blog by arwen

I promised the participants of my recent appeal letter workshop that I’d share two great resources we discussed.

First, we have an academic examination of the typical language included in appeals. I found this fantastic linguistic analysis last autumn and was surprised it didn’t get more notice in the arts blogosphere (the intrepid Artful Manager covered it). Written by Frank C. Dickerson, Ph.D., the work is based on doctoral research he conducted while attending Claremont Graduate University’s Peter F. Drucker School of Management. Mr. Dickerson has an extensive resume and decades of experience working in fund raising, so we would do well to heed his warning.

What is he saying exactly? Well, the title says it all when it comes to the direct appeal (also known as an “ask” or solicitation letter): “The Way We Write is All Wrong“. He argues that most appeals are written in the style of an academic treatise or worse yet official government documents, which creates distance and alienates the reader. He proposes that we write with personal passion and infuse our appeals with stories that connect emotionally to the reader instead. As a measure of his commitment to public service, he has made several important documents available for free on his website. For that, I’d like to say “Thank you, Frank!” on behalf of independent artists everywhere.

The other important resource is a recent market research report called “The Next Generation of American Giving“.

A landmark research study into the charitable giving behaviors and attitudes of Gen Y, Gen X, Boomer and Mature donors from Convio, Edge Research and Sea Change Strategies. The art and science of fundraising, as we know it, is undergoing rapid and permanent change driven by technology, the imperative to attract new donors, and by the evolving traits of different generations of supporters. This report is a contribution to understanding this change and offers some strategic guidance for fundraisers who are struggling to keep up with it.

This is huge to anyone undertaking an individual campaign – especially given the rapid evolution of fund raising trends & techniques as we now straddle the worlds of the old school (unsolicited direct mail form letter) and the new school (online & email appeals, donating via text messages, Facebook causes etc). You have to provide your contact info to download the report, but in my opinion it is WELL worth it. Nonprofit marketing expert Nancy E. Schwartz agrees and offers a quick summary of the findings.

When looking at these resources together, I think two big takeaways are:

1. when asking for money, effective writing for individuals is completely DIFFERENT than effective writing for grants, so do your homework and figure out how to tell a compelling story (as opposed to demonstrating your capacity for program success via measurable criteria);

and

2. appeal letter writing/campaigning might require just as much work as writing a grant if you want to do it right, given technological advances in digital media and the range of generational preferences relating to communication channels.

What do you think about these reports? Any additional appeal letter resources we should add into the mix?

I am excited to announce two events I have coming up in the next few weeks.

First, I am moderating a discussion that is part of a salon series presented by The Performance Project at University Settlement and the Ontological-Hysteric Theater Co‘s Incubator program. These legendary downtown organizations have teamed up to host a series of salons for artists and the public, free of charge.

Scheduled for Monday, March 29, 7p.m. at University Settlement located at 184 Eldridge Street (corner of Rivington), the salon is titled:

The Long Haul – Defining and creating a sustainable career-path.

Artist participants: Alec Duffy of Hoi Polloi, Jules Gimbrone and Elliot Montague of WREST, and Sandi Carroll of MUD/BONE.

Join us to discuss how independent artists think about their careers in the long term. Hear from a variety of participants how they sustain themselves during the feast & famine cycles affecting not only income, but also creative inspiration. Does thinking about the long term matter? Is it better to only worry about the next 12 months? What are some of the benefits of planning ahead and making strategic investments for your future and how does one go about it? Is goal setting important or does it restrict flexibility and opportunity? Artist participants will share thoughts, tips and tactics about how they have managed to survive and thrive over the course of their career so far and how they plan to continue it in future years.

Second, I am teaching another new workshop at The Field – this time on individual appeal letters. If you have ever wondered about or wanted to improve your skills in the area of soliciting donations via the written word, this workshop is for you. If interested, you can sign up here.

