Sounding Board

No. 18 | Published 2006
A Fresh Look at Arts Participation
How can we gain a better framework for thinking about arts activities? One way is to look at them through the lens of the consumer—from a demand standpoint, that is, rather than from a supply standpoint. Recent research commissioned by the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism sent 20 teams of arts administrators and board members to conduct individual in-depth interviews with a cross section of audiences using a common set of questions.

No. 1 | Published 1997
Cultural Programming: Can Anything Appeal to Anyone?

No. 17 | Published 2005
Tools of the Trade: Prospect Research Updated

No. 16 | published 2005
Ready?

No. 15 | published 2004
Donor Diversification: The Challenge of Single-Source Funding
Some nonprofit organizations have been created by funders. Others are heavily subsidized by a single funding source. In both cases, those providing the money are the lifeblood that keeps a valued effort going. This Working Paper addresses the challenges that arise for funders and nonprofits alike when the decision is made to significantly reduce or terminate support.

No. 14 | Published 2004
Community Planning: The New Context at Play
Endowments have been called the “Holy Grail” of nonprofit finance. Nonprofits aspire to develop endowments as relief from the burden and uncertainty of annual fund raising. Many foundations have fashioned “stability” and “sustainability” strategies around endowment building, usually in the form of a challenge investment that triggers a capital campaign. Endowments are excellent targets for planned giving programs, which can be within the reach of organizations of all sizes.

No. 29 | published 2010
All The World’s a Stage
Why will some people engage with art in one setting, but not another? For example, why will someone watch great drama on television at home, but never darken the door of a theater? Why will someone listen to classical music in a place of worship, but not a concert hall?

No. 13 | Published 2004
Plus Ca Change: What’s New About Boards?
Every few years since my textbook on managing nonprofit organizations appeared in 1984, I am asked by the publisher to update it. The title has changed twice*, specific chapters have come and gone, and others have undergone major revision. But, surprisingly, the chapter on boards of trustees has not changed substantially. Despite transformations in society, in the funding environment, and in patterns of nonprofit administration, many of the fundamental ideas about boards seem to hold.

No. 30 | published 2011
Is Sustainability Sustainable?
Historically, sustaining an arts organization meant generating enough earned and contributed revenue to fund current operations. With so much continued change and turmoil in the arts industry, WolfBrown set out to reconsider what sustainability means in 2011.

No. 12 | Published 2003
Founders and Succession: Creating Effective Transitions
“Founder’s Syndrome” is a ubiquitous and sometimes intractable challenge throughout the nonprofit field. At Wolf, Keens & Company, we have worked with many organizations that continue to be run by founders. These charismatic individuals can offer a dynamic vision, enormous knowledge, a wealth of contacts, tremendous energy, and a palpable passion for the causes to which they have devoted their lives. Yet the boards and staffs of these organizations, and even the founders themselves, often express frustration with the subsequent directions that are taken and how things are working – or not. In these cases, everyone has a sense that some sort of transformation is needed, but achieving such transformation seems nearly impossible.