Kennedy Center President Visits UCA

Michael Kaiser, president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, gave local nonprofit organizations advice on how to keep their arts programs profitable and exciting during tough economic times.

Kaiser participated in a question and answer session recently in the Reynolds Performance Hall. He addressed the challenges facing non-profit performing arts organizations such areas as fundraising, building more effective boards of trustees, budgeting and marketing.

His visit was part of the Arts In Crisis Tour. Arts in Crisis: A Kennedy Center Initiative helps art organizations remain viable. Kaiser started the initiative in February 2009.

Visit UCA’s YouTube page to hear more. Kaiser has been successful in reorganizing marketing strategies and improving the images of arts organizations. He advised those attending the question and answer session not to cut programming in an effort to save money.

“So many arts organizations responded to the economic crash in 2008 by cutting programming and marketing,” Kaiser said. “When you start cutting … you think you can save your way to health. You can’t. My belief is that what is going to keep art programs viable, particularly during this economic environment, is to keep the work vibrant. Donors have less money to give and donors are making choices. They are going to give to the organization that seems important, exciting and doing interesting work rather than the organization that is getting smaller and sicker.”

Dr. Rollin Potter, dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication, commended Kaiser for the work he has done in the arts community.

“Michael Kaiser is truly one of the world’s foremost arts administrators, and he is definitely making great strides in bolstering arts organizations during difficult budgetary times,” Potter said. “UCA and its audience heard from the head of one of our nation’s largest arts organizations about many strategies and ideas that are crucial to our success as leaders and entrepreneurs.”

For more information about Arts In Crisis, visit www.artsincrisis.org.