Individual Giving Letters – April 10, Saturday, 11am-1:30pm

Appeal letters are the primary tool artists use to raise funds for their work by soliciting friends, family, and audience members to donate money, goods and services. This workshop focuses on writing effective individual appeals and their integral position within the spectrum of fund raising efforts. Participants are encouraged to bring in past letters for discussion and attendees will work on crafting potential letters for future use.

Every day I am amazed at how the technological revolution is changing our lives, sculpting our cultures and expanding our consciousness.

I found myself at a wonderful event last night amidst social and political activists working in the fields of human rights, education reform, climate change – just about any cause you could name. It was held at my office-away-from-home Brooklyn Creative League and presented by theCoup and Witness.

10 tactics for turning information into action is a film produced by the Tactical Technology Collective. They say:

10 tactics for turning information into action is our newest project and our first go at documentary film-making. It explores how rights advocates around the world have used the internet and digital technologies to create positive change, featuring 35 stories of successful info-activism in 24 countries. The 50-min documentary comes with a set of 15 hands-on cards featuring examples from the film and tools and tips to help you plan your own info-activism.

After a screening of the film, we broke up into groups based on topic of interest (stories, visual representation, mobile & tech, community & networks) and briefly discussed the film in relation to our topic, our work and our experiences. I was in the community and networking group and was somewhat relieved to learn that every cause seems to be having trouble turning virtual networks into physical action. How to get people (besides the Mad Tea Partiers) off their butts and out of their seats and into the world to do something in real-time seems to be the $64,000 question.

10 tactics is a great resource for those of us looking to connect with people in meaningful, authentic ways and Tactical Technology Collective provides free tool kits and informational resources as part of the project. It was fascinating to reflect on how these tactics have been used (or misused)  in advocacy/awareness campaigns in the arts. More on that in another post…

Congratulations and thank you to everyone who made this an inspiring, informative and engaging event.

I found this some time ago – it was a guest post on one of the finance blogs I follow – and I meant to write about it, but somehow forgot. So, here it is, better late than never.

The author provides a great list of Do’s and Don’ts when trying to cultivate online press contacts and woo the blogosphere into covering your product/service/show/album/whatever.

It is specifically written for people who work in PR & publicity, but I think Lindsay outlines some great principles that independent artists can adapt and apply in cases where the PR/pub duties fall to us.

My favorite tips are these two:

2. Pick Eight Blogs

While the rest of the publicists in her company were sending out mass emails to everyone, hoping to get bites from Perez Hilton, Gawker, HuffPo, or wherever, this publicist focused on a lower traffic tier with the (correct) understanding that these days, content filters up as much as it filters down, and often the smaller sites, with their ability to dig deeper into the internet and be more nimble, act as farm teams for the larger ones. A site can be enormously influential without having crazy eyeballs, because all eyeballs are not equal.

4. A Monkey Can Send a Mass Email: Build Relationships and Understand What Your Real Job Is

I don’t know why one of the oldest truisms of publicity, marketing, salesmanship, and basically every other field is ignored by online publicists: it’s about relationships! I can find my own content without the help of any publicist — any blogger worth his or her job can. I just get annoyed that my time has been wasted. If a publicist shows that they know what they’re doing, the resulting surprise on behalf of the blogger/reporter/editor will lead to more attention paid to that publicists offerings. Duh.

Amen sister! The original post is a really quick read and if you are dealing with online publicity, I suggest you check it out.

I’m pleased as punch to announce that I will be serving as Associate Producer for Tisch School of the Arts‘ 2010 hotINK International Play Reading Festival. The festival runs during the last two weekends of January on 1/23 – 1/25, and 1/30, 1/31.

A completely FREE festival of plays from around the globe, this year features playwrights hailing from Uganda, Ireland, Canada, Russia, France, Romania, Finland, Austria and Japan.

Now in its ninth year, hotINK is an annual, international festival of play readings, presented by the Department of Drama, that brings together playwrights from around the world with distinguished actors and directors from the New York theatre, as well as students, alumni and faculty from the Tisch School of the Arts.

