“Our biggest problem was that our activities
grossly outstripped our resources,” explained
David Brown, Executive Director of Spacetaker in Houston.
Spacetaker had started five years earlier as a help
desk for the arts. In that time, they had developed
an innovative website that created a connection point
and resource for all types of artists and creative
projects. However, it was difficult for the staff
of Spacetaker to say no to a project, because they
often were the only people with the necessary technological
expertise. They struggled to plan far in advance,
and the organization was not effectively capitalizing
on its own accomplishments. “We were like a
dandelion blowing in the wind. Many of our projects
were only related to us because they started out with
us,” said Mr. Brown.
By mid-2006, Spacketaker had reached a crossroads.
It was programmatically successful, had a committed
board of directors, and had just hired its second
and third fulltime employees. Its major programs were
functioning well and there were several choices on
the horizon. But it was in debt for the first time,
and serious changes were needed for Spacetaker to
continue operations with Mr. Brown at the helm. Mr.
Brown, who admittedly was the lifeblood of the organization,
couldn’t possibly continue at such a frenzied
pace.
Mr. Brown heard about the NAS Strategy
seminar through an email from the local arts council.
“Strategy
was an easy sell for me. I knew it was what we needed.”
Mr. Brown brought his newly appointed editor, Chris
Dunn, to the seminar. Together, they spent three days
exploring the concept of strategic analysis and working
through their own difficult self-examination. At the
seminar, Mr. Brown was heartened to be able to peek
inside some of the larger institutions who were facing
some of the same troubles as Spacetaker. “The
faculty and staff of NAS really pushed us to distill
who we were. And they made us feel comfortable about
not really knowing the answer at first.”
By the end of the seminar, Mr. Brown and Mr. Dunn
had made great strides in determining the future strategy
for Spacetaker. “I had this amazing change of
heart – I realized how important we are, and
that the reason that I got out of bed in the morning
was to help artists connect to organizations, venues,
civic leaders – to build the infrastructure
needed to make that happen. And the Strategy
seminar was handing us the tools to take that intrinsic
value and turn it into a solid business,” said
Mr. Brown.
Following the seminar, Mr. Brown presented the results
of his experience to his board. Spacetaker’s
board members were smart and excited about their mission,
but many weren’t familiar with nonprofit management.
Mr. Brown decided to contract with NAS for an Applied
Learning engagement to give his entire board and staff
the chance to work through the strategy exercise together.
Mr. Brown invited everyone on the board to attend
the meeting with NAS’ Jamey
Stowell. “The core people were all in attendance.
Jamey was amazing. His feedback was great,”
said Mr. Brown of the facilitation.
In the six weeks following Spacetaker’s work
with National Arts Strategies, Mr. Brown has been
able to secure nearly $80,000 in unrestricted contributions
to support the organization while they lay out plans
for a more sustainable strategy. “The best part
was that we were all finally on the same page. We
knew where we were headed and what it would take to
get there.” Their funding proposals reflect
the change in their ability to plan. “We used
to ask for money for the next year or so. Now we’re
sending out major proposals for programs and operations
through 2009. And we’re confident about them.
Because we’re a technology based organization,
it is harder for foundations to understand what kind
of investment is needed in this field. But the work
we did during and after the Strategy
seminar helps us make our position really clear to
our funders.”
“The truth is, we wouldn’t be here if
we hadn’t taken the Strategy
seminar. It helped me remember why I love what I do,
and that percolates through everything that we do.
By the time we’re through this next phase, we
won’t just be known as a website anymore.”
