Five ways CAA-funded community foundations grew arts funds in the worst year since the Depression

Most nonprofit fundraisers are glad to see the calendar turn to 2010—personal donations in 2009 declined while social needs skyrocketed. During this tumultuous time, the arts giving landscape might have been bleak, but it was far from barren.

Lessons in success

Here are five lessons in success, based on wins in 2009, that point the way to more giving in the new year.

1.  Donors value leadership—and collaboration—in the arts.

Community Foundation Sonoma County connected five arts nonprofits with new and prospective donors through An Evening of Song & Poetry. This approach featured unprecedented local cooperation: each arts organization in effect introduced its largest donors to other nonprofits celebrated at an intimate evening event. The community foundation provided plenty of incentive for everyone—offering $50,000 as a match for any event attendees who chose to contribute funds to one or more of the arts organizations feted. Donors responded enthusiastically. Nearly 60 people contributed $90,000 through this appeal, representing nearly two dollars for every one pledged by the community foundation, and generating $140,000 in immediate support for these five organizations. Read more about this remarkable fundraising event.

2.  Artists have networks of new donors at the grassroots level.

An innovative matching commissions program, started by East Bay Community Foundation and picked up by The San Francisco Foundation as well as the Marin Arts Council, continues to gain steam. The program, more fully described here, provides matching grants—typically $5,000 or $10,000—to artists. To date, the artists who received matching grants have, in turn, generated contributions from 2,588 donors. This donor giving has provided $615,000 in new support for 182 artist-run organizations and artist-driven projects in the five-county Bay Area.

3.  Many donors know that now is the time to stand for arts, and to stand with their community foundation.

The East Bay Fund for Artists, which supplies the matching grants for the commissions program above, received a total of $75,000 from four donor advised funds in 2009. Diane Sanchez, Director of Grantmaking and Donor Services, is thrilled: “I feel very good about this because in a difficult year these donor advisors could have let this community foundation program slip off their list.” Only one of the donors sustains a dedicated focus on giving in the arts; the others had many appeals to consider for use of their funds. Plus, all these donors were working with lower fund balances than normal due to the loss of investment assets. “Their commitment in these tough times is a validation of our work,” adds Diane.

4.  Giving circles invite a welcome degree of donor engagement.

Sacramento Region Community Foundation knows that many arts donors appreciate connections. This notion has special meaning in a down economy, as pooling funds helps donors do more with their individual gifts. Plus, donor circles bring a social aspect to giving, helping individual givers learn from each other and share pride in the stories created through their collective support. There’s additional appeal when these groups of donors receive special access to arts experiences and face time with artists. All this adds up to success with the recent launch of donor circles in Sacramento. One circle is forming now with a lead giver at the $25,000 level, and other donors entering with a minimum contribution of $5,000.

5.  Long-term thinking still matters—so don’t give up on endowment building!

Orange County Community Foundation received a $250,000 contribution to its Arts Endowment Fund in late 2009. It’s the largest gift to the fund to date. Listen to Keith Swayne speaking about this decision by he and his wife: “Judy and I are delighted to make this gift, not only as a reflection of our belief in the importance of the arts to a thriving community, but as a challenge to other local philanthropists to do their part in strengthening the arts and cultural sector in Orange County.”
The Swayne’s action is creating buzz. Says Todd Hanson, Vice President of Donor Relations and Programs, “This gift gives confidence to other potential donors. It helps them see how they can help the fund grow quickly and become a cornerstone of stability in our arts sector.” Read more about this community foundation’s commitment to the arts.

Toward the new year

These five success stories remind us that the case for arts remains strong in spite of (perhaps even because of!) a poor economy. As always, the task is to connect to donor motivations, offer the giving options people want, and be confident in making the ask.

A year-end bonus: One of our most popular posts of 2009 is a feature on deepening relationships and understanding motivations by conducting personal interviews with arts donors. Materials and questions created by Alan Brown, an innovator in this field, are available here.

All activities reported here were conducted as part of Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

What makes arts donors tick? How can we connect with these givers?

These questions are top of mind for all who aim to increase donor support for community arts. Recently, a group of California community foundations turned to research guru Alan Brown to help deepen their understanding of donors. Their aim was clear: to shape more effective donor engagement strategies and accelerate local arts giving.

