The Cycle: A Practical Approach to Managing Arts Organizations

9 | When the Cycle Breaks

154 9 when the cycle breaks While the cycle is easy to explain and to understand, many arts organizations , unfortunately, do not enjoy as smooth a ride as the theory would suggest is possible. Too many are struggling with severe cashflow shortages, dysfunctional board/staff relationships, loss of donors and audience, etc. There are several reasons why healthy organizations get sick and why many organizations do not achieve the full benefits of the cycle: • Not enough exciting, important art. That seems heretical to suggest, but my travels across the United States and the world have revealed too many arts organizations with great passion but poor performance . Their families have grown bored and have turned their attention to attractive, less expensive substitutes. In some cases, this arises from a lack of talent of the artistic leadership. But in more cases it results from poor artistic planning or a fear of thinking big. Arts organizations that plan their art quickly and without enough thought invariably end up with seasons that resemble each other so strongly that audiences and donors simply look elsewhere for entertainment and inspiration. More frequently, I find arts organizations planning uninteresting seasons because they are focused more on financial results than they are on artistic results. So many arts organizations facing financial challenges have forgotten how to dream and cannot even contemplate the large, transformative projects that both help achieve their missions and create financial health. Unfortunately, many arts organizations have chosen to retreat in the face of economic difficulties; this has led to the loss of family members. This is not, however, an argument for an artificial radicalization of one’s programming just for the sake of being different or new in the face of increasing competition. Wild art meant to shock, or pop art designed to draw masses, will just as often alienate core audi- w h e n t h e c y c l e b r e a k s 155 ences as it will attract new ones. Rather, a balanced portfolio of exciting , mission-driven work is required to retain core supporters while attracting new audiences. • Insufficient visibility. Too many organizations fail if they rest on their institutional marketing laurels. They have grown complacent and neglect to utilize their unique assets to engage and stimulate their families. Arts organizations that believe that one large newspaper story, appearance at a political event, television documentary , or box-office hit will captivate their communities for months to come are simply fooling themselves. Our patrons are bombarded with so much new information every day from so many competing sources that one only maintains share of mind by continuously promoting one’s organization. • Neglect of family. As with any family, the members must be nurtured ; taking them for granted is dangerous. This is especially true for the families of arts organizations since the members have the opportunity to leave one family and join another with few restrictions . It is far harder to leave one’s nuclear family than it is to shift one’s subscription from one dance company to another. Very few arts organizations will turn away a ticket buyer or donor. During difficult economic times, we must assume that other organizations in our immediate environment are making every effort to woo and sustain new family members of their own—who, often enough, will intersect with ours. This challenge is amplified since the competition for contributions is not limited to other arts organizations. Hospitals, universities , and social-service programs—which typically raise far more than cultural organizations—have grown highly efficient in building and maintaining their families, often at a larger scale and with greater organizational capacity than arts organizations. To compound this threat, their missions are often perceived to be clearer, more urgent, and more altruistic than are ours. While they rarely offer the entertainment value that arts organizations can, healthcare , environmental, and educational institutions have grown large and stable because they can show an immediate impact on their communities and have provided a high level of donor service over a period of many years. While it is true, of course, that a donor can give to both a social- t h e c y c l e 156 service organization and a cultural organization, it is also true that donors are now weighing their investments more carefully. This is a special consideration for younger, less-established arts organizations that have much less capacity...