Session Summaries

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3 

The Cycle & Artistic Planning
Speaker: Michael M. Kaiser, Chairman, DeVos Institute

DeVos Institute training is rooted in a simple, but comprehensive, methodology requiring the mastery of four sequential functions: (1) the production or presentation of transformative art; (2) aggressive marketing, both programmatic and “institutional”; (3) the development of a “family” of supporters—donors, volunteers, ticket-buyers, etc.; and (4) sufficient revenue to create more great art and engage new “family” members the next year. When this “cycle” repeats year after year, all parties—staff, board, and family—sense they are part of a winning enterprise and, committed to the organization’s continued success, grow more generous and productive. This conceptual framework forms the backbone of the Institute’s training, at the heart of which lives total dedication to the long-term planning of great art that engages an ever-increasing pool of audience members.

In the Cultural Leadership Summit introductory session, DeVos Institute Chairman Michael M. Kaiser will introduce the Cycle and discuss strategies and frameworks for long-term artistic planning. This seminar will provide participants with the tools required to develop a habit of long-term planning that allows more time to develop and build support for truly transformative art.

New developments in the 21st century—including the Internet explosion, the demise of the recording industry, the near-death of subscriptions, economic instability, the introduction of movie-theater opera, the erosion of newspapers and the resultant threat to serious arts criticism, and the aging of the donor base—have together created tremendous challenges for arts organizations worldwide. Based on DeVos Institute Chairman Michael M. Kaiser’s latest book, Curtains? Trends affecting the future of the cultural sector worldwide will discuss the current state of arts institutions—orchestras, opera, ballet, modern dance, theater companies, and museums—and reflect on how to sustain the arts and cultural organizations for generations to come.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2016 

Programmatic and Institutional Marketing
Speaker: Brett Egan, President, DeVos Institute

To produce increasingly adventurous and meaningful art, organizations must be prepared to compete aggressively for their audiences’ attention and loyalty.

This is the role of marketing, which the DeVos Institute considers through two perspectives: First, programmatic marketing consists of the tools and strategies to build an audience: to sell tickets, educational programs, lectures, and exhibitions. Institutional marketing is the second, less familiar approach to producing visibility for an organization’s work. Rather than sell a specific show or program, these efforts focus on generating awareness of, and enthusiasm for, what and who the organization is as an institution. They strive to create so much excitement and magnetism around an organization’s work that ticket-buyers and donors actively want to take part—regardless of their attraction to any specific program or offering.

With bold programming and aggressive marketing, the number of people who want to support the cycle-driven organization—through patronage, time, and contributions—grows naturally. This institutional “family” provides a healthy base of earned income, and its generosity anchors and strengthens the fundraising effort.

On the second day of the Cultural Leadership Summit, DeVos Institute President Brett Egan will discuss the tools required to produce programmatic and institutional marketing that engages audiences and heightens awareness of the organization as a vibrant fixture in the community, bringing people together and contributing to a sense of place. 

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5, 2016 

Introduction to Strategic Planning
Speaker: Brett Egan, President, DeVos Institute

A strong strategic plan provides a practical roadmap for advancing an organization’s mission while helping it to navigate rapid changes in technology, demographics, and the economy. In today’s tumultuous environment, bold planning can fundamentally improve an organization’s trajectory and outlook.

DeVos Institute President Brett Egan will introduce the DeVos Institute’s approach to strategic planning. This six-part framework encompasses a thorough review of an organization’s mission, an environmental analysis, an internal analysis, a strategy development based on these analyses, a detailed implementation plan, and a financial plan.

Panel Discussion — Art in the Age of Distraction: Technology and the Arts in the 21st Century
Moderator: Brett Egan, with leading voices in technology and the arts

Technology presents profound opportunities—and challenges—for the global cultural sector. While artists and administrators have more tools than ever to create, distribute, and market their content, they also face a tidal wave of digital surrogates for that content. Art in the Age of Distraction: Technology and the Arts in the 21st Century will reflect on the impact of 21st-century technologies on artists, arts institutions, and arts audiences. The discussion will ask artists, arts administrators, and thought leaders to consider:

• What are the implications of these forces today?
• How might these forces accelerate, or change direction, in the years and decades to come?
• How will audiences’ usage of technology to understand, navigate, and produce meaning from 9-to-5 affect their appetite for traditional art forms and institutions?
• What action must artists, managers, architects, and arts funders take to keep pace with decreasing attention spans and ever-more sensational, inexpensive virtual content?
• Which cultural producers and institutions will flourish in this new environment? Which will falter?

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2016

Major Donor Cultivation & Solicitation and Three Essential Fundraising Mechanisms
Working with Corporations and Crowdfunding
Speaker: Dan Hagerty, Associate Consultant, DeVos Institute

Effective fundraising pairs each “family” member with a logical, financial action in support of the organization’s mission.

Guided by their programmatic ambitions, sustainable organizations dedicate themselves to building families incrementally: one at a time, volunteer by volunteer, donor by donor, trustee by trustee. These organizations plan large, bold projects well in advance, and they identify and cultivate new family members to support the expanded vision along a feasible—if ambitious—timeline. This type of incremental growth limits the risk and fear that results when scale outstrips capacity. This type of growth reflects true sustainability.

The last day of the Cultural Leadership Summit will present strategies for developing a culture of philanthropy in the organization. DeVos Institute Senior Consultant Dan Hagerty will provide an overview of the three essential fundraising mechanisms: Annual Campaigns, Targeted Campaigns, and Special Events. He will also discuss the use of specific fundraising tactics that can appeal to different donor types and share strategies for developing partnerships with corporations and establishing crowdfunding campaigns.