One amazing arts organization!

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!”

Talent key to city’s success

“Over time there will not be a successful region without a successful city…  we’re all in this together.”  Carol Coletta from CEOs for Cities kicked of her presentation at the ModelD Speaker Series with this statement.  While I’m all for a heartfelt call to action, what most impressed me by her presentation was the data-driven suggestions that would help propel Detroit to success.

According to Coletta, there are four dimensions on which cities must succeed: talent, connections, distinctiveness and innovation.  Each of these are driven by a “core vitality.”  So how do you get these?  While many community leaders are looking for best practices to implement, Coletta cautions that these occurred within a context.  That means that just because you copy what another city has done doesn’t mean that was successful.  So what can be done?

Having combed the data, Coletta pointed to three areas where a little change can result in major gains, which she called the talent dividend, the green dividend, and the opportunity dividend.

The talent dividend refers to the level of college attainment.  The pay-off of having this talent is pretty clear: better education means higher incomes, and a better-skilled workforce means great innovation and productivity, leading to a better city-living experience for all.  There are three ways to grow talent: educate your own, attract talent from elsewhere,  and retain the talent you already have.  Coletta pointed out that it is very hard to attract talent: of the 50 metro areas, only 16 have demonstrated gains, meaning the other 34 have lost talent.  We know how to educate, so how do you retain talent?  Data suggests this is directly tied to the quality of place and the quality of opportunities.

Now this is the exciting part: CEO for Cities has found that 58% of a city’s success can be explained by the percentage of college graduates in your population.  (Now that I’ve taken statistics and learned how to run a regression, I understand not only how they’ve gotten that number but what a big deal that is!)  So what does this mean?  As a city, college attainment should be your number one economic development goal.  For the city of Detroit, CEO for Cities has found that a 1% increase in college attainment would produce $3.4 billion annually – just in income.  That’s huge!

For the green dividend, they looked specifically at the number of miles traveled.  By reducing the average number of miles driven each day by just one mile, Detroit could see an addition $820 million dollars in its economy.  So how do we encourage denser development?  Good news: it looks as though the market demand is shifting in that direction.  CEOs for Cities has found that every one point of walk score is worth between $700 and $3000 in increased property value.  Go market forces, go!

The opportunity dividend was measured as the financial return on reducing poverty by just 1%.  In addition to be a noble thing to do, this will reduce the public service cost and return $396 million  to the economy.  Surprisingly, of the largest 50 metro areas, Detroit is not at the bottom in terms of its poverty rate; in fact, it’s not even in the bottom five.  Houston is right next to Detroit on the list, and how often do people associate Houston with poverty?

At any rate, if you add these dividends together, Detroit will see $4.6 billion annually – all for very small changes!   Of course, the bulk of this comes from talent.  So is there really hope for the city?  I think there is.

At Dave Egner’s prompting Coletta shared the story of students from Tulane flocking to New Orleans – not because of the tremendous job opportunities, but because they see tremendous opportunity for impact.  My friend and I were nodding vigorously to this story – that’s exactly why we feel drawn to Detroit, even though neither of us are Michiganders by birth.  Let’s make sure that this story is heard.  After all, even if we’re only able to move things by 1%, by moving the right things we can make tremendous impact!

Oh, and if you’re interested in learning more about these things, in addition to checking out the CEO for Cities website, be sure to check out the work being done by Lou Glazer at Michigan Future.  With him and the many other leaders pushing the conversation forward, Detroit will “rise from the ashes.”

In these times, what gives?

Having recently graduated, I am faced with searching for a job in a pretty dreadful economy.  The expectation that  my MBA would result in quick, solid employment was clearly wrong, and my initial excitement about the new adventure has been slowly eroding, leaving only self doubt.  This has been compounded by news from friends and family that their retirement savings have shrunk, that they’re being laid off from work, or that they’re losing their home.  A sense of defeat and despair is almost overwhelming, and the news media does little to inspire hope for a brighter tomorrow.

So what can a job seeker do?  Well, one possibility is to revise the criteria for our job search.  I have seena  number of my peers make tough decisions, having to accept a smaller salary or a less than ideal position or location.  Alternatively, we can try to wait it out, accepting part-time work or taking on volunteer projects to help fill the days as we wait out a great opportunity.  Certainly, either of these options must be accompanied by a shift in perspective – a recognition that while things may not have gone exactly the way we planned, there is still so much to be grateful for.

