DeVos Institute begins second capacity building program in Ireland

April 15, 2015

The DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the University of Maryland, in partnership with Business to Arts, this week launches an 18-month management training and consultancy program for 10 arts and culture organizations from across Ireland.

Building on the success of a previous initiative, this intensive program will help participating organizations to focus on such crucial areas as revenue diversification, individual giving campaigns, board development, marketing, and strategic planning. The program combines ongoing one-on-one consultations with group seminars led by DeVos Institute Chairman Michael M. Kaiser, DeVos Institute President Brett Egan, and Business to Arts leadership. The first of three seminars will be April 16 in Dublin. 

The 10 organizations selected through a competitive application process are:

1. Ballet Ireland
2. Dublin International Film Festival
3. Irish Architecture Foundation
4. Irish Chamber Orchestra
5. Irish Museum of Modern Art
6. National Concert Hall
7. Royal Dublin Society
8. Royal Irish Academy of Music
9. South Dublin Arts Centre Company
10. Temple Bar Gallery & Studio

From 2012 to 2014, the DeVos Institute, in collaboration with Business to Arts, led a two-year teaching and consulting program to support 23 Irish organizations in artistic planning, marketing, fundraising, board engagement, and strategic planning. Participating organizations included performing and visual arts presenters; multidisciplinary arts centers, festivals, and service networks; and arts-based organizations serving youth, older people, and individuals with disabilities.

The cohort’s progress extended across each of the core areas addressed in the program: 

Artistic Planning

Long-term artistic planning is the necessary precedent to successful marketing and fundraising. The shorter the planning timeframe, the less likely organizations will identify new audiences for bold or innovative work and the less likely they will engage new funding sources. The longer the timeframe, the more diverse is the “menu” of investment options available to corporate and individual donors, which often prefer to “target” their giving toward projects of personal or corporate interest.

• 100 percent of participating organizations lengthened their artistic planning timelines.
• The number of organizations planning their artistic programming less than one year in advance decreased by 92 percent.
• The number of organizations planning their artistic programming more than two years in advance increased by 17 percent.
• Following the program, no organization reported planning less than 12 months in advance, a fundamental culture shift illustrating a break from an annual planning cycle dictated by the schedule of public funding.

Marketing

The impact of strategic planning and a longer planning timeframe has contributed to a significant number of organizations improving their productivity through marketing efforts, an increase in total earned revenue, earned income, and an expansion of their audience base.

• Marketing productivity (total earned revenue divided by the number of staff members devoted to marketing) increased by an average of 34 percent.
• Improved productivity of marketing efforts resulted in a 58 percent increase in earned revenue during the two year period.
• 67 percent of organizations expanded their audience base increasing the reach of their programming through enhanced marketing and outreach. 

Fundraising

Organizations advanced towards donor diversification by increasing the number of funding sources and decreasing their dependence on top funders.

• A third of organizations (33 percent) increased human resources in this area.
• 24 percent increased revenue from individual donors, corporations and foundations.
• The outcome of 45 percent creation or strengthening of major donor programs has resulted in 57 percent average increase of revenue from individuals.

Board Engagement

Organizations reporting an “actively engaged board” increased by 40 percent, while a decrease in the same number was reported for a “sporadically active” board.

• 45 percent of organizations reported an increase in the number of board members actively engaged in a project on behalf of the organization.
• Board development, especially in its transition from “advisory” to “philanthropic” represents both an area of potential and need for participating organizations. 

Strategic Planning

The majority of organizations (83 percent) began, revised or completed a Strategic Plan during the two-year program.

ABOUT THE DEVOS INSTITUTE OF ARTS MANAGEMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND

The DeVos Institute of Arts Management provides training, consultation, and implementation support for arts managers and their boards. It operates on the premise that while much is spent to train artists, too little is spent to support the managers and boards who keep those artists at work. At the same time, rapid changes in technology, demographics, government policy, and the economy have complicated the job of the manager and volunteer trustees. These changes continue to accelerate.

Organizations that have mastered these trends are flourishing—even leveraging them to their advantage. For those which have not, however, the sense that “something’s not quite right” can seem unshakable. For too many, these changes have led to less art, decreased visibility, diminished relevance—even financial collapse. 

These challenges inform the DeVos Institute’s approach. Institute leadership and consultants—all arts managers themselves—understand that, in today’s environment, there is no time or resource to waste. The DeVos Institute has served more than 1,000 organizations from over 80 countries since Michael M. Kaiser founded it during his tenure as President of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

The Institute has designed its services to assist a wide range of institutions, from traditional performing and presenting organizations, museums and galleries, arts schools and libraries, to botanical gardens, glass-making studios, public art trusts, and non-profit cinemas, to name a few. It offers support to individuals, organizations, and—in collaboration with foundations and governments—to communities of organizations throughout the world.

The DeVos Institute transferred its activities and offices from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to the University of Maryland in September 2014. The move enables the Institute to expand its global training and consulting programs, enhance its fellowships for North American and international arts managers within the context of a major educational institution, and create a Master’s program that leverages both University and Institute resources.

ABOUT BUSINESS TO ARTS

Business to Arts is a membership-based, charitable organization that brokers, enables, and supports creative partnerships between businesses, individuals, and the arts.

It works to team its business members up with arts organizations and artists to develop solutions in areas such as sponsorship, commissioning, brand development, training, leadership development, internal and external communications, and events.

It also works with artists and arts organizations providing a range of training opportunities and coaching to help diversify income streams, grow audiences, and improve efficiencies.

Its corporate membership base and network ranges across the business sectors from local family-run companies, SMEs, semi-state companies to FDIs and corporate foundations. Its arts affiliate base extends from individual artists to the National Cultural Institutions, and includes all art forms.

PRESS CONTACT

Joseph Heitz
Director, External Relations
DeVos Institute of Arts Management
(+1) 301-314-0957
jeheitz@devosinstitute.net