SCENE CHANGE 2

A guide to understanding and managing nonprofit arts organizations.

The author has extensive experience with theater companies, including productions at Lincoln Center, the Pittsburgh Public Theater, Los Angeles Theatre Center, Seattle Repertory Theatre, and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and he puts that experience to good use here. Harrison contends that the organizational structure of nonprofit boards should be reexamined and notes that leadership strategies that may have worked in the 1970s aren’t viable today. It’s time to start from scratch, he says. After chapters about why boards need to change and the necessity of effective fundraising, the author gets to the crux of his book, which consists of the five responsibilities of nonprofit arts boards: defining a mission, fundraising, choosing an executive director, recruiting other board members, and advocating for the organization. He discusses the importance of studying other organizations and understanding how a board should govern. Finally, Harrison acknowledges that any list of best practices, including his own, may not work for all organizations, and one’s community’s needs should take precedence over all else. He has an easy, engaging style and does more than complain about nonprofit boards (although there’s plenty to complain about): He provides a usable blueprint for how to start, reconfigure, and run a board. “Harrison’s Rules of Order” covers how to conduct efficient meetings and outlines six rules (e.g., “Don’t waste the money you’ve budgeted for board meetings by talking about items that you cannot change”) that will help any arts board meeting—and other boards, as well—run more smoothly. Also included are exercises for boards to tackle together, which are sometimes based on real-life situations. For instance, the author recalls one particularly heinous conversation with a racist board member and asks readers whether he handled the situation well. This is a great starting point for any organization looking to run more smoothly.

A comprehensive, actionable guide for rethinking nonprofit organizations, especially their boards.