Alan crafted a powerful donor interview exercise that was put to remarkably good use by these community foundations—all of whom are part of Irvine’s Communities Advancing the Arts initiative. The process and its benefits are shared here, along with key documents, for use by others seeking to connect more closely with arts donors.

A meaningful experience

“I was a little apprehensive to dig as deep as the interview asked us to and was concerned we might be intruding too much into topics people considered personal, but donors had no problems with our questions, and what we learned was very helpful,” said Todd Hansen of Orange County Community Foundation. According to Melissa Kester of Community Foundation Sonoma County, “We had one long-time donor start the interview by telling us that we already knew everything about her giving and motivations… she then proceeded to tell us so many new things that we felt like we hadn’t known her at all!”

Alan, who is a consultant and principal with WolfBrown, created questions, placed them in an interview protocol and constructed a thorough briefing used to train a group of nine community foundations in all aspects of requesting, confirming and conducting the interview.

Once prepped, community foundations sent out staffers in pairs to conduct each interview.  Development, donor services, communications and program people, as well as CEOs, took part. “Everyone has interviewing skills,” suggested Alan.

Each community foundation assembled one or two interview teams. And each team conducted two or three interviews. All together, these teams conducted about 30 interviews with arts donors around the state (including some who give through their community foundation and some who do not). Team members then came together to compare results.

This process was designed to surface new insights about why donors give to the arts, and to help community foundations strengthen their relationships with specific arts donors. It did plenty of both. Hugh Ralston at Ventura County Community Foundation reported, “We had a very positive experience and rich conversation. The interview protocol worked very well. People were pleased to participate… and many valued thinking about the questions that we put forward.”

A ready-made process

Alan and Irvine have made this process and related tools available for use by any interested community foundation. Here’s how it works, in three primary steps.

Step 1. Set the stage and ask probing questions

Because multiple community foundations were involved in these interviews, they were able to introduce this exercise as a statewide study of arts donors. This framing was important—it helped donors know that this activity extended beyond their community and their community foundation. And it was made clear that this activity was about gaining information, not about asking for a new gift.

Interviews were scheduled for a maximum of 60 minutes. They were conducted using a sequence of questions organized in six core areas—each of which is stated below (along with a sample question or two), and presented in full in the attached donor interview protocol.

1. Leisure time. How are you most likely to spend your leisure time? How do you express yourself creatively?
2. Core values. When you think about all your various affiliations and causes, are there any convictions, beliefs or principles that explain why you do what you do?
3. Donor motivations. Generally, how do you decide which arts programs or projects to support? What influences your decision the most?
4. Personal involvement. How much personal involvement do you like to have with the organizations you support? How do you like to be involved?
5. Accountability. How are you assured that your contributions are well used? Do you trust arts groups to use the funds wisely, or do you like to have some proof or evidence that your contributions are well used?
6. Community foundations. Some people prefer to support arts organizations directly, while other people support arts programs through a community foundation. What are the pluses and minuses of each way of giving?

Step 2. Test the values framework

Interviewers then “tested” a values framework, constructed by Alan with content drawn from the comprehensive RAND Corporation 2005 research report Gifts of the Muse, to help donors better identify their motivations for giving to the arts. This diagram provides a visual picture of the many ways that arts programs create benefits for individuals, families and communities. These benefits are organized in five primary categories (each of which is further described in the framework document):

• Personal development
• Economic & social benefits
• Human interaction
• Imprint of the arts experience
• Communal meaning

Interview subjects were presented with the framework, and asked to describe, “Which of its benefits are most important to you? Which of the five areas or ‘spheres of benefits’ resonate with you the most?”

Step 3. Pursue qualitative learning

This interview exercise was designed as a participative learning process—yielding qualitative data and deeper insights into individual donor interests. When the community foundation interviewers gathered to debrief their experience, Alan facilitated the group toward identification of relevant themes and implications. Highlights:

