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UV Arts Alliance, Joanne Wise by Melissa Richmond

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UV Arts Alliance, Joanne Wise by Melissa Richmond

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(super quick overview in advance of our meeting today) In 2004 the UV region of NH Charitable suggested some coordination around the arts assets in the UV. The creative economy concept wasn’t well known at that point. A group was convened to do a walk around of the arts assets in WRJ/Woodstock and beyond, there was huge turn out. All supported by the NH Charitable Foundation at that point, that was the beginning of UVAA. Initiatives focused on planning and tourism. Tourism ended up being tough because of the NH/VT system difference. Planning became a strength - Cindy Heath put together creative economy website plan with links about how planning gets involved in the arts. The most important thing is the inventory of the arts in our communities. They started off with $5k grant from NHCF and their current primary role is to hold summits for arts leader to discuss interesting topics, participation in the CCN for NH. They otherwise focus on organizing artists and organizations to know each other.

UVAA is not a 501c3, and they are currently of the mind this is definitely a wise decision. They have worked with the League and then UVMC for fiscal sponsorship, so they do have the ability to raise funds. The Barrett’s were helpful early on financially, and to an extent still are supporters. They do not have a board, it is just the three of them (Joanne Wise, Louis Cornell, and Cindy Heath). They are attempting to get a group together to talk about strategic planning, it has been difficult due to schedules.

They are hoping to hire a part time ED down the road. IT are paid (graphic designer and website help) are hourly/as needed. The 3 leaders are volunteers, occasionally a few additional skills are volunteered. They are funded on “member” dues from artists and orgs. They have a high level of participation from the N. UV. Joanne would really like to embark on a really thorough asset map of our region, something that could be very powerful. She is interested in linking arts efforts, and is in favor of building partnerships rather than duplicating efforts. She has had some involvement in the Center for the Arts efforts at this point. She also is very interested in being a part of a Western NH conversation. She strongly encourages having Lisa at NHSCA be a part of the conversation.

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Lake Sunapee Region Center For the Arts- their initiative to network is similar to ours

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Lake Sunapee Region Center For the Arts- their initiative to network is similar to ours

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Penny and I happened to meet up at a meeting put on by the Center for the Arts Lake Sunapee Region.  The meeting was a promoted as fostering relationship between business and arts, but was very much about creating a collaborative/network/entity much like what we are looking to do.

I have talked with several in attendance on both arts and business side since the meeting.

Here were my thoughts following the meeting and interactions with other participants after and how I think it could connect with our work.  This said, I would love to know how this fits with Penny's thoughts.

First:  Very similar, at the very least we should be in close contact with this group as we develop to dove tail as we can.

Second: There was a general feeling I heard that the meeting may have jumped pre planning (the step we are doing) and left people a bit confused as to how it would develop, how they would fit, if it was an idea, or a living thing. t
This reinforced to me the importance and power of this step we are now in.  Also, there was a general excitement at the idea of what this could do for the region, which made me hopeful for our initiative.

Third:  They had a great resource page on their website that they shared with links to other networks/initiatives etc. around the nation that are in some ways similar to what we are looking into- so here are those links and that info for us to use.
~Kate

Arts and Business Alliance

Would you like to help make The Lake Sunapee/Kearsarge Region an Arts Destination?

Join the Arts and Business Alliance

Contact us info@centerfortheartsnh.org

Take the survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZFKBTCG

For more information about other Creative Community Initiatives click the links below:

https://www.nhcreativecommunities.com

https://www.useful-community-development.org/arts-and-economic-development.html

https://www.easthamptoncityarts.com

https://www.colorado.com/creative-corridor-channel

https://www.cbcreativedistrict.org

https://www.arts.gov/exploring-our-town/project-type/creative-economy

https://www.arts.gov/news/2017/new-research-report-highlights-economic-impact-arts-rural-communities

https://kccrossroads.org/first-fridays

https://littletonrocks.com/wp-content/uploads/FirstFridays_pc_2018.pdf

https://www.americansforthearts.org/by-program/reports-and-data/toolkits/national-cultural-districts-exchange/profiles-of-cultural-districts-0

https://lcrai.org

https://blog.americansforthearts.org/2014/02/18/rethinking-cultural-districts-for-small-towns-in-small-states

http://www.partnershipmovement.org/news/p/cultural-districts-opens-doors-to-economic-opportunity

https://www.missouriartscouncil.org/graphics/assets/documents/02d98512f653.pdf

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Arts Council of Tamworth
Carly Goss- Executive Director
Discussion with Penny and Kate via Zoom Meeting
March 7, 2019

Penny and I talked with Carly about the Arts Council of Tamworth, a nonprofit arts organization founded in 1967. The mission of Arts Council of Tamworth is to inspire and empower our rural community through exposure to and collaboration with master artists and performers representing diverse cultures and art forms.  

