tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34399883216469884032012-02-02T14:54:05.089-05:00Canadian culture, conservation, and issues affecting non-profit organizations from the perspective of management and strategy consultants.NetGainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457039572662075163noreply@blogger.comBlogger281100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-15180822361465666732008-12-07T14:50:00.000-05:002008-12-07T14:50:00.981-05:00

There's no mention of us, but we were originally hired by Economic Indicators Committee of IRAFF (see below, a committee formed of regional arts funding bodies) and proposed and designed this system after performing audits of their data, as per the original contract. It has taken about 5 years for this to become a reality and we did three phases of it-- beginning with the recommendation that

Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379077212332039178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-34054074124760129512008-12-05T14:37:00.004-05:002008-12-05T15:08:40.408-05:00

We don't like to say we told you so, but...This year NetGain completed a review of another consultant's feasibility study for a new performing arts centre in the city of Sudbury. We saw many similarities between the anticipated problems and success of this PAC and the North York Performing Arts Centre, for which we have completed a series of studies over the past 7 years or so.At the time, the

Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379077212332039178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-19517923726395625032008-11-10T12:21:00.009-05:002008-11-10T16:22:27.120-05:00

Doug and I have wrapped up our trip to B.C.We are exploring the possibility of fundraising for the QCCC (left). I took some photos on my phone. They're not great quality but they show the potential of the site, which sits on the banks of the Cowichan River. The QCCC has an excellent business plan in hand, developed by Rod Smith and his colleagues at Festival management inc. (Fmi), for restoring

Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379077212332039178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-63418941982725656062008-10-27T12:55:00.004-04:002008-10-27T13:12:24.283-04:00

Photo: Cowichan Feather Headdress, courtesy of First PeopleNetGain is off to Duncan, B.C. next week to contribute fundraising expertise to the redevelopment of the Quw'utsun' (Cowichan) Cultural and Conference Centre, located in the Cowichan Valley. It is a matter of public record that the Centre has been plagued by mismanagement, dwindling popularity amongst both the native community and

Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379077212332039178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-34249570559821655752008-10-07T14:21:00.002-04:002008-10-07T14:45:12.343-04:00

You probably do...if you already volunteer somewhere...or have seen a live performance lately...At least according to the stats.I asked our research associate, Andrew Swales, to write something for the blog on the environmental scan of the Canadian contemporary dance “industry”. Essentially his findings, or more aptly, his lack of findings, confirmed our impressions of this marginal art practice.

Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379077212332039178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-9922863212343793532008-10-01T11:22:00.005-04:002008-10-01T11:54:39.013-04:00

Doug has been collaborating on a review of a "city agency" (now revealed as TEDCO, the Toronto Economic Development Corporation) for the past few months.Yesterday we were called by Jeff Gray of the Globe and Mail. He was looking for one of the authors of the report. (Of course, the report that is eventually released by the City of Toronto is not the same report that was put together by NetGain

Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379077212332039178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-6939614263644850942008-08-12T10:55:00.004-04:002008-08-12T12:20:37.419-04:00

"He's also the man that some web designers love to hate. In particular, they love to heap abuse on his website - UseIt.com."Here's a Guardian interview with the guru himself, Jakob Nielsen.But first, a digression. I like lists. So much that I have lists upon lists. Lists for everything. Lists of life goals, lists of tasks...really long lists of tasks. Then, people send me lists via email (

NetGainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457039572662075163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-65043867888617498202008-08-09T13:42:00.001-04:002008-08-12T12:22:46.924-04:00

One of the things that I think is a unique asset of the firm (not to toot our own horn, but well...ok) is we are small. I've been here for 2 years and I love that I am directly involved, learning from senior partners, no one has a secretary, when you call you talk to a real person...Some people don't know that we don't have secretaries and how someone communicates with someone he mistakenly

NetGainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457039572662075163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-72741235278707532272008-08-08T06:00:00.001-04:002008-08-12T12:25:33.435-04:00

Photo of Dubai airport by Flickr member goforchris.If you are following the Cirque sale: here. Opinion on why Quebec lost out and Dubai won.

NetGainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457039572662075163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-49247965696661475952008-08-07T15:48:00.005-04:002008-08-07T16:46:02.184-04:00

I was reading this article in the Globe and Mail. It recounts the history of a small canadian firm, TakingITGlobal which...does something involving youth and connecting them to changing the world. In the words of the founder "social networking for social change." Hmmm. Formally, "Our mission is to provide opportunities for learning, capacity-building, cross-cultural awareness and self-development

NetGainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457039572662075163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-48234468406723366592008-08-07T12:41:00.000-04:002008-08-07T12:43:44.804-04:00

Something I know very little about: 'Trolls' and 'trolling': Here. Kind of sad. "The Olympic Games will be played out on Facebook, YouTube and Flickr whether we like it or not. We need to engage, not disengage, with them," said Balfour. Very wise. Check out the story here."Cirque du Soleil was formed in 1984 by Laliberte and fellow street performers in Quebec. Since then, it has grown into a

NetGainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457039572662075163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-9922874398154325042008-08-06T08:00:00.000-04:002008-08-06T08:00:15.930-04:00

I was having a conversation with my brother who works with Big Brothers Big Sisters, a mentoring program in Toronto. Oh, and by the way, if you are a visible minority male-- he is always looking for more mentors. Apparently they have no problems finding women mentors for girls. But I digress. He also works with a number of other not-for-profits and the conversation turned to grants. He told me

Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379077212332039178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-18428861191504663682008-08-05T18:17:00.002-04:002008-11-12T20:54:20.328-05:00

They held a contemporary art contest in Afghanistan.Reported by the BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/in_pictures/7397878.stm

Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379077212332039178noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-62126099370940488082008-08-05T17:10:00.006-04:002008-11-12T20:54:20.459-05:00

Today I receive a press release from the Canada Council that relates to a NG project: a system of data collection by municipal, provincial, and federal arts funders.Doug says that this may be the most valuable thing that the firm has ever done.The story is that in 2003/04 NetGain Partners began working with the Intergovernmental Roundtable of Arts Funders and Foundations (IRAFF) to craft this

Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379077212332039178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-9103211236793442262008-07-30T16:30:00.005-04:002008-11-12T20:54:20.650-05:00

There have been a number of articles published recently on the situation of the Toronto Zoo. But situation, I mean new fundraising campaign, and surrounding controversies.Battle royale at the zoo smells of power grabToronto Zoo aims to go green . The Star reported this back in FebruaryWild Times for Zoo FundraisingShowdown at Toronto ZooIt’s all happening at zooAnd a sad article about Knut, the

Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16828961818861558182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-75008201711096162392008-07-25T15:18:00.002-04:002008-11-12T20:54:21.208-05:00

From my quote of the day (food for thought):What delights us in visible beauty is the invisible.- Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (an Austrian writer)

Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379077212332039178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-37410730742859483262008-07-24T12:38:00.000-04:002008-11-12T20:54:21.357-05:00

In the area of non-profit cultural enterprise, we are accustomed to having government and commercial institutions talking down to us. Through our boards of directors and funding relationships we are fed a continuous stream of "best practices," usually about five years after they've lost favour in the sector that spawned them. From industries that failed to anticipate rising fuel prices and from

NetGainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457039572662075163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-43799960451135789842008-07-23T11:56:00.008-04:002008-11-12T20:54:21.603-05:00

Godin's right about something. A departure from the marketing mantras of the past half century is overdue. Knowledge workers in creative industries never really had their hearts in a formulaic approach to selling commodified products. There simply wasn't a better marketing vocabulary available to them, despite the fact that many were improvising and customizing approaches of their own.Not that

NetGainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457039572662075163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-14588994168664941752008-07-22T11:32:00.009-04:002008-07-23T14:56:47.194-04:00

There is a really interesting article in the NY Times today about mirrors. Scientists are using mirrors to study how the brain decides what is self and what is other. The mirror can render the invisible visible-- but sometimes without accuracy. So actually I'm not as goodlooking as I apparently thought. On the other hand, we should get a couple of mirrors in the office to increase productivity!

NetGainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457039572662075163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-33167697226236304782008-07-18T11:24:00.008-04:002008-11-12T20:54:21.815-05:00

Seth Godin's blog about throwing out the old 4 Ps has been picked up in a variety of placed. Doug and I discussed his points in relation to the strategy we are preparing for our non-profit dance organization client. Artists dislike when you refer to their "product" but it does need to be "sold" to an audience. And the audience for contemporary dance is very small.So I thought I would review

NetGainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457039572662075163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-616875642186952422008-07-08T11:02:00.006-04:002008-11-12T20:54:22.049-05:00

Photo Credit: Nate ArcherEdited by JuliaPost by DougLast year, my friend Robin Uchida told me about a conference topic he was considering for the annual Juice Dialogues at OCAD. He asked me what I thought of it. As often happens when I’m talking to Robin, I could think of nothing else afterwards. When I got home that night, I sat down to give him a response to the topic and unintentionally set

NetGainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457039572662075163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-61520268016586135972008-07-02T12:03:00.001-04:002008-07-02T15:45:35.685-04:00

This is the 2nd part of our discussion of membership and audience development, adapted from a talk originally given by Doug Simpson at ANDPVA, the Association for Native Development in the Performing and Visual Arts. In Part 1 of this 2 part series, Doug made the case that the key to attracting and retaining new members is emotion. We continue the discussion below with frequently seen errors

NetGainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457039572662075163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-28935588196905940492008-06-25T16:47:00.004-04:002008-06-25T16:55:35.474-04:00

The following text is adapted from a lecture Managing Director and Senior Consultant Doug Simpson gave at ANDPVA (Association for Native Development in the Performing and Visual Arts) on how to (and not to) develop audiences and members in non-profit organizations. I am going to post it two parts. LOOKING FOR LOVE IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES – PART 1I'm old enough to remember when small arts

NetGainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457039572662075163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-18899120487090414182008-06-16T12:51:00.004-04:002008-06-16T14:17:28.065-04:00

Just a small announcement. Clark Reed, our HR expert, created a masterful HR toolkit for independent grocers over the past year. I was only peripherally involved in this project, but it was interesting to be involved in something that is not traditionally considered part of arts & culture. Of course, when it comes down to it, nothing has a greater dominion over culture than food-- what we eat

NetGainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457039572662075163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-221520475401896682008-06-04T10:48:00.003-04:002008-11-12T20:54:22.223-05:00

Photo credit: Tristram KentonYou may find this NY Times article interesting: Courting Donors, Finding Freedom .NB. This article seems awkwardly written, as though it's been heavily edited. But in any case, the author touches on a number of points relevant to modern not-for-profit arts funding. Essentially it claims that American-style private funding results in "accountability": for management

NetGainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457039572662075163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-6970506786364358072008-05-22T15:45:00.008-04:002008-07-02T15:46:46.938-04:00

Doug and I first heard about the Technology in the Arts conference sometime last year when we were called to participate in an impromptu brainstorming session by Bill Poole. It appears that Carnegie Mellon's Centre for Arts Management and Technology had launched this conference as a sort of anniversary party get together thing and it ended up being so successful they decided to bring it North of

NetGainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457039572662075163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-26010051204290855352008-05-21T16:33:00.006-04:002008-07-14T23:11:03.485-04:00

NetGain would like to extend its congratulations to Santee Smith & Kaha:wi Dance Theatre (KDT). Santee has just been awarded the Canada Council for the Art's new award for arts management, the John Hobday award. She shares this honour with Sherri Johnson. The award comes with a $10K prize which is to be used for professional developement. Last night we attended the ceremony at Theatre

NetGainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457039572662075163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439988321646988403.post-17074815419411071622007-07-04T12:29:00.001-04:002007-07-04T14:58:49.386-04:00

A New York Times article reports:"Starbucks will be selling [Paul McCartney's] album ''Memory Almost Full'' through regular music retail shops but will also be playing it repeatedly in thousands of its coffee shops in more than two dozen countries on the day of release. And the first music video from the new album had it premiere on YouTube. Mr. McCartney, in announcing his deal with Starbucks,

NetGainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457039572662075163noreply@blogger.com0