Transitioning to new leadership raises a range of issues that boards and leaders must address in order to safeguard the founder’s legacy, maintain the organization’s ability to serve its constituents, and enable it to evolve as needs change. Two CAE organizations offer examples of successful transitions handled in different ways. Community Music Center (CMC), San Francisco, CA, conducted a search for a new executive director after Stephen R. Shapiro informed the board that he planned to retire in just under two years. At the Philadelphia Folklore Project (PFP), Selina Morales became director in 2014, four years after being hired as program associate.

A powerful story can serve as the centerpiece for an effective marketing campaign. But how should marketers in arts education start to think about identifying their organization’s story? And how should the story be produced once it’s been crafted? We spoke with Cara Jones, founder, Storytellers for Good, about what makes for a good story and how to make the most out of limited resources.

 

 

At the 2015 Conference for Community Arts Education, the National Guild honored Lily Yeh with our National Leadership Award. The award was presented in recognition of Yeh’s groundbreaking work as an artist, educator, and community leader. Before the Conference, We spoke with Yeh about the inspiration she found in North Philadelphia; her process of establishing trust and a shared sense of purpose with community members; and the need for all of us to find beauty in the work that we do.

EngAGE provides sustainable arts, lifelong learning, and wellness programs for thousands of people who live in more than 35 apartment communities for low- to moderate-income seniors in Southern California. This article profiles the work of EngAGE and discusses how Guild members can provide creative aging through engagement with community partners.

In an era of big-data, designing systematic tools for collecting, analyzing, and documenting outcomes is more crucial than ever. Building on this topic, the Guild spoke with Kamella Tate – an evaluation expert with over 20 years of experience working with arts organizations – about the importance of evaluative thinking and steps that can be taken to evaluate thoughtfully (and inexpensively) on an ongoing basis.

 

How can foundations be more flexible in supporting grassroots groups/organizations and ALAANA leaders? What are some creative approaches to meeting the increasingly urgent need for philanthropy to support frontline advocacy and organizing for justice? To explore these questions and more, the ALAANA Network hosted a conversation that explored how funders are operating in a changing environment, as well as strategies for those seeking funding to respond to this movement moment in new ways.