Non-profit management

October 2007, 32 pages. Independent Sector, 1200 Eighteenth Street NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC, 20036, 202-467-6100, www.independentsector.org

2010, 195 pages, ISBN 978-0-470-49010-5. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ, 07030, 201-748-6011, www.wiley.com

When I was in college, I had a great work-study job at an organization that placed students in internships with local nonprofits. It was a small outfit and a jack-of-all-trades sort of job. I answered phones, mocked up application forms, stuffed envelopes, filed, ran errands, organized open houses, and learned how to write a business letter. It wasn’t the sort of job you’d want to stay in for too long, but it was a fabulous introduction to the nonprofit sector. It gave me practical office skills to boot.

The current economic climate has forced many nonprofit arts organizations to confront underlying issues. Tensions mount, dollars are scarce, and unresolved weaknesses or fissures often grow. We have seen heartening examples of artists, donors, audiences, and funders rallying to support the art and organizations that they love. In some cases, streamlined, more focused organizations are forging ahead with renewed determination. But in other cases, the economic downturn may herald the time to close the doors.

As we move through the greatest economic downturn since the great depression, Grantmakers in the Arts has analyzed its programs and put together what we believe to be an appropriate response to the times. This edition of the Reader is part of our design to provide relevant research and statistics to the field in an economical and efficient manner. This summer edition of the Reader is published solely on-line. A PDF file was mailed to all members and subscribers and is available on the website, and the individual articles are also posted in the GIA web Library.

The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, 4Culture, the Seattle Foundation and the Seattle Mayor's Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs commissioned Helicon Collaborative to interview leaders of diverse cultural organizations in the Northwest to determine the impacts the economy is having on their institutions. The report was released on March 9, and GIA and Philanthropy Northwest hosted two conference calls with regional and national funders to hear a summary of the report and discuss possible action.

In late January GIA polled its 309 member organizations about their organization's responses to the economic downturn. 117 (38%) members responded, which provides a healthy sample of the membership.

Members reported their expected 2009 arts grantmaking would likely compare to 2008 as follows:

• 41% expected that 2009 would be the same as 2008.
• 13% expected that it would be reduced to 90% of 2008.
• 12% expected that it would be reduced to 80% of 2008.
• 11% expected that it would be reduced to 70% of 2008.

Alana Conner Snibbe, in this article published by the Stanford Social Innovation Review, explores the often misleading relationship between nonprofit overhead and efficiency, and the pitfalls inherent in measuring a nonprofit's well being by its overhead ratio.

Available free online from Stanford Social Innovation Review