• There is an explosion of creative expression in society today; it is taking multiple forms (cooking, gardening, dressing, designing attractive living spaces, etc.).
• There is a narrative to learn about most donors—understanding how they are put together provides insight into understanding their giving. (One donor attended the interview debrief session, and through an informal exchange expressed a set of core personal values readily identified by the interviewer group. This donor cared deeply about community, investment in community, access to quality education for all people, and respecting and honoring the work of previous generations of family philanthropists.)
• Format innovation is the next frontier in audience development; the range of innovation is broad, and includes experiments such as providing longer intermissions to facilitate Twitter exchanges, to providing interpretive text on personal data devices (e.g., iPhones, Blackberrys) that can accompany musical performances in real time.
• Some donors are really interested in evidence of impact, which arts organizations don’t typically capture. Related, we are seeing emphasis on accountability because of donor interests and the economy.
• Performing arts organizations often lack quality photos and visuals that help people stay connected to their experience and thereby retain evidence of impact. Symbols of the experience are important. This helps explain why rock concerts sell t-shirts and sports teams sell hats at games. Consultant Jerry Yoshitomi was referenced for his emphasis on these “memory elicitation devices.” Alan said that, “printed programs are what people hang on to because they are not yet ready to let go of their emotional connection to the arts experience.”
• People have different attitudes toward engagement and different levels of involvement; part of our diagnostic process is to find out what level of involvement people want, and find interesting ways for them to be involved at that level. On a related note, Alan commented that, “It takes people about three years to learn the cultural assets of a community once they move to it.” And that, “people often get to know their community by going to museums.”
• The ability to identify cross-cutting needs that are not owned by any single institution, and that relate to donor interests, should be a strength of community foundations. An example Alan cited here is keeping older adults involved in creative pursuits. These types of opportunities are often bigger than any individual arts organization, and play to the strengths of community foundations to identify relevant needs, help people champion these needs, and advance a community vitality agenda.
• Local dynamics between the community foundation and arts community have implications for much of this work. Arts nonprofits have their own agendas and interests, and don’t always see community foundations as their advocates. Community foundations need to sit down with arts organizations early in the work of supporting community arts; once relationships develop, the networking and collaborations that follow are phenomenal.

Big take aways

What are the major lessons for all who are dedicated to growing community arts? Recognize donors for their expertise. Gain their opinions. Invite them to describe themselves. Learn and share their stories.
In other words, keep asking questions. And listening.

This learning experience was sponsored through Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

What can a community do when economic recession threatens local arts organizations and makes donors cautious about their giving? In Sonoma County, these scary circumstances led to a strategy for showcasing local arts—while helping donors reconnect to their passion for creativity in community.

If you’re looking for ways to make the case for arts in a community suffering hard times, you won’t want to miss the appeal of Dana Gioia. Dana is an internationally acclaimed poet and the recent Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. His 13-minute talk is powerful, moving and funny.

Dana’s remarks were a big part of an even bigger event that generated $130,000 in crucial arts funding.

Sonoma’s recipe for success

• Select five local arts nonprofits to feature, drawing from both proven and promising organizations. Make sure all are in tune with a spirit of cooperation—this event was about celebrating community arts, not competing for arts dollars!
• Recruit three world-class artists to perform in an intimate setting, accompanied by wonderful food, great local wine and beautiful scenery. The venue was an area winery with an impressive art collection and sweeping views of the Sonoma valley.
• Make it easy for each nonprofit, as well as the community foundation, to engage a set of its donors and prospective donors. The community foundation underwrote the event, so there was no cost to the participating nonprofits. These arts organizations were encouraged to position the event with their invitees in the manner they deemed best. Most asked attendees to make a donation as part of the invitation process—and received amounts ranging from $250 to $1,000. Others positioned this as a no-admission-fee event honoring invitees for their support.
• Announce that the community foundation is providing $50,000 as an incentive match for any attendees interested in contributing funds to the arts organizations feted at the event. This message was delivered as part of the invitation process, and reiterated at the event.
• Treat the audience to a profound artistic experience, featuring musical inspiration from baritone Rod Gilfry and pianist Jeffrey Kahane, plus Dana’s poetry.
• Deliver (via Dana) a passionate address connecting vibrant arts to community vitality, and issue a call for local philanthropists to step forward at this time of economic challenge.
• Combine this strong call with a soft ask. Attendees knew they were welcome to contribute and take advantage of community foundation matching funds (which applied to gifts made before, during or after the event), but no specific amounts were requested, and no “hard sell” was conducted. The tone for the evening was that of a thank you more so than a fundraiser. Donors responded positively, writing checks and making pledges for nearly $80,000 in new funds.

This video below documenting the development and presentation of the event performance provides a wonderfully produced example for community foundations interested in implementing similar programs locally.

