Orchestra 990 Database Project Update

PostponedA number of readers have been rattling my cage asking about when the Orchestra 990 Project Kickstarter Mk II project is getting underway. For those not already in the know, the Orchestra 990 Database Project planned to convert a decade of professional orchestra IRS Forms 990 returns into a keyword searchable database with filtered results. A Kickstarter campaign took place in the spring of 2014 but ultimately fell short of the funding goal.

At that time, the plan was to launch the Kickstarter again in the fall but the frustrating side of a bang up year for arts consulting and Venture Platform business and the birth of ArtsHacker means that there simply aren’t enough hours in the day.

Consequently, we’re going to have to push back the Mk II launch until 2015 once ArtsHacker is in a good groove and the time exists to not just run the project again but allocate the time to do it right.

In the meantime, many thanks to everyone who wrote over the past several weeks asking about the project along with all of the terrific support back in the spring.

Stay tuned…

About Drew McManus

"I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but the day that consulting contract began with her orchestra, she was convinced I was a hatchet-man brought in by the board to clean house.

I understand where the trepidation comes from as a great deal of my consulting and technology provider work for arts organizations involves due diligence, separating fact from fiction, interpreting spin, as well as performance review and oversight. So yes, sometimes that work results in one or two individuals "aggressively embracing career change" but far more often than not, it reinforces and clarifies exactly what works and why.

In short, it doesn't matter if you know where all the bodies are buried if you can't keep your own clients out of the ground, and I'm fortunate enough to say that for more than 15 years, I've done exactly that for groups of all budget size from Qatar to Kathmandu.

For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, keep track of what people in this business get paid, help write a satirical cartoon about orchestra life, hack the arts, and love a good coffee drink.

Related Posts

Leave a Comment