Kathleen Sims, Executive Director

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.

 

 

Arts Alive! (Keene)

Jessica Gelter, Executive Director

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.

 

Kate Griffin, Executive Director

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.

 

Carly Goss, Executive Director

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.  

 

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.  

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?

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

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.