provide art services and programs in their
communities. A number have announced upcoming retirements, and have found that
planning for a smooth organizational transition is a process that takes lots of
time and resources.
These
changes in our field reflect what is going on with nonprofit management on a national
level. According to a survey of their grantees by the Annie E. Casey Foundation:
*
more than 60% of executives are over age 50
* 85% of current executive directors
will transition out of their positions between 2000 and 2007
* those who could
be next in line (associates or deputies) mirror executives in experience and age,
and many have no intention of assuming the role of chief executive.
Leadership transitions are fraught with risks. Chief among these is the volunteer board's reluctance to put in the extra work and commit money needed to plan for a smooth change. Yet without such planning, major staff transitions can cause organizational crisis. The situation also provides an excellent opportunity for the board to evaluate their present situation and plan for a healthy and perhaps different organization beyond current leadership. Resources also indicate that many foundations will support transition planning, if only to protect their past and present investments (grants).
There are numerous resources, many free, that can help with transitional planning. It is also recommended that the first step in transitional planning is to develop an emergency succession plan, in case something happens to the executive director (the heart and center of the organization). Regionally, we refer to such a plan as a "Croak Book" --- which should spell out in writing how the board and staff handle organizational operations in case of an emergency involving the director. But an emergency succession plan should involve more than written directions on file. Does your present board president or other staff members know where to find the croak book you developed eight years ago? A good emergency succession plan involves regular communication plus some cross-training of staff and board.
Resources on transition planning and emergency succession planning:
*
CompassPoint Nonprofit Services is a west coast resource, but provides a wealth
of general information to the nonprofit world. They offer many free downloads
(PDF files) of information and worksheets as well as links to other resources
for books and publications. I recommend four free downloads; to get these, go
to:
www.compasspoint.org. At their homepage, click on management + planning
under Topics (below their search option.) On the left menu under Topics, click
on Executive Transitions & Leadership; scroll down this page and click on
Tools & Worksheets under Research, Articles & Publications/Resources.
There, you will find:
* a sample Emergency Succession Plan (4 pages)
*
"Capturing the Power of Leadership Change" by Tom Adams (6 pages; this
is a study supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation)
* "Stepping Up:
A Board's Challenge in Leadership Transition" by Tim Wolfred (5 pages)
*
under Bibliography on this page, click on the link to NeighborWorks America at
www.nw.org to get a free download of "Managing Executive Transitions: A Handbook
for Nonprofit Organizations." Enter "Managing Executive Transitions"
in their homepage search engine. This is a 57 page, step-by-step workbook produced
by the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation; it's production was supported by
the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
A New York City based resource is the Support Center for Nonprofit Management at www.supportcenteronline.org. They recently made their annual "Journal for Nonprofit Management" available as a free, downloadable PDF file, and their first journal in this format (Volume 9, #1) is called "Transitions" (43 pages). It includes 4 separate articles; I recommend in particular the article by Troy Chapman and John Vogelsang on Executive Director Transitions and the one by Sherry Rockey and Laverne Webb on the impact of Appreciative Inquiry, (AI) a "methodology to engage the organization in an internal process to reflect on organizational values and successes, and an external process for defining and expanding its role in the community" --- in light of transition planning as a opportunity to move the organization to new strength in service.
* "Executive Transitions: Nonprofit and Grantmaker Opportunities" by Don Crocker (3 pages) speaks to foundation and grantmaker support in transition planning. It's free; find it under "Articles" on the Support Center homepage.
And
if you would like to explore the elements of using an outside professional agency
to help with transitional planning, check out the Executive Transition Management
Services provided by the Support Center for Nonprofit Management.
FROM
THE ART OF NEW YORK:
AN ART EXHIBITION AND AUCTION
TO BENEFIT THE GULF
Presented
by NY1
News, New York Foundation for the Arts, and World Financial Center Arts &
Events Program
February
22 - 28, 2006…. Gala Auction -- Mardi Gras, February 28
From
the Art of New York, a one-of-a-kind charity art exhibit, sale, and auction
of artwork by premiere New York and Gulf Coast artists to benefit Gulf Coast arts
communities and long-term rebuilding efforts.
Location: World Financial Center Winter Garden at West Street between
Vesey and Liberty Streets in Lower Manhattan. February 22-28, 2006 10:00 am-7:00
pm
Artists include Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Yoko Ono, LeRoy Neiman, Peter
Max, Tom Otterness, Robert Rauschenberg, Danny Simmons, Kiki Smith, James Rosenquist,
Stuart Davis, Gregory Amenoff, Ursula von Rydingsvard, Duston Spear, Mimi Gross,
Marisol, and De La Vega, plus many more New York and Gulf Coast Artists. Visit
From the Art of New York throughout the week to meet artists, celebrities
and NY1 News on-air personalities.
Exhibition: From the Art of New York brings together
more than 100 works of art by New York and Gulf Coast artists. The exhibition
is free and open to the public February 22 - 28, 2006 from 10:00 am - 7:00 pm
at the World Financial Center Winter Garden. Many works of art will be on
sale to the public during the six-day exhibition. In addition to the artwork for
sale, visitors may buy limited edition posters by artists De La Vega and Mimi
Gross and magnolia pins in honor of the Gulf Coast.