Both videos referenced in this post have an ongoing life—each is being used in the context of small group donor parties.

Breaking new ground

The strategy for An Evening of Song & Poetry involved some first steps with lasting benefits. It brought about productive collaboration among five arts organizations—including the first-ever sharing of donor lists. It helped a key group of local arts donors gain a broader perspective on the arts community. And it placed the community foundation squarely in a leadership role, together with its partner, the Arts Council of Sonoma County.

Community Foundation Sonoma County is a participant in Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

The economy is at a 40-year low. Safety net issues are on the rise at an alarming rate. So why sustain a commitment to the arts?

Jim Canales, president and CEO of The James Irvine Foundation, answers this question in the following op-ed appearing in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Why the arts matter
James E. Canales
Tuesday, February 3, 2009

The arts are in trouble. Many of the institutions that make the Bay Area’s cultural scene so compelling are facing financial difficulties. Some are severely cutting programs; others are on the verge of closing. The arts are particularly vulnerable because they rely upon ticket sales and memberships, which are often among the first to be cut from consumer spending during an economic crisis. At the same time, the philanthropic revenues that arts organizations rely on – from government sources, foundations, corporations and individual contributions – all stand at risk today, given shrinking endowments and discretionary income.

Thankfully, arts leaders are applying their creative powers to these economic challenges, thus finding new ways to cut costs or raise revenues. For example, the Magic Theatre recently announced that it will be able to complete its season, thanks to an emergency fundraising campaign that brought in $455,000 from 1,100 donors. And the San Francisco Opera, in announcing its 2009-2010 season, was able to reduce its costs without compromising on artistic quality.

These organizations and their leaders deserve credit for doing whatever it takes to stay afloat. But all the creative ideas to keep the doors open won’t be enough if we don’t fundamentally change our collective understanding of why the arts matter.

When times get tough and choices must be made, it is often the arts that lose. Why is this so? When compared to health or human service needs, the arts are often viewed as less important and therefore more discretionary in nature. But this line of thinking misses the point about why the arts are so important. Until we fully recognize how essential the arts are to the vitality of our communities and our quality of life, our cultural infrastructure will continue to be given short shrift. There are countless reasons why we should renew our commitment to the arts. Consider the following:

• In the Bay Area, the arts create more than 31,000 jobs and generate $1.2 billion in economic activity every year.
• The arts produce $105 million in local and state tax revenue for the Bay Area (far more than the government spends on the arts).
• Surveys report that 93 percent of parents believe that the arts are essential to a well-rounded education.
• Ten million new jobs in the next decade will be in the “creative class,” according to economist Richard Florida. These are jobs that involve imagination and ingenuity which are best developed by experiencing the arts.

But the importance of the arts extends well beyond economics and education. The arts expand our horizons, unleash creativity and build social bonds. During this period of unsettling change, the arts can provide us with pleasure and comfort, while also challenging us to see the world in new ways.

Two recent examples come to mind of the arts’ power to build community and create a sense of common experience. First was the inauguration ceremony of President Obama. Where did we turn to put this historic moment in perspective, to build a common sense of pride and hope for the nation’s future? We turned to the arts, of course, in the form of poetry, classical music and song, including performances by San Francisco’s own Boys Chorus and Girls Chorus.

Locally, the power and appeal of the arts was in evidence on a recent Sunday when dozens of museums and other cultural institutions opened their doors for free. Thousands of kids explored Asian culture at the Asian Art Museum, walked through a rainforest at the California Academy of Sciences, and explored world class art collections at the de Young Museum and SFMOMA. On this one day, people could experience the rich diversity of San Francisco’s arts organizations, regardless of economic circumstance. But, for the rest of the year, maintaining our rich cultural landscape is anything but free.

So, as your resources permit, attend a performance, buy a membership, and consider a contribution of any size. But also talk to your friends and neighbors about the transformative power of the arts and encourage them to support and advocate for the arts. The arts institutions that have created our cultural riches have done so much to help the Bay Area thrive. It’s time for us to return the favor.

James E. Canales is president and chief executive officer of the James Irvine Foundation, a private foundation dedicated to expanding opportunity for the people of California. The Irvine Foundation is one of the largest private funders of the arts in California, with annual arts grant-making of approximately $20 million.

