Leaders Reflect
What would philanthropic leaders have told themselves in December of 2019 that would help prepare them for what was to come in 2020 and 2021? Read more
Ryan Crane
director of philanthropy, Des Moines Playhouse
Dear Ryan,
Look out! There will be some massive changes coming in 2020. Life-altering and mind-boggling changes. Even if I could tell you what they were, you probably wouldn’t believe me.
So instead, December 2019 self, let me share some high-level lessons and insights, and we will try to work from there.
First, it is vitally important that you put your faith in your donors, patrons and volunteers. You will be touched and amazed by how generous and supportive they are. You must trust them with your entire heart and even your financial bottom line – they won’t disappoint.
You will wish you had done more to steward and communicate with them. Please remember to share the little things with them. They are well-intentioned and they really believe in you (see the first point above).
But they are busy people, with overflowing email inboxes, Facebook feeds and stuffed mailboxes. You cannot be lulled into believing you always have their attention, and you must be patient and steady with your communications. It is OK to share the same message more than once. And since things will change from week to week (and even day to day) in 2020, you should not fear overcommunicating with them.
Tempting as it will be, try not to “sound the alarm” and sound desperate or unsure. By summer of 2020, the whole world will seem to be spinning out of control. Hold on tight.
Start learning to be radically efficient right now. Working with what you have – and ultimately working with less – will be important. This scarcity phase will thankfully not last forever, but it will be important to stay lean for several months.
Innovate! Since nothing will ever be quite the same again, you might as well experiment and be bold. Try things you have never tried before. It may turn out that upending “the way we’ve always done things” is not as scary or disruptive as you thought. And since we are trusting our donors and supporters, you must trust they will come along, or at the very least applaud your creativity.
As the old saying goes, “Sometimes the most obvious answer will be the right answer.” In keeping with the innovation theme, when you see everyone is stuck at home streaming TV and movies, you should put yourself in their living room. I know, I know. We’ve never done that before! Trust me, it will work out well. In fact, you will get a couple of notes from patrons watching in 23 different states saying they enjoyed the option to stream and watch their friends and family onstage from afar. Crazy, right?
Some individuals on the team will make decisions to work from home, or go back to school (online, as it will turn out), or leave for new adventures. All good! One of the silver linings, as you’ll eventually see, is that work-life balance and family will take on new importance and meaning.
At times you will be a valuable source of information, as your patrons and donors and supporters seek to make decisions on when to leave the house and safely gather again. Lean in and lead! Customer service and gratitude go hand in hand with this. You won’t believe how happy you will be to see each other when everyone returns.
Oh, my dear December 2019 self, I know that uncertainty and stress and worry await you. But for your whole existence, you have followed some common-sense and practical wisdom: Worrying is not a strategy and hope is not a plan. I truly believe that I have given you valuable advice. Stick to it, and I promise that the months and years on the other side will be better.
Why is philanthropy important to our community?
The term philanthropy is derived from two Greek words: philos, meaning “love,” and anthropos, meaning “humankind.” Philanthropists, therefore, are people looking to make a difference in the world.
And we needed them more than ever in 2020. For many arts and culture organizations, philanthropists acted selflessly. Sometimes there were no tickets to buy, and no shows to attend. Sometimes the events were experimental or scaled back. In amounts big and small, philanthropists expressed their love for their favorite venues, nonprofits and institutions.
It is not an exaggeration to say the arts and culture sector would not have survived intact without philanthropists.