Carly is the only staff person, and is paid for 10-15 hours per week.  The council provides three or four arts programs a year for the town of Tamworth including two, full -week artist in residencies programs for the local schools.  The Arts represented are mostly in the performing arts field.  There are also one or two community arts workshops or performances offered annually as part of the four programs a year.  These are done with a sliding fee for admission- choose your own rate within a given range.  

The organization is run by a board of seven fairly active board members.  There is a pretty active volunteer corpse organized by Carly.  Carly lives, and works in her home office, in Bartlett, about an hour from Tamworth.

The funding model of this organization is a combination of:  grants, business sponsorships, individual donors, tickets (choose your own fee), fundraisers (such as a spaghetti supper before a performance), as well as $4,000 annually from the local school, and $1,500 from the PTA.  There is a “Tamworth Foundation” but there are 39 nonprofits in this small town leaving limited and competitive funds. Carly noted that the funding model is not sustainable at this time.   

Carly noted that the biggest struggle for this organization is lack of funding leading to lack of staff time.  Simply organizing this meeting was difficult to fit within Carly’s limited paid hours of employment.  This lack of funding makes it difficult to have enough time to secure more funding, develop programing, or even organize the volunteer corpse adequately.  Carly did mention that she was part of a NEFA Peer Network Group of new Executive Directors in the Arts- a group for us to keep in mind as a potential resource as we develop our work in our county.  


Respectfully submitted by Kate Luppold 3/11/19

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Arts Council of Tamworth
Carly Goss- Executive Director
Discussion with Penny and Kate via Zoom Meeting
March 7, 2019

Penny and I talked with Carly about the Arts Council of Tamworth, a nonprofit arts organization founded in 1967. The mission of Arts Council of Tamworth is to inspire and empower our rural community through exposure to and collaboration with master artists and performers representing diverse cultures and art forms.  

Carly is the only staff person, and is paid for 10-15 hours per week.  The council provides three or four arts programs a year for the town of Tamworth including two, full -week artist in residencies programs for the local schools.  The Arts represented are mostly in the performing arts field.  There are also one or two community arts workshops or performances offered annually as part of the four programs a year.  These are done with a sliding fee for admission- choose your own rate within a given range.  

The organization is run by a board of seven fairly active board members.  There is a pretty active volunteer corpse organized by Carly.  Carly lives, and works in her home office, in Bartlett, about an hour from Tamworth.

The funding model of this organization is a combination of:  grants, business sponsorships, individual donors, tickets (choose your own fee), fundraisers (such as a spaghetti supper before a performance), as well as $4,000 annually from the local school, and $1,500 from the PTA.  There is a “Tamworth Foundation” but there are 39 nonprofits in this small town leaving limited and competitive funds. Carly noted that the funding model is not sustainable at this time.   

Carly noted that the biggest struggle for this organization is lack of funding leading to lack of staff time.  Simply organizing this meeting was difficult to fit within Carly’s limited paid hours of employment.  This lack of funding makes it difficult to have enough time to secure more funding, develop programing, or even organize the volunteer corpse adequately.  Carly did mention that she was part of a NEFA Peer Network Group of new Executive Directors in the Arts- a group for us to keep in mind as a potential resource as we develop our work in our county.  


Respectfully submitted by Kate Luppold 3/11/19

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Met with Executive Director Jessica Gelter on 26 Feb.
Arts Alive! is a 501(c)3 based in Keene that acts as a cultural alliance for the Monadnock region.  Arts Alive! is engaged across the region is a range of activities including public art, creative placemaking events, cultural planning, and creative economy workshops and conferences.