Gala Auction: From the Art of New York will celebrate the spirit of the Gulf Coast with a private Mardi Gras gala, featuring live and silent auctions as well as jazz and delicious New Orleans-inspired cuisine. Attendees have the chance to bid on the most exclusive works of art as well as memberships and packages from MoMA, The Frick Collection, NY1 News and many more. The gala auction will be held on Mardi Gras, Tuesday, February 28, 2006 from 6:30 pm - 11:00 pm at the World Financial Center Winter Garden.
Tickets
to the gala auction start at $200, and will be available at http://www.fromtheartofnewyork.org
beginning December 9, 2005.
Proceeds Benefit:
Contemporary Arts Center
in New Orleans -- http://www.cacno.org
Southern
Arts Federation http://www.southarts.org
Louisiana
Disaster Recovery Foundation -- http://louisianahelp.org
Bush-Clinton
Katrina Fund -- http://www.bushclintonkatrinafund.org
CONGRESSIONAL
CAUCUS NEWS
The Senate
Cultural Caucus formed earlier this year already has 26 members and is chaired
by Senators Kennedy (D-MA), Enzi (R-WY), Jeffords (I-VT), and Coleman (R-MN).
Senator Kennedy recently offered his
congratulations to the NEA and the NEH as they celebrated their 40th anniversary.
The
Congressional
Arts Caucus has 188 members and is co-chaired by Representatives Louise Slaughter
(D-NY) and Chris Shays (R-CT). Most recently, the Caucus coordinated a Dear
Colleague letter calling on Labor/HHS/ED Subcommittee Chairman Regula and
Ranking Member Obey to support the level of arts education funding provided for
in the Senate bill.
SENATE
APPROVES TAX DEDUCTION FOR CHARITABLE GIFTS BY ARTISTS
Under
current law, collectors who donate art to charities can receive a tax deduction
for the fair market value of the art. However, artists, who donate to a charity
artwork that they created, are only allowed to take a tax deduction for the cost
of the materials used. Bipartisan legislation to reform this inequity was introduced
in the House (H.R.
1120) and in the Senate (S.372).
Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Robert Bennett (R-UT) have now successfully
attached this legislation to the Senate Budget Reconciliation bill.
NEW
POSTAL RATES TO INCREASE COSTS FOR CHARITIES
The
Postal Rate Commission has recommended new postage rates for charities to take
effect in January. These would result in double-digit percentage increases in
postage for some nonprofit mailings.
Under the commission's plan, charities that mail fund-raising appeals, newsletters, and other materials at "nonprofit standard" rates would see their postage rates rise by 3 % next year. But charities that sort their mail in the order in which it is delivered, to earn discounts under "nonprofit enhanced carrier route" rates, would face increases of up to 12.3 percent.
The commission's recommended increases vary from the 5.4-percent overall increase requested by the U.S. Postal Service last spring. While some nonprofit mail experts are dismayed by the potential double-digit percentage increase for carrier-route-sorted mail, others are not so troubled by the commission's recommendations, largely because its proposed rates would save charities an estimated $16.1-million next year compared to what they would pay under the Postal Service plan.
And, enhanced-carrier-route mail makes up only a small portion of all nonprofit mail: Last year charities mailed 2.7 billion pieces of such mail, compared with 11.8 billion pieces of nonprofit standard mail, according to the Postal Service.
Several
nonprofit mail experts said that, while they are not happy about rates increasing
in January, they are far more worried about what will happen in 2007, when the
Postal Service is expected to seek another increase.
SALTONSTALL
SUMMER FELLOWSHIP AND GRANTS
For
individual artists and writers who are residents of New York State. Summer fellowship
competition is open to all artists and writers who live throughout New York State;
grant competition is open to artists and writers who live in the central and western
counties of NYS. The stunning 200 acre Saltonstall Arts Colony is located in Ithaca,
New York.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: January 15, 2006
Applications on line
at www.saltonstall.org
PRESIDENT,
THE ARTS CENTER OF THE CAPITAL REGION
The Arts Center of the Capital Region
(ACCR) seeks a dynamic and experienced leader who will enhance its mission of
engaging individuals in the making and experiencing of the arts, creating "an
arts community that crackles with energy and is a national model for innovative
programming." The President is chief executive officer of a regional arts
center providing education, exhibition, and performance programs, as well as arts
services involving more than 35,000 people in 11 counties in New York's Capital
Region. ACCR is located in Troy in a 36,000 sq.ft. building it purchased and renovated
in 1999 with a staff of 14, a teaching faculty of 48, and an annual operating
budget that exceeds $1 million. The position is available February 1, 2006. Attractive
and competitive salary and fringe benefits, commensurate with qualifications and
experience. Review of applications begins November 15, 2005 and must include 1)
a narrative letter describing how training and experience relate directly to the
position, 2) a detailed professional resume and 3) the names, addresses and phone
numbers of at least 5 professional references who can attest directly to your
suitability for this leadership post. Please make application to ACCR President
Recruitment Committee, c/o The Martin Law Firm, Attn RPW, P.O. Box 1530, 279 River
Street, Troy, New York 12180.
The Alliance of New York State Arts Organizations has a 30-year history as New York’s service association for arts and cultural organizations. The Alliance provides leadership and vision, and delivers services, resources and tools that strengthen cultural organizations. The Alliance informs the field on statewide and national issues affecting the arts and assists local arts agencies in building community support.
P.O. Box 96
Mattituck, NY 11952-0096
Phone (631) 298-1234 / Fax (631) 298-1101