Of course, it is one thing to look at this dilemma from the outside and quite another to be stuck in the midst of the quandary.  On the one hand, I know I’ve made my job search immensely more difficult by maintaining a geographic focus on Detroit; after all, the state of Michigan has led the country in unemployment for quite some time, and the city itself has faced a rate that is consistently much, much worse.  On the other hand, I can’t ignore the excitement that bubbles from my very core when I explore the city, hear about the victories of its residents, or talk with others about its immense opportunity I see there.   I also know that people’s suggestion I expand my search inspires a reflex to defend my dream.  I’ve come to consider this time a trial; after all, if I can’t handle a few months without full-time employment, am I really up to the challenge of living in the city of Detroit?

And so it is with a renewed sense of purpose and determination that I continue my search in Detroit.  I can only hope that my willingness to step out on faith will (eventually) pay off.  Of course, I’ll take all the positive thoughts you’re willing to send my way!

Now more than ever

This week has brought yet another challenge to the city of Detroit.  City Councilwoman Monica Conyers pled guilty to taking money in exchange for her vote in the Synagro waste handling contracts.  While I’m thrilled that she didn’t drag it out in the fashion of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, I’m frustrated that she hasn’t resigned from her position on City Council as of yet.

Does news like this tarnish my desire to move to the city of Detroit?  Not at all; in fact, I’m more motivated than ever before.   But maybe that has less to do with Monica Conyers, and more to do with this video which I ran across thanks to a tweet from @PhilanthropyCFP.

 

 

Why can’t the people of Detroit do the same thing?  Yes, the city council is a mess, but that doesn’t have to stop city residents from making the change.  Last summer I did an internship in Chicago and lived in the East Ukrainian Village.  It’s a good neighborhood, but there are occasionally some problems.  My street always felt safe, though, thanks to Johnny.  He would sit in front of his home in the afternoon and evening hours – in a beach chair right on the sidewalk.  There he kept an eye on the street, introducing himself to the people walking by and making introductions between neighbors.  He was like a one-man security force and community organizer. 

Of course, the city of Detroit has its own heroes, like Claire Nelson, store owner and co-founder of Open City.  Not only does she have a fabulous shop, she works hard to support other entrepreneurs in the city and serves as a spokesperson for Midtown.  Or take Carol Goss, CEO of the Skillman Foundation; she’s not interested in increasing the number of kids beating the odds – she wants to change the odds.  These women inspire me, but there are so many more people working hard to redefine the city.

And, of course, residents can help to transform the City Council through the upcoming election.  I think a lot of people are really eager for the opportunity.  (In fact, I was recently encouraged to move to the city by mid-July so that I could participate in the primaries.)  So here’s to hope!

And so a new adventure begins…

I am beginning this blog as a nonprofit professional seeking to learn new and better ways to create social change, believing that others might find it useful for their own professional development.

My experience with the nonprofit sector began as a volunteer at the Boys & Girls Clubs.  Let me be clear: I am not one of those people who loved kids and so sought out the nearest afterschool program.  I was asked to volunteer, and my first response: “I don’t really like babysitting.”  That was being mild; I loathed babysitting.  Nonetheless, I gave it a try and by the time I graduated from college, I had volunteered more than 500 hours and accepted a staff position with the organization.  I had come to see firsthand that Boys & Girls Clubs save lives – every day, one child at a time.

Over the course of several years, I was promoted to the position of Unit Director, where I was responsible for opening a new club location inside of an area public school.  This meant taking responsibility for everything from developing the budget and raising the needed funds to managing staff and measuring program outcomes.  This was a tremendous experience, which demonstrated to me both how much I was capable of doing and how much I had yet to learn.

At this point, I decided to pursue my Masters in Business Administration (MBA).  I wanted to find new ways to (1) better retain and build the talent within the sector, having found the people to be the sector’s most significant asset, and (2) better market the work being done, thereby mobilizing greater financial resources for these efforts.  Through the program, I also received instruction on the basics of running a business (such as finance, operations and accounting).

What I didn’t expect from this experience was to develop a love  for the city of Detroit.  You’ve read about the city in the news, no doubt, as it struggles with a shrinking population, corrupt politicians, and an education system that fails its students, – not to mention the troubles with the auto industry.  What you don’t hear often enough, though, are those people committed to defining a new Detroit.  The city’s motto is “Speramus meliora; resurget cineribus” or “We hope for better things; it shall rise from the ashes.”  There are so many stories of people who are taking what seems like an insurmountable problem and finding immense opportunity.  To those people, I say: Count me in!

And so I begin this new chapter of my life, this new adventure filled with hope and challenge, and I look to make myself the best person I can be so that I can do the work that is so badly needed.  I hope you find the golden nuggets within this blog that help you to do your own work better, and that you’ll challenge me a long the way, pushing me to find a better version of myself.