July, 2004

NEWS FROM THE FIELD

Richard J. Schwartz, Chairman of the New York State Council on the Arts announced the resignation of the Council's Executive Director NICOLETTE B. CLARKE effective August 4. "After eight successful years directing the Council, Ms. Clarke is departing to join her family in Ashby, Massachusetts, where her husband heads the Shackleton School. Ms. Clarke will assume the duties of Director of Development at Cushing Academy in nearby Ashburnham where her son is a student," said Chairman Schwartz. "Ms. Clarke has been a terrific partner at the Council," continued Mr. Schwartz. "She has shaped and facilitated all of our major activities." Appointed by Governor George E. Pataki in 1996, Ms. Clarke has served under the leadership of two chairmen, Earle I. Mack and Richard J. Schwartz, overseeing the grants process that makes awards to over 1300 nonprofit arts organizations throughout the state each year. In 2003, the Council awarded $37.4 million in grants. Mr. Schwartz said that the selection process for Ms. Clarke's successor will begin immediately.

TOM HEALY has been appointed President of Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC). The appointment, effective July 1, was announced by LMCC's Board Chair, Cherrie Nanninga. TRICIA MIRE, LMCC Deputy Director, who served as Acting Director during the executive transition, is appointed Managing Director.

The Center for Arts Education Chairman of the Board Laurie M. Tisch announced the appointment of RICHARD KESSLER as Executive Director. Mr. Kessler comes to the Center following seven years as executive director of the American Music Center.

Regretfully it has come to our attention that Albany-Schenectady League of Arts, a 58 year old arts service organization, has closed permanently under the weight of $130,000 of debt. This is the second such arts council closing in as many months.

Regarding NYSCA & NEW YORK STATE BUDGET, there is no real information, just speculation. As you probably know the Senate and the Assembly have gone home and the mechanism is in place to keep the government functioning until August 2. A number of issues continue to keep the pressure on the legislature and divert the focus from the budget negotiations, not the least of which is the court ordered school aid for New York City. The deadline of July 30 or deal with a court appointed master, may stimulate some action. But like everything else there are varying opinions on that too. This will be a long summer, although we MAY see some budget action starting in mid-July. There have been no indications of cuts to NYSCA, despite some rhetorical questions surrounding the budget issues. So for now, we are in a difficult holding pattern.

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MADE IN NEW YORK: CELEBRATING THE ARTS IN NEW YORK STATE GALA

Mark your calendar and save November 8, 6-8pm, for this gala event at the legendary COPACABANA 560 West 34th Street, New York City. New this year will be a silent auction "MADE IN NEW YORK" of valuable and desirable items selected from every corner of the State.

We are pleased to announce the following awards which will be made this year: Tovah Feldshuh, Artist Advocate Award, NY1, Media Award Anita Durst Young Visionary Award,. Additional awards presentated that evening will include an Upstate and a Downstate Arts Organization and an individual for Distinguished Service. The panel is hard at work making those final selections which will be announced by July 15.

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UPCOMING ALLIANCE PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE

* STATEWIDE CONFERENCE MOVED TO SPRING 2005
A confluence of events and circumstances along with input from constituents across the state has resulted in moving the annual statewide conference from September 8, 9 2004 to Spring 2005. We are hearing about significant cash flow problems (see following article about coping with same) in the field, resulting from and coupled with the late, and undetermined state budget. This belt tightening signals questionable and uncertain participation of the field so early in the Fall. We have also heard that the original timing of the conference, the week right after Labor Day and the beginning of the school year is difficult for many of our arts leaders. Thus, we feel this is a prudent decision that capitalizes on our human resources and responds to the current environment and circumstances of the field. We will be calling upon you to shape the face of this conference to assure that it will be a useful gathering given this longer planning cycle. Watch for further information. The conference will be held in Troy, as originally scheduled, and hosted by the Arts Center of the Capital Region.

* THE COMMUNITY E-INSTITUTE

The COMMUNITY E INSTITUTE our partnership with Cornell University, is scheduled to begin on October 5, 6 and 7 in Ithaca on the Cornell campus at the brand new, state-of-the arts Conference Center. Subsequent online modules and concurrent student/faculty electronic interaction are scheduled for each of the next 6 weeks, with the closing face-to-face session in Buffalo at the Cornell center on December 1,
2, and 3.

