Doing RFPs The Right Way
Wed, Apr 4, 2018
by Drew McManus
I’m at the 2018 Nonprofit Technology Conference today running a session alongside Ceci Dadisman designed to help nonprofit admins get their RFP on. And since this session is all about sharing inside info, that means you can find the slide deck online plus Ceci and I put together a special microsite that includes…wait for it…an interactive
Well This Is Interesting
Tue, Apr 4, 2018
by Drew McManus
The 4/9/18 edition of ArabNews.com published an article that reports a new agreement between Saudi Arabia and the Paris Opera “to help Saudi Arabia set up a national orchestra and an opera.” The article doesn’t provide many details other than mentioning “the Paris Opera company help the Kingdom produce its own classical music and shows.” Consequently,
Reaching Common Ground
Mon, Apr 4, 2018
by Drew McManus
There’s a terrific article by Barry Courter in the 4/8/18 edition of the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Courter followed the musicians from Arts Capacity on their most recent program bringing live music to inmates at Georgia’s Walker State Prison. The result is a wonderfully detailed account of the program along with direct feedback from inmates attending the
Looking For An Excuse To Go Somewhere Warm Next Week?
Fri, Apr 4, 2018
by Drew McManus
If you’ve been stuck in the unseasonably cold stretch of weather plaguing the Midwest and Northeast, you deserve a last-minute biz trip to somewhere warm, fun, and full of teachable moments. It just so happens the 2018 Nonprofit Technology Conference is next week (teachables: check) and it’s in New Orleans (warm and fun: double check).
#TBT Don’t Get Stuck Losing Critical Metrics Data
Thu, Apr 4, 2018
by Drew McManus
On two occasions this past week, I had colleagues reach out with questions about how to recover login credentials for a Google account because the organizational email address set as the account owner was either deleted or no longer accessible. In both cases, the groups gave up and simply started new accounts. The result was
Orchestra Mission Statements In The Worst Fonts Of All Time
Wed, Apr 4, 2018
by Drew McManus
Joe Patti keeps sucking me in with his headlines and yesterday’s post was no exception: Probably The Only Time Comic Sans Is Appropriate In A Planning Document. If I’m being honest, I didn’t even read the rest of the article because it made me wonder what actual orchestra mission statements look like in some of
I’ll Take My Comedy A Little Less Dark Please
Tue, Apr 4, 2018
by Drew McManus
In the wake of yesterday’s April Fool’s day prank, several readers wrote in to say how similar it was to the AF prank from 2016. The 2016 article focused on a fictional “Scholarship Indemnity Program” where in exchange for receiving free tuition, students must meet one of the minimum career accomplishment goals, set by the
New Tuition Assistance Program Aspires To Reinvent Escalating Education Costs
Sun, Apr 4, 2018
by Drew McManus
Rising tuition costs and crippling student debt continue to occupy the heart and minds of emerging classical musicians. But one major conservatory believes they have a solution to not only control costs, but begin easing them down for most students. The Juiliard Institute plans to begin offering its students financial aid with repayment in the
Understanding The Importance Of Legacy Costs
Fri, Mar 3, 2018
by Drew McManus
Anyone working in the labor side of things inside the orchestra and opera fields knows how much impact legacy costs have on an institution’s expense structure. Larger budgets typically mean larger legacy costs, especially pension obligations. And while that’s not going to be changing anytime soon, legacy costs in other departments have been creeping up
#TBT El Sistema After José Abreu’s Death
Thu, Mar 3, 2018
by Drew McManus
Saturday, 3/24/2018 was a sad day with the news that El Sistema founder José Abreu passed away. I was fortunate to experience the program first-hand in 2005 (thanks to Ben Zander and the New England Conservatory Youth Orchestra for inviting me along to chronicle their tour). That visit included an interview Abreu, which became the
