This post comes to us from Arts and Humanities reporter Elizabeth Kramer.
If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be “meetings.”
— Dave Barry, “Things That It Took Me 50 Years to Learn”
Barry’s idea may be up for debate, but not so much the fact that the Fund for the Arts raised $8.8 million in its annual campaign and during an economic recession. I reported the total this week after I went to, yes, a meeting…in fact, it was the Fund’s annual meeting. The total was short of the $10 million goal the organization set out to achieve a year ago, but still, most of the money raised will go to the Fund’s 14 member groups. But the meeting included other discussions, such as the financial stability of its member groups, fundraising strategies and new ideas that could support member groups.
I plan to report on some of the issues discussed during the meeting, but thought that I’d put the whole meeting up for those of you who are interested in some of the machinery behind Louisville’s art scene. You can download it (mp3) and listen to it at your leisure, but may not be interested in listening to the whole 54 minutes. So, I’m providing you with the starting points of the agenda items.
Agenda: Fund for the Arts’ 2009 Meeting
00:00 Welcome — Rick Anderson, Chairman of the Board for the Fund for the Arts
02:12 Approval of Minutes from March 24, 2009
02:56 Nominating Report — Rick Anderson, Chairman of the Board
04:51 Finance Report — Diane Cornwell, Fund for the Arts Chief Financial Officer
- Policy Updates
- Allocation Confirmations
16:25 Campaign Report — Bob Shircliff, 2009 Chair of the Fund for the Arts Campaign
25:08 [Excluded from this recording: Music Theatre Louisville’s performance of “Good Morning” from the musical “Singing in the Rain,” which the organization is staging this summer.]
25:32 Going Forward — Allan Cowen, Report from Allan Cowen, Fund for the Arts President and CEO
I’d like to hear from you. What are your thoughts about the Fund for the Arts ability to raise $8.8 million in the past year? How do you think the Fund for the Arts is faring in general in serving Louisville and its member groups? What other subjects discussed in the meeting would you like to know more about?