The COMMUNITY E-INSTITUTE is a mixed modality e-learning community organizing training program for arts leaders in New York State. It builds upon the success of the three-year-old E-Institute for Leadership and will train and prepare up to 40 arts leaders to function as facilitators and catalysts in cultural community development. Participants will lead the way in developing and advancing arts and economic development stimulators that will enrich communities and build partnerships with business, local government, the commercial and the non-profit sectors. Watch for details and application form.

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ADVICE FOR TOUGH TIMES: ADDRESSING CASH FLOW ISSUES

We are hearing that the absence of a New York State Budget is causing major hardship and exacerbating already tough cash flow problems for many organizations. Without a budget, NYSCA cannot issue contracts, disburse funds, or provide promissory letters or verify multi-year funding. If they were available, these documents could be the collateral for a secured loan.

A suggestion for addressing temporary cash flow issues includes securing a line of credit with your friendly LOCAL BANK where you are known and have some relationship, or have a board member who is a ranking employee. Also ask about a small business line of credit (not for profits are eligible) that does not require collateral. Smaller lines of credit require less vigorous applications and are easier to get approved. You may access funds as you need them and repay when you are able. There may be some requirements like having to be out of the bank for a minimum period of time during the year, although that is not usually required for a line of credit. You may also try to negotiate a reduced interest rate. When approaching the bank them to consider this part of their Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) program. Under the Federal Community Reinvestment Act, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation evaluates a bank's record of helping to meet the needs of their community. As a citizen you may review the public section of a bank's most recent CRA evaluation and the list of services provided by any particular branch. A bank must reinvest some human and financial resources in the community/region they serve. This can include donations/grants, low interest loans and mortgages, volunteer services, local seminars on how to access bank services, manage money for low income customers and (designated) communities, etc. Those activities and allocations are monitored by the FDIC….and are mandated. Consider this possibility and check it out with your LOCAL banker.

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FROM THE UPSTATE OFFICE: Martha Strodel, Director Rural Arts Program

The last Rural workshop in this year's series will take place on Thursday, July 8th, from 4:30 - 6:30 pm at the Center for the Arts, 70-72 South Main Street, Homer, NY. "Build a Better Board: Board Development, Roles & Responsibilities" with Anne Ackerson will cover selecting and securing effective board members; board job descriptions & evaluation; and educating board members to build commitment and share in the organizational mission and vision as a leadership team. Hosted by Cultural Council of Cortland County, the workshop costs $10 per organization with up to 3 participants per organization. Call Jill Hearn at CCCC (607-753-1188) or by email at jill@cortlandculturalcouncil.org for more information and directions. Registration deadline is Tuesday, July 6th. The Rural workshops series this year has covered a number of relevant topics useful to boards and staff of not-for-profit organizations. In future Rurals columns, I will be summarizing some of the most useful information from each of the workshops in the 2004 series.

I have also subscribed to the Grassroots Fundraising Journal. In future columns, I'll concentrate on information of use to rural organizations from this timely and useful publication. If you would like to subscribe or check out recent articles, go to: www.grassrootsfundraising.org.

Below are some quick notes from an article titled "Fundraising in Times of Crisis" by author and publisher Kim Klein that appeared in the July/August 2003 (Vol. 22, #4) issue of Grassroots Fundraising Journal:

* Diversity funding resources: ideally, not more than 30% of funding should come from government AND foundation sources.
* Two sources of income that lead to growth & expansion, that also can be driven by volunteers are (1) individual donors and (2) earned income.
* Get as many people involved as possible in the fundraising process. Build a fundraising team of volunteers with a built-in recruitment and transition plan.
* In today¹s climate, volunteers generally prefer to put in long hours over a short period of time rather than dedicate a few hours over several months. The author suggests structuring annual fundraising into modules of 1-12 weeks; for example: different teams for each fundraising event or drive.

Donor Drive goals: (1) recruit new donors (2) renew present donors (3) increase gift size of present donors. Set goals on number of donors and amount for each drive. Focus major donor efforts on people who can give $100 - $1,500. These are the most untapped in the non-profit world, and the widest base. And keep it personal (in ask and thanks).
* Full board oversees all fundraising efforts and can support fundraising teams through thank you calls & letters, hosting house parties, etc. for both donors and volunteers.

