A few weeks ago, I had an opportunity to learn more about the Cultural Alliance of Southeastern Michigan, an amazing group helping to advance the work of cultural arts organizations in the region. The work they are doing is quite innovative, and I think many of their ideas can be applied to other types of nonprofit organizations (which, if done well, can really help to lift up the whole sector).
The Alliance is in essence a vehicle of collaboration among cultural arts organizations in Southeast Michigan. For example, the Alliance hosts a website called Culture-Ed. This is a one-stop-shop where parents, teachers and afterschool providers can visit to find different youth arts opportunities. It can be searched by artistic disciplines or by different educational themes. Why does this matter? Well, it allows an easy way for different parties to get the information they want, which facilitates their purchasing decision. But doesn’t this mean that one organization might lose a potential customer to another? Perhaps, but I think it’s more likely to create new sales for all organizations than to increase competition. After all, a customer who can’t find what they’re looking for often just walks away, meaning that everyone loses out. By working together (through the Cultural Alliance), organizations have helped to grow the pie so that they can all enjoy more, rather than competing for the biggest slice.
Additionally, the Alliance has helped to create a Cultural Concierge. This is a resource for area businesses, who often purchase sport tickets in order to entertain clients or VIPs while they visit the city. Sports tickets are easy; however, many people would likely prefer an arts event. Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to figure out what is going on at all the different institutions on any given day. The Alliance helps to consolidate this information to make it easier for companies, thus along for new sources of revenue for cultural arts institutions. (On a side note, it was a board member and business person who made this suggestion – so great!)
Both of these initiatives help to bring in new revenue, but also help to reduce marketing costs for the organizations (or at the very least produce bigger bang for the buck). The Alliance also does considerable work in helping organizations consolidate back-office operations and share resources with each other, providing a platform akin to a craigslist.
And I would be remiss not to mention the Cultural Alliance’s role in partnering with the Community Foundation of Southeastern Michigan to inspire $4.8 million in gifts in just one day.
Each of these initiatives benefit cultural arts organizations of all size, and would not be possible if not for their willingness to collaborate. So after finding out about the Cultural Alliance of Southeastern Michigan’s inspiring work, I have just one question: Where else can this be done? I have no doubt that this kind of collaboration can be done throughout the nonprofit sector. In the words of the Black Eyed Peas, “Let’s get it started!”
Doing good better 