Their strategic plan and by-laws are on their website and guide the organization's activities.   Interview questions & answers:
1.  Why does your org exist?  A:  They follow strat plan and focus on QoL for Monadnock Region residents, improving access to the arts, and economic aspects of arts such as building markets for the arts and helping artisans earn a living.
2.  Is there a limit on the types of orgs Arts Alive! works with?  A:  No.  They serve all sorts of arts-based organizations and have served as fiscal agent for emerging orgs until they are able to stand on their own as a non-profit.
3.  Does Arts Alive! have a board?  A:  Yes.  Currently there are 11 members but in process of adding 2 more.  By-laws establish a range with a max of 25 board members.  The board meets monthly.
4.  Staff?  A:  1 full-time position (Jessica) and in process of adding a part-time admin asst through grant funds.
5. Funding?  A:  MAJOR challenge.  Arts Alive! has been in existence for 10 years--last 5 with Jessica as Exec Director.  The org was founded by major donors in Keene that provided approx 90% of funding.  Their contribution is now down to 30% so Jessica has had to spend a lot of time securing funding from other sources.  NH Charitable has provided a modest 3-year operating funds grant.  They do fundraisers and have asked their participating members and artisans to contribute what they can.  They also now charge for workshops and other programs that they put on as a way to defray operational costs.  City of Keene provides a small amount of funding but Cheshire County does not.  Funding consumes most of Jessica's time and prevents her from doing other activities that could help grow her organization and/or the arts community.  Another interesting point Jessica brought up on funding--a negative trend in the Keene area is that bigger local businesses that used to be big donors for community activities such as the arts are being bought up by national or international companies and the support for community activities is not the same. In fact, in many cases it has dried up. Not sure that we'd experience the same phenomenon but it's something to keep in mind.
6.  Successes?  A:  Arts Alive! has helped raise the profile of arts in the community.  Through several important partnerships they are able to communicate better about events and help emerging organizations develop to the point where they can stand on their own.  Examples include the local newspaper which provides no/low-cost advertising and Hannah Grimes center which helps with entrepreneurial development.  The MakerSpace in Peterborough is a major success story of Arts Alive!.  7.  Other challenges (besides funding)?  A:  Being regional and how distance is perceived.  For whatever reason it seems like a struggle to get people from Peterborough or Brattleboro to travel to Keene (and vice versa) for different events.  This issue was the topic of a major branding campaign they did recently to make people aware of the artistic activities going on in the Monadnock Region and to encourage people to travel to see them.  This branding campaign was shared with Keene's city council and Cheshire County board of commissioners.
8.  How/why did Arts Alive! get started?  A:  It began as an effort to coordinate & synchronize various event calendars and that level of effort has been an intense struggle!  It is a challenge because of different software platforms, data entry required by each entity, and deciding what to include (or not) to avoid cluttering the calendar.  Integration with Facebook due to the recent privacy concerns was particularly challenging but once the technical bugs are worked out there is a fair degree of automation that makes this less onerous.
9. Do you see value in trying to establish an "arts corridor" in western NH? A: Yes, although not necessarily to coordinate events because of the distance but to establish a community to share knowledge or resources because of our shared rural character. We aren't Manchester or Concord so our arts & culture activities are going to be fundamentally different than those of larger cities.  Linking the orgs together can help individual artisans connect with others who are in or have been in similar situations or faced similar challenges so they can learn from one another.
10.  Data on impact to local economy?  A:  No, no time to try and collect it.  Too busy raising money.
11. Other partnerships? A:  Besides newspaper & Hannah Grimes Arts Alive! relies on the Regional Travel Council, State of NH, and Chambers of Commerce. Jessica did think there was supposed to be an effort from the State via the Bureau of Economic Affairs to providing funding through the Regional Development Corporations. (Side note: Ours is the CRDC and I also have a good contact in BEA I could ask to see if this is happening & when.)

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Questions for organizations we are visiting

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Questions for organizations we are visiting

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1. Why does your organization exist?
2. Who are some of your key partners?
3. Do you have a board of directors? Do you find your board to be supportive?
4. Do you have paid staff?
5. Do you rely on volunteers?
6. What is your source of funding?
7. What are some of your successes?
8. What have been your largest challenges?
9. What led to your creation?
10. Do you see a value in building linkages between regional arts organizations?
11. Are you collecting any data on your impacts?
12. What resources would you recommend to us?

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BEA GDP by County 2012-2015 w percent change

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The Jobs in New England's Creative Economy & Why They Matter - NH Summary, NEFA 2017

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Contact Information for our bi-state regional cultural committee models tour

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Contact Information for our bi-state regional cultural committee models tour

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Team: The wonderful Lisa McCoy sent me this info to follow up on our last meeting:

NEK Collaborative
Kathleen Sims, Executive Director
katherine@nekcollaborative.org
The NEK Collaborative is a community development organization that serves as the advisors on the USDA’s REAP zone funding.  They have two key priorities in their work right now; one of which is the creative economy.

I was mistaken about their model.  The NEK Collaborative is a structured organization with a paid executive director – so while the model is still interesting to explore, you’ll need to adapt it to make it work for the Sullivan County committee.  There is a committee that operates under the NEK Collaborative that is exploring regional cultural planning, with the support of the VT Arts Council.  This committee is comprised of volunteers, most of whom are ED’s of regional arts organizations.  I’d recommend meeting with Kathleen and, if possible, a member of the committee – I imagine Kathleen can recommend the most appropriate person and coordinate their schedules, but if you need more information about committee members, please let me know.