Finally, I would like to renew my invitation to join the Alliance Rurals Task Force. Our purpose will be to (1) evaluate the existing Rurals Program measured against changing needs in the field and (2) to plan how the program can address these needs in the future. The time involved would be two - three scheduled online sessions at 1 hour each and each session would have an agenda. We would use the Alliance "Online Live" venue, with the first meeting projected for September. The work of the Rurals Task Force would then be posted to the RAN listserve for wider input and feedback. I would like to involve 8-10 individuals, both veteran and new Rural Partner directors as participants, and perhaps one or two knowledgeable Rural board members. To date, Annette Clarke, Elaine Giguere, Hilary Oak and Caroline Rubino have expressed interest; if you are interested, please email me at: mstrodel@capital.net.

Happy Summer!

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CALL FOR ALLIANCE BOARD OF DIRECTORS' NOMINATIONS

The Alliance Board Governance Committee seeks nominations from the field for potential Alliance Board members. Please submit candidate names to the Alliance Board Development Committee, 245 Love Lane, P.O. Box 96, Mattituck, NY 11952. In a brief letter, describe the attributes of your candidate. The three-year term of office becomes effective January 1 and can be renewed for an additional three-year term. Members of the Board are elected by the Alliance membership from a slate presented by the Board Development Committee at the Annual Meeting.

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES VOTES TO INCREASE
FY 2005 FUNDING FOR THE NEA AND NEH

On June 16, 2004, the U.S. House of Representatives voted by a record margin (241 to 185) in favor of an amendment to increase FY 2005 funding by $10 million for the National Endowment for the Arts and by $3.5 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities. In comparison, last year's vote was 225 to 200, with 35 Republicans voting for the Arts Caucus Amendment. This year, 48 Republicans voted for the amendment. Offered by Congressional Arts Caucus co-chairs Representatives Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and Chris Shays (R-CT), as well as Representatives Norm Dicks (D-WA) and Jim Leach (R-IA), this bipartisan amendment represents a strong statement about the importance of federal funding for the arts and the humanities in America.

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RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES AS SUGGESTED
BY AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS

ARTS MONTH AT THE FOUNDATION CENTER

June is annual Funding for the Arts month at the Foundation Center. The Center's website offers a wealth of content designed to educate and inform nonprofits in the arts. Visit often during the month to take advantage of the events, special features, and links to resources on the Web.

RAND

In State Arts Agencies 1965-2003: Whose Interests to Serve? author Julia F. Lowell argues that state budget cuts to state arts agencies reflect not only a one-time fiscal crisis, but also the political weakness of state arts agencies that has arisen because of a growing mismatch between their roles and structures and the cultural and political realities they face. The report is available for purchase or as a free download on the RAND website.

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS

Deadline: August 16, 2004. Access to Artistic Excellence: Dance/Design/Folk and Traditional Arts/Literature/Local Arts Agencies/Media Arts/Multidisciplinary/Museums/Music/Musical Theater/Presenting/Theater/Visual Arts

COLLEGE ART ASSOCIATION

Deadline: August 31, 2004. The College Art Association is accepting nominations for its annual Awards for Distinction, recognizing individuals who have made extraordinary contributions in the fields of art and art history. Nominations for book and exhibition awards should be for works published or exhibited/staged between September 1, 2003, and August 31, 2004.

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JOB BOARD

Director of Education: Central New York Community Arts Council
The Arts Council offers a variety of year round arts in education programs for area schools and educators in Madison, Oneida, and Herkimer Counties. The Director of Education oversees all educational aspects of the Arts Council's work. The central component of that effort is the Arts in Education Institute; a comprehensive program to bring arts based learning into local classrooms pre-k through 12. It comprises teacher education, artist training, and school year performances and classroom activities for students. The program serves diverse educational constituencies and sets a national standard for educational achievement in the arts in education field. It is affiliated with the Lincoln Center Institute program. The Director of Education also oversees the work of a local capacity re-grant program funded by the NYSCA, heads arts in education advocacy efforts, and will oversee the design and development of activities in the Stanley Theatre's new Education wing. The successful candidate will possess a minimum of a masters degree in education or a related arts field and will have five or more years of demonstrated administrative experience. CNYCAC is an equal opportunity employer. Please send resume and a current writing sample to:
Education Director Search Committee
Central New York Community Arts Council
261 Genesee Street
Utica, NY 13501

The Alliance of New York State Arts Organizations has a 29-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.

245 Love Lane, P.O. Box 96
Mattituck, NY 11952-0096
Phone (631) 298-1234 / Fax (631) 298-1101