This article appeared on page A – 13 of the San Francisco Chronicle

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/03/EDQP15LUJN.DTL

Arts funders and nonprofits agree: We are in an unprecedented time of financial distress, and no one knows when we will reach bottom. This new reality is causing reactions that range from caution to crisis in arts organizations.

“We’re seeing lots of white knuckle behavior at the moment,” reports one community foundation CEO. “Arts leaders are hanging on with everything they have and trying to prepare for what may be an even scarier ride to come.”

Much is being written to help provide perspective and practical suggestions to foundations whose concern for arts nonprofits is rising at the very moment when grantmaking assets are plummeting. This post provides summaries and links to some of these resources.

Don’t assume giving will go backward

Starting with a positive, a recent report indicates that, while charitable giving is affected by a roiling economy, the impact is not nearly as much as might be expected. In fact, tracking the numbers since 1969 shows that total giving in the U.S. has risen (in current dollars) every year but 1987—including many years that represented slow or negative economic growth. Of course, the rate of increase in giving is often less in lean years. The report Giving During Recessions and Economic Slowdowns (Giving USA 2008, Giving USA Foundation™) is available for purchase at www.givingusa.org

Keep investing, and making personal asks

In hard times, arts groups should continue to invest in and publicize their art, according to Michael M. Kaiser, president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. And Ronald Levy, president of Lincoln Center counsels that this is a good time to remember that “shoe leather trumps mail” when it comes to development efforts. “It is harder to turn down a request to meet face to face for 50 minutes than a written proposal for $50,000,” says Mr. Levy. And don’t let a “no” discourage you. “For great fund-raisers,” he writes, “’no’ is just the beginning of a conversation.” These excerpts are from The Nonprofit’s Guide to Surviving a Downturn, The New York Times, November 11, 2008.

www.nytimes.com/2008/11/11/giving/11ARTS.html?_r=1&ref=giving&p

Stay in the know

The Foundation Center’s new online feature, Focus on the Economic Crisis, provides an array of resources to help nonprofits and foundations alike as they face the challenges of an unstable economy. Updated regularly, it contains news, interviews, research, blog posts, and podcasts about the crisis and its impact on philanthropy—as well as information on training and scholarships that will help grantseekers become better fundraisers in an increasingly competitive environment.

http://foundationcenter.org/focus/economy/

Check out additional resources

Crisis or Bad News: A Solid Crisis Plan is Your Lifeline
Crisis communications guidance; from the Communications Network

20 Emergency Funding Sources for Nonprofits
Ideas for revenue sources that can be accessed quickly; from the consulting staff at Fieldstone Alliance

Managing in Tough Times: 7 Steps
Insights and advice from experts in the field to help organizations weather the current economic storm; from the Bridgespan Group

Emergency Hardship Scholarships/Grants to Individuals
Keys for foundations to satisfy charitable purpose requirements in providing relief to persons impoverished as a result of low income or lack of financial resources; from the Council of Michigan Foundations

Changing Times Call For Foundations To Try New, Innovative Approaches To Sustain Nonprofits
Opportunities for foundations to more effectively serve nonprofits; from the Council of Michigan Foundations

Strategies for Foundations to Save Resources
Advice for coping with dwindling resources; from the Financial Times

A to Z Survival Guide for Uncertain Times
Tips for addressing financial challenges; from PhilanTopic

Making Informed Decisions in Uncertain Times [PDF]
A report on the impact of the economic downturn on community foundations, including information on grantmaking, spending policies, budget implications and communicating with stakeholders; from Community Foundation Insights

Weathering an Uncertain Economy [PDF]
Research on the impact of economic slowdowns on charitable giving; from the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University

A Survival Kit for Fundraising in a Bad Economy
Tools for fundraisers, including articles, advice, books, and web and audio conferences; from the Association of Fundraising Professionals

8 Ideas for Finding New Donors in Today’s Economy
Advice for acquiring donors; from The NonProfit Times

Today’s challenges, Tomorrow’s Strength Nonprofits can Avoid Pitfalls – and Even Grow – in Tough Times [PDF]
Guidance for leading nonprofits through economic uncertainty; from Achieve

Bracing for Lean Times Ahead
Article on the impact of the economic crisis on philanthropy; from The New York Times

Hold a key thought

And keep in mind these words from George C. Ruotolo Jr. (chair of Giving Institute: Leading Consultants to Non-Profits)…

“Charities with a clear and compelling case and an established, loyal donor constituency will continue to succeed, even in difficult times.”

www.givingusa.org/press_releases/gusa/Giving during recessions 2008.pdf

This post is assembled in support of Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

A middle-schooler streams YouTube videos. A family shares its heritage through a holiday skit. A baby boomer starts a garage band. Today, many forms of cultural engagement take place off the radar of traditional nonprofit arts organizations.

