Leading Roles: 50 Questions Every Arts Board Should Ask

Contents

contents Apology xi Acknowledgments xiii Introduction xv life cycle 1 How Does a Successful Arts Organization Function? 1 2 How Does an Arts Organization Evolve? 3 3 Has Our Board Matured with Our Organization? 6 board and mission 4 Why Do We Need a Mission Statement? What Constitutes a Good Mission Statement? 8 5 How Should We Develop a Mission Statement? 11 6 Do Our Board Meetings Reflect Our Mission? 12 board governance 7 What Are the Major Responsibilities of the Board? 15 8 How Many People Should Serve on Our Board? 18 9 What Are the Best Leadership Structures? What Kind of Board Leadership Do We Need? 20 10 Do We Need Board or Staff Diversity? 23 11 Do We Need Board Members with Specific Skills? Should We Have Other Not-for-Profit Executives on Our Board? 26 12 Where Do We Find New Board Members? How Should New Members Be Added? 28 13 Should We Have a “Give-or-Get” Policy? 31 14 Do We Need Term Limits? 34 15 What is the Function of a Governance Committee or Nominating Committee? 36 16 How Do We Fire Unproductive Board Members? 37 17 Apart from a Governance Committee, What Other Committees Do We Need? 40 18 Should the Artistic Director and Executive Director Serve on the Board? 42 board and fundraising 19 Are We Relying Too Heavily on Contributed Revenue? 44 20 How Do We Attract Corporate Contributions? Foundation Contributions? Individual Contributions? 45 21 How Do We Maximize the Results of Our Annual Gala? 52 22 How Do We Evaluate a Fundraising Plan? 54 23 Are Board Members Responsible for Fundraising? How Do We Get Board Members to Raise Money? 56 24 Are We Embarrassed about Our Organization? 58 25 Are We Ready to Mount a Capital Campaign? How Do We Pursue This Campaign? 60 board and marketing 26 How Do We Evaluate a Marketing Plan? 63 27 How Do We Get a Diverse Audience? A Younger Audience? 66 28 Are Our Ticket Prices Appropriate? 68 29 Why Are Subscription Sales So Much Lower Than in the Past? 71 30 Are We Using the Internet Properly? 73 31 Our Theater Is Empty, What Should We Do? 75 32 Our Theater Is Filled, What Should We Do? 77 board and staff 33 What Should We Think about When We Hire an Artistic Director or an Executive Director? 79 34 Should We Hire from the For-Profit Sector? 81 35 Is It Appropriate for Board Members to Do the Work of the Staff If They Are Not Doing It Well? 83 36 How Should the Artistic Director and the Executive Director Relate to Each Other? 85 board and planning/budgeting 37 How Should We Approach a Strategic Planning Process? How Can We Make Sure the Plan Is Implemented? 88 38 Do We Really Believe the Budget We Just Passed? Where Should We Cut If We Need To? 94 39 Should We Build a New Facility? 98 40 What Are the Major Pitfalls of Planning We Should Avoid? 99 board in crisis 41 Our Organization Is in a Crisis, What Do We Do? 102 international boards 42 Our Organization Is Not in the United States, Does That Make a Difference? 105 arts organizations of color 43 Our Organization Is an Institution of Color, Does That Make a Difference? 108 subsidiary boards 44 Should We Have a Subsidiary Board? A Volunteer Group? 110 board and programming 45 Aren’t All Artists Spendthrifts? 113 46 What Is the Board’s Role in Artistic Planning? 115 47 How Many Years Out Should We Be Planning Our Art? 117 48 Should We Form Joint Ventures? 120 49 Should We Build a Touring Program? 122 50 Do We Need an Education Program? 124 Epilogue 127 ...