The many distinguished U.S. playwrights, directors and actors who have taken part in hotINK include Bill Camp, Kathleen Chalfant, Migdalia Cruz, Liz Diamond, Kathryn Erbe, John Gallagher, Jr., Joe Grifasi, Kathryn Grody, Rinne Groff, Stephanie Roth Haberle, Jeffrey Hatcher, Jessica Hecht, Marin Ireland, Len Jenkin, Francis Jue, Arthur Kopit, Michael Laurence, Paul Lazar, Robert Lyons, Joan MacIntosh, Heather McDonald, Steve Mellor, Itamar Moses, Victor Pappas, Keith Reddin, Henry Stram, Caridad Svich, Mac Wellman, B.D. Wong, Frank Woods and Janet Zarish.

As an alumni of Undergrad Drama, I am thrilled to be working again with some of my favorite people on staff at 721 Broadway. Full details for the festival can be found here. Tickets will be available after January 4th through Smarttix and more information will be forthcoming after the New Year.

Last night, I had the immense pleasure of seeing a film on the “big screen” that I helped become what it is in a little tiny way…

William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe is a documentary about William Kunstler, the famous/infamous civil rights attorney who defended the Chicago 8, the Catonsville 9 and a host of other controversial figures throughout his career.

The film was made by two of his daughters, Emily and Sarah Kunstler. I met them while managing the fiscal sponsorship program at Fractured Atlas and worked with them to process the donations and manage some of the funds that helped make this movie a reality. They also used Women Make Movies as a fiscal sponsor, another important organization that serves women filmmakers.

The film is a beautiful story of a complicated man and the relationship his daughters had to him while growing up here in NYC. In Kunstler’s later years, he defended some rather unsavory characters, including handling two years worth of appeals battles in behalf of Yusef Salaam, one of the Central Park Jogger rapists who was later exonerated when the real culprit confessed to the crime.

The film is currently playing at Cinema Village in NYC – it runs through this weekend and will be extended if ticket sales warrant it. They are having talk backs/Q&As with the filmmakers and some of the key players after certain showings and if you have any interest in the history of civil rights and/or this fascinating man, I strongly suggest you see the film.

Yusef Salaam was one of the speakers at the Q&A last night. To hear him talk about being falsely accused, convicted and to ultimately serve 5+ years for a crime he didn’t commit at age 15 was frightening, heartbreaking and ultimately inspirational. He has become an amazing advocate and a bold example of why we need serious prison and judicial reform in this country.

It will be opening in LA, San Francisco, Seattle and more cities around the U.S. this weekend – you can find all the details on the film’s website.

Congratulations to Sarah and Emily for creating this amazing documentary about their father and an important figure in American history. To me, this is the best possible use of a fiscal sponsorship program in the arts.

Early this week, the Wall St. Journal’s Personal Finance section had an interesting article written about how to fix some of the most common problems that plague the philanthropic and non-profit sectors with regard to charitable giving.

For anyone who has worked in the sector for a substantial length of time, these suggestions are kind of a no-brainer, but it is good to see them in print in the WSJ nonetheless. The article also includes an interview with the author (in which he digs into the issue of how wealthy individual donors direct their support) and some great charts.

It is a quick read and it makes some fine points. Some suggestions (see #7) are already being implemented in certain sub-sectors (namely ours!), for example, the Cultural Data Project – a streamlined online application and data collection system developed and launched in Pennsylvania and now used in California, Ohio, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts and Maryland.

Here is a quick list of the suggestions made the author, Pablo Eisenberg, who is is senior fellow in the Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership at Georgetown Public Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.:

1. Increase the Distribution Percentage (Referring to how much of their assets Foundations are required to grant out per year – this is my favorite suggestion)

2. Increase General Operating Support (A topic those of us in the arts have been talking about for years)

3. Increase Multiyear Funding (Yes, yes, yes – foundations offering financial stability year over year – what a concept!)

4. Adopt Rolling Grant Making (Especially given the range of fiscal years that exist, it would be helpful with planning & cash flow)

5. Allocate More Funds to the Truly Needy (I can get behind this given our current economic contraction and high unemployment – but take it from somewhere else besides the arts orgs!)