How can community foundations help arts organizations better support the broad range of cultural engagement in diverse and changing communities? In particular, how can this support be provided more effectively and equitably? These questions are at the center of Cultural Engagement in California’s Inland Regions, research that explores patterns of cultural engagement in two rapidly growing, ethnically diverse areas: the San Joaquin Valley and the Inland Empire.

Study highlights

The study, conducted by WolfBrown, prompts new discussion of ways community foundations, donors, and nonprofits can support arts and culture. Key findings are:

• A broad, inclusive definition is important to understanding total cultural engagement—old definitions leave too much out
• Personal participation levels are high—many people are engaged in activities such as photography, painting or drawing, singing or playing an instrument, and social dancing
• Much cultural engagement occurs in non-arts spaces—for example, the home, places of worship and parks are among the prominent places in the cultural life of communities
• Heritage-based and social forms of cultural engagement attract racially diverse participants—many cultural activities are deeply embedded in religious, political and social contexts that vary by community
• The emergence of “curatorial” arts activities is changing the landscape of cultural engagement—many youth and a growing number of adults are selecting, organizing and editing the art in their lives
• Significant interest in arts learning activities goes unmet—for example, a significant number of respondents indicate they would like to take dance or music lessons, or learn more about photography
• Role models are key players in the cultural ecosystem—respondents who could identify a person who inspired or supported their creative expressions were much more likely to engage in participatory cultural activities and attend arts programs
• Certain types of programming may increase broad-based cultural vitality in communities and across cultural groups—examples include helping adults and children chronicle their lives and tell their stories; and helping identify and stimulate use of community venues, such as public schools, parks and outdoor settings, retail establishments and churches as programmable arts spaces

This executive briefing suggests additional program approaches for increasing cultural vitality, and contains questions for consideration by service providers and funders who are looking to broaden the intersection of arts and community.

This research was commissioned by The James Irvine Foundation.

It’s a communications conundrum. Community arts leaders have plenty to say about why donors should invest in this arena, but it can be challenging to find the best ways to express these messages.

There’s the question of what to state first. Some professionals say lead with instrumental benefits—the role arts play in boosting economic development or helping kids learn, for example—and establish these bottom-line societal advantages right up front. Others say it’s better to promote intrinsic benefits—the ways arts evoke an emotive response—and get started by making a more intimate human connection.

Then there’s the need to establish urgency for private donor support of arts. In California, state funding declined precipitously in recent years, reaching a low of 3 cents per person in 2005.

In 2006, a set of California community foundations and their local arts partners took this dilemma to heart, and mind. Sharing and assessing arts messages, they joined to create and test an approach that is now being used in several communities—and communications.

What makes for effective messaging?

These participants in the Irvine initiative, Communities Advancing the Arts, set out to develop messaging that was clear, consumable, and comprehensive. Specifically, they wanted to reach out to new donors in a manner that:

• Uses simple language and concepts
• Is easily remembered and presented by staff and volunteers
• Features a flexible structure—so main messages can be mixed and matched to specific communication opportunities
• Translates into a variety of looks and media

A modular messaging structure

They devised a solution that is straightforward and sophisticated. It uses three main messages to answer one core question:

Why support the arts?

• It feels good.
• It does good.
• It’s time now.

Each of these primary messages sits atop a set of secondary messages that present a complete case for the arts. And this approach is inherently modular—some community foundations prefer to lead with intrinsic benefits (it feels good), others with instrumental benefits (it does good). The third major message (it’s time now) helps establish the urgent need for individual donors to invest in arts.

Multiple media

This messaging is being applied in a number of media.

• Orange County Community Foundation, together with Arts Orange County (the area’s arts council) co-branded these messages, as shown on this print ad.
• Community Foundation Silicon Valley (since merged with the Peninsula Foundation to create Silicon Valley Community Foundation) built a comprehensive set of materials to advance the arts using these messages.
• California Community Foundation incorporates these messages to help open its brochure promoting its Arts & Culture Fund.
• Community Foundation Sonoma County features these messages in banners and a brochure supporting its Emerging Artists Endowment Fund.
• Community Foundation for Monterey County organized a public service announcement based on these messages.