Here’s one possible model that may emerge from the NEK meeting:  the Sullivan County group can establish itself as a formal Sullivan County Arts Commission (that could be incorporated as part of the Sullivan County government), with UNH Cooperative Ext and Sullivan County acting as joint backbone entities to provide oversight, infrastructure and resources.  I encourage you to keep thinking across sectors – who are the business leaders in your community, the regional planners and economic development practitioners?  You may want to invite representatives from each of these to join participate on the commission/steering committee or establish a separate advisory panel.  For the latter, also think about representatives from the schools, libraries, etc.  Try to get a broad geographic representation across the county to encourage buy-in from all communities.

Arts Alive!  (Keene)
Jessica Gelter, Executive Director
office@monadnockartsalive.org
Arts Alive! is a 501(c)3 based in Keene that acts as a cultural alliance for the Monadnock region.  Jess is the only staff person.  Arts Alive! is engaged across the region is a range of activities including public art, creative placemaking events, cultural planning, and creative economy workshops and conferences.  Jess is a gifted collaborator and has been very effective at engaging participation across sectors to build a broad base of support for the creative economy in that region.  Incidentally, she is also chair of the NH Creative Communities Network.

Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire
Kate Griffin, Executive Director
kate@artsalliancennh.org
AANNH has broad reach across the North Country.  As always in NH, the boundaries are a bit slushy.  The former ED participated in projects across the state.   Kate has been on board since the summer; thus far, she seems to be consolidating her energies above the White Mountains, but I’m not sure where she’ll establish her own boundary.  Since she’s so new, it may be helpful to ask Kate to invite a board member to participate in the meeting – someone who has longer experience and can provide some history about the evolution of AANNH.

Arts Council of Tamworth
Carly Goss, Executive Director
artstamworth@gmail.com
While Arts Tamworth is not a regional body, they’re very effective at facilitating creative opportunities that are rooted in community need.  Like Sullivan County, Tamworth is a deeply rural area.  I suspect you’ll find overlap in many of your community challenges.  Just as an example, we recently funded an interactive storytelling residency for Arts Tamworth that draws the community into a supported conversation around mental health and addiction.  Mental health and domestic violence support professionals will be on hand at the event, with the intention of making the community better aware of these resources and opening a door to support individuals who perceive barriers to accessing care.

Creative Ground
New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) is the arts council for the New England region.  Creative Ground is their cultural asset mapping tool.  As you engage across the Sullivan County community, please encourage everyone to create a Creative Ground profile.  It’s a simple and painless process.  The advantage to this committee is enormous.  Creative Ground allows you to create a comprehensive cultural asset list/map, including libraries, coffee houses, schools, senior centers, media resources, government agencies – as well as creative businesses, arts organizations and artists.  For those who choose to participate, it provides a sense of how they fit into their community and opportunities to pursue new connections and partnerships.

Joanne Wise at the Upper Valley Arts Alliance: wisejoanne65@gmail.com.   They are also an all-volunteer regional organization and have wrestled with some of the challenges you’d expect.  They may provide some interesting insight into what’s worked for them – and what hasn’t.
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Contact Information for our bi-state regional cultural committee models tour:

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Contact Information for our bi-state regional cultural committee models tour:

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Team: The wonderful Lisa Burk-McCoy sent me this info to follow up on our last meeting:

NEK Collaborative

Kathleen Sims, Executive Director

katherine@nekcollaborative.org

The NEK Collaborative is a community development organization that serves as the advisors on the USDA’s REAP zone funding.  They have two key priorities in their work right now; one of which is the creative economy.

I was mistaken about their model.  The NEK Collaborative is a structured organization with a paid executive director – so while the model is still interesting to explore, you’ll need to adapt it to make it work for the Sullivan County committee.  There is a committee that operates under the NEK Collaborative that is exploring regional cultural planning, with the support of the VT Arts Council.  This committee is comprised of volunteers, most of whom are ED’s of regional arts organizations.  I’d recommend meeting with Kathleen and, if possible, a member of the committee – I imagine Kathleen can recommend the most appropriate person and coordinate their schedules, but if you need more information about committee members, please let me know.

Here’s one possible model that may emerge from the NEK meeting:  the Sullivan County group can establish itself as a formal Sullivan County Arts Commission (that could be incorporated as part of the Sullivan County government), with UNH Cooperative Ext and Sullivan County acting as joint backbone entities to provide oversight, infrastructure and resources.  I encourage you to keep thinking across sectors – who are the business leaders in your community, the regional planners and economic development practitioners?  You may want to invite representatives from each of these to join participate on the commission/steering committee or establish a separate advisory panel.  For the latter, also think about representatives from the schools, libraries, etc.  Try to get a broad geographic representation across the county to encourage buy-in from all communities.