6. Reach Out to Local Groups And Underserved Regions (We are all in this together people – think Purple, not Red vs. Blue)

7. Simplify Application and Reporting Procedures (Amen, hallelujah!)

8. Improve Public Accountability (I don’t think the non-profit sector are the ones who need more accountability right now – how about going after the banking and finance sector first?)

9. Fund the Watchdogs (Having working for an arts service organization for the last 4+ years, I wholeheartedly agree)

To me, the elephant in the pie-chart is the unavoidable fact that the largest percentage of charitable giving goes to religious organizations who often operate a lot of programs for the poor & needy. I can’t figure out why Pablo doesn’t address this and instead lumps together “higher education, health, the arts and culture” (in the interview) as the largest recipients of individual and institutional support and suggests that support should be redirected for more “charitable purposes”.

His statement about the largest recipients doesn’t agree with the charts included in the article that are sourced from Giving USA -  if you add the percentages listed (education 13%, health 9% and the arts 4%) you only get 24% of total giving going to these areas which is hardly a whopping majority. Maybe he is including the religious organizations in his definition of “culture” and if so, then he is absolutely correct, but this should be clarified if that is indeed the case.

What suggestions would you add to the list?

A gigantic, free theater orgy in Union Square is happening this Thursday Oct 15th from noon – 6pm as part of TCG’s Free Night of Theater program. Information on all the Free Night NYC events can be found here.

For those of you outside NYC, don’t fret – you can probably get your theater freak on as well – just visit the main Free Night website to see if your city has joined the party.

There are over 120 sites and over 600 theaters participating and it’s all FREE, so you have no excuse not to get your butt out to the theater on Thursday night!

I’ve been sick with a terrible flu for the past week. Now that I am finally better, I am excited to have a reason to be out and about all day Thurday. I will be in Union Square for most of the day – if you see me, please say hello!

Calling all lovers of downtown theatre and performance!

Prelude 09: Ecologies, Economies, and Engagement is currently looking for a few good hands to volunteer for festival outreach and hospitality. Prelude 09 is an amazing opportunity to get involved with New York’s downtown theatre and performance scene, and is chock full of fantastic parties, symposia, and more. Prelude 09 runs September 30th-October 3rd at the Graduate Center, CUNY (365 Fifth Avenue b/w 34th & 35th St.)

Greeters/Ushers!
The festival is looking for 2-4 persons available Wednesday-Saturday (or a portion of those dates) for greeting people, directing them to the Segal and Elebash venues, and, in several cases, acting as the guide between the lobby and other on-site event spaces.

Hours: 2pm-4pm; 4pm-6pm; 6pm-8pm; Each day of the festival.

Hospitality/Runners!
The festival is looking for 2 persons available Wednesday-Saturday (or a portion of those dates) for space and hospitality services for Prelude 09 Artists, liasing between event Producers and participating artists, panelists, and Stage Managers.

Hours: 2pm-4pm; 4pm-6pm; 6pm-8pm; Each day of the festival.

Neighborhood Do-gooders!
The festival needs your help in our marketing efforts. We remain a totally FREE festival at a time when everyone is feeling the pinch – can you think of local haunts (coffee shops, performance spaces, educational institutions) who will display our postcards? Can you commit to taking a stack or two around the city with you in the coming weeks?

Hours: Own.

If you are willing and able to help, please send an email with your interest and availability to volunteer@preludenyc.org.

I am thrilled to announce that I am working in collaboration with this year’s Prelude Festival, presented by The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center (MESTC), The Graduate Center, CUNY. Now in its 6th year, this annual festival previews work-in-progress by some of NYC’s most exciting artists and features symposium and artist talk-back sessions daily.

It is FREE and open to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis and only lasts four days: Sept 30 – Oct 3.

I am moderating a panel discussion on the subject of citizenship and serving as Associate Producer. I will post again with more details as the festival approaches, but for now I encourage you to follow the festival on Twitter: @preludenyc and become a fan on Facebook.