When to say “NO” to Funders

At a recent conference for arts service organizations, Ben Cameron of Theatre Communications Group facilitated a provocative session on synergistic vs. opportunistic relationships between arts organizations and their funders. Examples of opportunistic funding abound - donors who will pay for your building, but draw the line on funding programming to fill it, or generous souls who will shower you with millions in exchange for putting their uninformed-yet-entitled children, members of the lucky sperm club, on your board. Cameron challenged us to think about synergistic funding and challenged non-profits to say NO to chasing opportunistic funding for short-term benefits. Participants were encouraged to seek funders whose core values and mission are synergistically aligned with their own. I challenge organization’s to be bold and just say NO even when dollars are presented. So, how do you figure out who the right funders are?

1. Think long term. Do you just want to shake some couch change out of this donor, or does this relationship have long term potential?
2. Check the vision, mission and values of potential funders. Do they match yours? Corporations, endowments and foundations list them on their websites.
3. Does the funder share your organization’s vision for developing audiences? Is the funder willing to take measured programming, marketing, and organizational risk to ensure longer-term stability?

The future is at stake. Arts organizations must continue to make “out of the box” changes in programming and marketing to attract younger and more diverse audiences. To remain solvent, arts organizations will do well to develop funding relationships that are not threatened if the arts organization’s leadership takes action. Such was the case at the Beaufordt Performing Arts Center in South Carolina when the ED attempted to diversify it’s programming. See the full article here. Jim Collin’s new monograph Good to Great and the Social Sectors reinforced the importance of “saying no.” Collins writes:

“Restricted giving misses a fundamental point: to make the greatest impact on society requires first and foremost a great organization, not a single program. If an institution has a focused Hedgehog Concept and a disciplined organization that delivers exceptional results, the best thing supporters can do is to give resources that enable the institution’s leaders to do their work the best way the know how.”

It’s an excellent read and shift in thinking for most non-profits to think about saying “no” to funding. Hard to take at first, but can lead to long-term sustainability and greatness. Check out this audience attendance booster shot from the Theater Communications Group: The Free Night of Theater Idea.

 

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