These messages and communications were created through Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

Take a moment to imagine what Los Angeles would be like without theatre, dance, music or paintings. That line, penned by Antonia Hernández, President and CEO of the California Community Foundation, opens a new brochure making the case for arts and culture as the lifeblood of a vibrant community. Everyone knows L.A.’s reputation as a hotbed of artistic innovation and diversity. Less known is the extent to which arts and culture are underfunded in this locale.

For example, the City of Los Angeles spent $.78 per person in arts grants compared with San Diego at $5.48 and San Francisco at $20.67.

Overlooked: smaller organizations and individuals

Especially vulnerable are small to midsize organizations and individual artists in the county. One study showed that more than 80% of arts funding went to groups with budgets of $2 million or more; these larger players make up less than 6% of the total nonprofit arts sector. Another study showed that only 2% of all arts funding in L.A. between 1998-2002 went to individual artists.

Funders in Los Angeles put their money in specific projects and events (78%), with far less (22%) going to general operating costs, endowment building, and capital campaigns.

Launching a community campaign

Through its Arts & Culture Fund, the California Community Foundation seeks to change this situation for the better. The foundation is calling on community to grow its endowment to $27 million by 2015. The goal is to help 150 emerging and mid-career artists rise to the next level, and 100 small and midsize organizations reach new audiences. In particular, the foundation aims to increase participation of diverse, ethnic and low-income individuals and communities in the arts.

This brochure includes more research data on the L.A. arts and culture landscape, as well as stories of the big impact that relatively small investments can make in this arena.

It was created with support from Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

Who knew? A surprising 64 percent of residents say that they or their family members create or participate in arts. It’s a fact that shows the value of research, and it came from the Orange County Cultural Indicators Report, this community’s first-ever study of arts giving and donor perceptions. The study was conducted by the Orange County Community Foundation and Arts Orange County. The attached report describes resident values and behavioral drivers related to the arts. It includes the case for investing in a creative community, a review of the research findings summarized below, and a set of recommendations for advancing the arts and culture sector.

Key findings

1. Orange County residents agree on the importance of a vibrant cultural sector in Orange County and recognize the social and personal benefits of the arts: 64 percent revealed that they or their immediate family members actively create or participate in the arts.
2. A deepening relationship with the arts leads to attendance and financial investment. Research reinforced that early or informal family involvement in the arts are the strongest drivers for future attendance.
3. The county’s nonprofit arts sector is young and undercapitalized. Seventy-five percent of local arts organizations were founded in the last 35 years.
4. Orange County residents place a high priority on the importance of the arts in the development and education of children. A remarkable 98 percent of residents agree that arts are critical for the education and development of children.
5. Orange County has a unique set of cultural assets that tells the story of the county’s cultural history and creates the cultural face it presents to the world. The County of Orange and its 34 cities have the capability to leverage these cultural assets to help create a unique sense of place for Orange County residents and visitors.
6. Leadership at all levels will be required to make Orange County a more creative community. These leaders can be bolstered by evidence of community support: 92 percent of residents agree on the importance of a vibrant cultural sector in Orange County.

This activity was conducted as part of Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

While lots of communities want to build a creative economy, too few are able to pull everyone together around a plan. Not so in Monterey County, where collaboration, research and dialogue led to a countywide blueprint for collective action. The process was led by the Community Foundation for Monterey County in tandem with the Arts Council for Monterey County. And it produced the first comprehensive approach to advancing local arts and culture.

Seeing the big picture

The attached report states the case for investing in a creative economy. It then presents goals, recommended strategies, and a timeline for implementing an action plan to advance this creative economy over a five-year period. It addresses the role of arts and culture in community life, makes a case for increased donor support to sustain arts and culture as part of a vibrant region, and describes an approach for increasing cultural patronage. It includes a review of local demographic trends pertinent to the arts.

