From the Field

How to Shoot your Nonprofit in the Foot

Maureen Carruthers 3 Comments
Roadblocker

Is this what's standing between you and your supporters?

I’m taking two friends to see a show at a local theatre this weekend.  They are both theatre fans who recently graduated so it seemed like a good gift.

While we have settled on a date and time, I do not have tickets.

I tried to get tickets.  I went to the website, cringed at the $4 per ticket “convenience” fee for ordering on-line or via the phone but attempted the on-line route anyway–the site was down.

According to the website, the box office was open that afternoon so I got in my car and drove downtown–only to be told the box office was not open–but I could come back that evening to get tickets. . . .

So now, I’m just crossing my fingers and hoping the show won’t be sold out and I can buy our tickets the night of the show.

The really crappy part

Unless you are me, this story is not sad because of the hour I spent trying (and failing) to get tickets. Continue reading →

Online Fundraising for Tiny Nonprofits: A Case Study

Maureen Carruthers 11 Comments

Nonprofit fundraising is never easy, but it’s a special kind of difficult for tiny, all volunteer organizations.  The people responsible for fundraising in these organizations generally have little or no experience or training to support their efforts.  It’s also difficult to teach themselves the skills they need since fundraising training resources tend to focus on organizations with professional staff and a donor base far beyond their own.

Therefore, I’m always excited to see examples of tiny organizations coming up with creative ways to start raising the money they need to move up into the “small nonprofit” category.

This is one of those stories. Continue reading →

How to increase demand for art

Maureen Carruthers 11 Comments
Discrete-supply-and-demand

I don't know what this chart says, I was just feeling left out of the hard-core elements of the conversation

The theatre arts world opened a giant can of worms last week at the #newplay convening hosted by Arena Stage.  Rocco Landesman, and Diane Ragsdale led a conversation directly addressing one of the nonprofit arts sector’s unmentionables:  the mismatch that currently exists between supply and demand for not-for-profit arts organizations in our country.  Rocco went on to assert this mismatch cannot be balanced by increasing demand–supply must also be addressed.

Thanks to the power of Twitter, the conversation moved outside the walls of Arena Stage and is being held in every corner of the theatre (and increasingly arts) world  with an Internet connection. Continue reading →

Stories From the Field: When Rose Blooms

Maureen Carruthers 1 Comment

I received the following letter and story from Megan Kadrmas, a volunteer with the God’s Child Project in Antiqua Guatemala this morning.  I’m sharing it with you for three reasons.   First, Low Hanging Fruit is a community for nonprofit practitioners.  Hearing from each other is essential to building a community bond.  Second, Megan tells a compelling story that should be heard–both as an example of good storytelling, and because of its intrinsic value.  Finally, I have an especially soft spot in my heart for little girls, so if I am able to help even one little Rose by letting Megan tell her story, I’ve had a good day. –Maureen

Continue reading →