Arts Alive! (Keene)

Jessica Gelter, Executive Director

office@monadnockartsalive.org

Arts Alive! is a 501(c)3 based in Keene that acts as a cultural alliance for the Monadnock region.  Jess is the only staff person.  Arts Alive! is engaged across the region is a range of activities including public art, creative placemaking events, cultural planning, and creative economy workshops and conferences.  Jess is a gifted collaborator and has been very effective at engaging participation across sectors to build a broad base of support for the creative economy in that region.  Incidentally, she is also chair of the NH Creative Communities Network.

Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire

Kate Griffin, Executive Director

kate@artsalliancennh.org

AANNH has broad reach across the North Country.  As always in NH, the boundaries are a bit slushy.  The former ED participated in projects across the state.   Kate has been on board since the summer; thus far, she seems to be consolidating her energies above the White Mountains, but I’m not sure where she’ll establish her own boundary.  Since she’s so new, it may be helpful to ask Kate to invite a board member to participate in the meeting – someone who has longer experience and can provide some history about the evolution of AANNH.

Arts Council of Tamworth

Carly Goss, Executive Director

artstamworth@gmail.com

While Arts Tamworth is not a regional body, they’re very effective at facilitating creative opportunities that are rooted in community need.  Like Sullivan County, Tamworth is a deeply rural area.  I suspect you’ll find overlap in many of your community challenges.  Just as an example, we recently funded an interactive storytelling residency for Arts Tamworth that draws the community into a supported conversation around mental health and addiction.  Mental health and domestic violence support professionals will be on hand at the event, with the intention of making the community better aware of these resources and opening a door to support individuals who perceive barriers to accessing care.

Creative Ground

New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) is the arts council for the New England region.  Creative Ground is their cultural asset mapping tool.  As you engage across the Sullivan County community, please encourage everyone to create a Creative Ground profile.  It’s a simple and painless process.  The advantage to this committee is enormous.  Creative Ground allows you to create a comprehensive cultural asset list/map, including libraries, coffee houses, schools, senior centers, media resources, government agencies – as well as creative businesses, arts organizations and artists.  For those who choose to participate, it provides a sense of how they fit into their community and opportunities to pursue new connections and partnerships.

Joanne Wise at the Upper Valley Arts Alliance: wisejoanne65@gmail.com.   They are also an all-volunteer regional organization and have wrestled with some of the challenges you’d expect.  They may provide some interesting insight into what’s worked for them – and what hasn’t.

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What we hope to learn from other cultural/arts committees:

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What we hope to learn from other cultural/arts committees:

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From: Kate: I liked the question posed at our last meeting - what would you do differently if you were starting over with this?

How does the format/structure you have function?  What are its strengths and weaknesses?

Who is included in this organization?

What is the geographic range of your organizationQuestions for Regional Arts groups?  What are the strengths and challenges of covering that range?

From Biddy:
1.  Why did you start your organization?

2.  What is the purpose? (to expand offerings, to create a presence, etc.)

3.  Did you create a 501 C:3 organization (or whatever the correct number should be for arts non-profit) or did you intend your organization to be profit making?

4.  Who/ what types of "arts" related organizations did you invite to the table?

5.  Do you have a board?

6.  Do you have any paid staff?  How many hours a week?

7.  What are your sources of funding?  Are you a membership organization?

And then I think we ask if there are other things we should consider if we move forward with an "arts council" or whatever we call it.

From Melissa:

What were the challenges and opportunities that guided the adoption of the model you have?

Who were the stakeholders that participated in the creation of the organization? Were there stakeholders that resisted? Did they eventually come onboard?

What type of process did you use to gather feedback for your stakeholders? What was the most useful process? How did that feedback shape the creation of the organization?

What were the challenges and unexpected successes in the first 1-2 years?

Is there anything about the model you adopted that you wish you couple change/wish you did differently in the beginning?

How much administrative time did you have in the beginning? What was the mix of paid versus volunteer time?

What type of oversight structure do you have? What are the pros and cons of that?

Aside from funding, what has been the greatest challenge you have had to overcome to be effective in your mission?

What is your funding structure?

Do you have any data on the impact of your organization on the economy of the the region that you serve? Is it recognized across sectors?

Who were your most valuable partners/what were the most valuable skills you had access to in the early day?

How have your goals and programs changed since the inception of your organization?