Purpose and goals

The purpose of this planning was three-fold:

1. To guide actions of and collaborations among artists, arts agencies and arts educators regarding research, program development and public awareness
2. To guide public and private investment, including an array of short-term and long-term loans, grants and earned revenues
3. To guide the Arts Council for Monterey County in leading countywide research, planning, advocacy and support

Four goals resulted from this process:

• Develop greater participation in Monterey County’s culture and creative activities by residents and visitors
• Build and strengthen the creative industries as a major economic cluster in the region
• Make effective use of arts, culture and creative opportunities to promote vibrant and healthy communities, including education and workforce development
• Develop visible support mechanisms to nurture and promote arts, culture and creativity

This planning activity was conducted as part of Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

A new study helps answer the old question: What do arts bring to communities? It documents the economic impact of the nonprofit arts and culture industry, and covers 156 communities and regions representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The study was conducted by Americans for the Arts. It includes diverse communities, both rural and urban, ranging from four thousand to three million people.

The attached study focuses solely on nonprofit arts and culture organizations and their audiences and excludes spending by individual artists and the for-profit arts and entertainment sector. The two largest U.S. cities, New York and Los Angeles, each with more than $1 billion in organizational expenditures, were excluded from this study to avoid inflating the national estimates.

Arts are big business…with big benefits

America’s nonprofit arts and culture industry generates $166.2 billion in economic activity every year—$63.1 billion in spending by organizations and an additional $103.1 billion in event-related spending by audiences. The national impact of this activity is significant, supporting 5.7 million jobs and generating $29.6 billion in government revenue.

The impact of spending by nonprofit arts and culture organizations is far reaching; they pay their employees, purchase supplies, and acquire assets within the local community. Additionally, unlike most industries, nonprofit arts and culture leverage significant event-related spending by their audience. Whether serving the local community or out-of-town visitors, a vibrant arts and culture industry helps local businesses thrive.

Less public support for arts is the trend in many communities. Monterey County has reversed the pattern. Here is a happy story of increased commitment to arts by a local government, and of collaboration between a community foundation and arts council to make it happen. It begins in the context of public sector budgets.

Monterey County, like virtually all local governments in California, has faced severe financial pressures in recent years. In response to these challenges, county funding of the Arts Council declined from a 2003/04 high of more than $500,000 to less than $95,000 in 2006/07.

Based on continued budget concerns, county staff’s recommendation for 2007/08 funding was $120,000.

A winning combination

Working in tandem, the Arts Council of Monterey County and the Community Foundation for Monterey County engaged the County Board of Supervisors to revisit this recommendation. By emphasizing the vital role of arts and culture in economic development (Monterey continues to be a hot spot for national festivals as well as a welcome home for emerging and established artists) and in quality of life (for current residents plus those considering locating to the region), these community leaders helped the Board of Supervisors rethink the emphasis given arts in the county budget.

The result: an increase in funding to more than $300,000 for 2007/08.

Even better, the Supervisors committed to restore and revitalize the historic formula (abandoned in recent years) for ensuring that arts have significant support from the county’s coffers.

According to Paulette Lynch, Executive Director of the Arts Council for Monterey County, the visible involvement of the community foundation was essential to helping county leaders understand the broad-reaching impact of the arts, as well as the value of investing in a creative economy. Following the Board of Supervisors’ action, her note to community foundation colleagues concluded, “Thanks to you all, the arts are back on track in Monterey County and poised to take a leadership role in the creative economy.”

The Community Foundation for Monterey County is a participant in Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

San Diego has lots of arts and culture. But no one really knew how much the community cared about this arena… until the community foundation took a look. This research project studied who in the community is involved (or not) in the arts. It measured commitment to arts. And it examined the state of the nonprofit arts sector. The study was commissioned by The San Diego Community Foundation.

The attached report captures results of the study. It describes the role of arts and culture in community life, makes a case for increased donor support to sustain arts and culture as part of a vibrant region, and presents a plan for increasing cultural patronage. It includes an overview of the research methodology used.

Key findings

Five items headlined the results of this study.

1. Cultural participation needs to be deepened and expanded.
2. San Diego’s arts and culture community is under-funded.
3. People care about the arts: two-thirds of San Diegans would be willing to pay more taxes to support arts and culture.
4. The region places high priority on increasing arts education.
5. The San Diego Foundation should be a catalyst to help strengthen the arts and culture community.

Today, the foundation has advanced beyond this initial research to create a set of strategies for deepening the connection of arts to community throughout the San Diego area.

This research activity was conducted as part of Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.