FUNDRAISING LESSONS FOR THE NON-FUNDRAISER

(Fun)draising | Samantha Summers

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In my three years of writing this column, I have mentioned once or twice my belief that as museum professionals we must all understand fundraising in order to understand our institutions. This is true for a number of reasons. Knowing how fundraising works, and how your institution does it, can tell you a great deal about your institution. Knowing who is giving to your institution can tell you much about your audience. In addition to this, and most relevant to us today, is that there are a lot of lessons to take from fundraising which have applications in other areas of museum work. Today I would like to share with you four of the most important pieces of fundraising advice which will help you in other areas of the field.

Bear with me, because I know a lot of people find talking about money gauche. All the same, there's a lot you can learn from your colleagues who talk about it all the time. (Image source.)

Talk so people want to listen.

At the end of the day, we all have to remember that our field requires an audience. Whatever we do and say has to be helpful to them and has to make them want to listen. Now, this isn’t to say that you have to coddle an audience or dilute your message. In fact, I would make the case that fundraisers are some of the most frank, blunt people in the museum world—pandering isn’t actually part of the job. What this does mean, however, is that you have to tell hard truths carefully. Fundraisers are great at this (after all, "I need a substantial amount of your money to keep my institution going" is a big pill to swallow). Chat with them about how to talk about difficult things—I promise they'll have insights into how to make people listen even when you're navigating a complicated exhibition. As the saying goes, if a tree falls in a forest, does it make a sound? If an exhibition is put on and nobody came, did it even have a message?


People are complicated.

This one is of particular relevance to me, as my thesis investigates how museums break off relationships with major donors whose ethics are called into question. Simply put, the hyper-wealthy don’t just crack eggs to make omelettes, they then patent the process and sell it. Then they often given some of the profits to museums, to help them continue their important work. Fundraisers have to understand how to let people be flawed and still participate in the museum. They also have to know where the hard lines are drawn that make someone anathema to the institution. As other museum careers deal with problematic artists or dubious artefact sources, they might want to pick a fundraiser’s brain on how to navigate that line.


The museum wants to exist in fifty years.

This is a tricky one. Many people go into the museum field because they love art, history, education, activism, or one of the many other things that museums can embody. It can be hard to acknowledge that museums in Canada are largely underfunded and need to raise capital in order to exist at all. Fundraisers are intimately familiar with this—they’re on the frontline of bringing in a huge part of a museum’s budget. Other museum professionals will see the need to prioritize profit impact their work when they’re asked to change the tone of a label, scrap an exhibition because of the potential bad publicity, or work with an artist who is famous but problematic. The museum is in it for the long haul, and sometimes that means compromise in order to maintain long-term stability. Chat with your fundraiser if you’re worried about a change you’re being forced to make for this reason. They also care about the museum’s mission, have probably had to compromise a number of times, and can relate.


There are a lot of ways to love a museum.

One of the most exciting parts of fundraising is helping people do things that matter. People want to help museums, but with so many different lived experiences out there, it can be tough to find ways for people to participate in the museum in a way that feels authentic for them. Be it a $20 annual donation on a special anniversary, funding a new education program, or a legacy gift (a donation made to an institution in a will), fundraisers are masters at coming up with unique ways for people to be involved in an institution. They are also masters at making people care in the long-term, so they return and contribute over and over again. If you’re looking at increasing engagement or diversifying your education portfolio, talk to a fundraiser. They’re full of ideas on how to help people find joy in being part of your community.


There are of course many more lessons to be taken from fundraising, and fundraisers must also be constantly learning from the other members of the museum. Talk to your fundraisers, find common ground and common learning, and you will see your institution flourish. Plus, I promise we’re friendly, welcoming, open people. It’s literally our job to be.

"ACTIVATING THE PEOPLE WHO CARE THE MOST": IN CONVERSATION WITH FUNDRAISING CONSULTANT CINDY WAGMAN

(Fun)draising | Samantha Summers

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Fundraising expert Cindy Wagman is the founder and CEO of The Good Partnership, a fundraising consultancy which helps small non-profits achieve their fundraising goals. She brings a BA in Women's Studies from Queen's University, an MBA from the Rotman School at the University of Toronto, and over fifteen years of fundraising experience to work with her every day.

Cindy has learned that fundraising is all about relationships and collaboration. (Photo source.)

How did you come to start The Good Partnership?

I was approached by an organization to run a capital campaign for them, and was able to negotiate that I could do that role as a consultant rather than as a staff person. That was when I looked at what I wanted and where I was in my career and thought, “Oh, I could start a consulting business!” I was able to negotiate that, and then from there really figured out how to grow the company. I knew I wanted to work with small organizations. I think they’re doing really interesting work, and it evolved quite organically based on our learning and our work with our clients. I didn’t really know where I wanted it to go, but I’m happy with where we are. 

For so many of the people in the program that I’m in, when you talk museum fundraising, people think the ROM, the National Gallery, the big ones. The reality is that the vast majority of museums are small heritage sites. 

That’s where our sweet spot is. No other consultants really serve them in a meaningful way, and the kind of support small organizations need is fundamentally different from what most consultants do. Most consultants give advice and walk away, whereas we specialize in implementation. It’s like having a staff person with you. We work with a lot of arts and cultural based organizations. Some are museums, some are hybrids where they’re site-based and festival-based. There’s so much diversity within the sector. There are 86,000 registered charities in Canada. 80% of them have operating budgets under half a million. Most organizations are small, we just don’t know about them. 

What in your perspective is the biggest misconception non-fundraisers have about fundraisers?

What I hear from non-fundraisers all the time is that fundraising is icky, it’s begging. They have this perception that fundraising is about taking money away from people who don’t want to give it away. That’s the opposite of what fundraising is. Fundraising is really about activating the people who care the most and giving them an opportunity to invest in things that excite them, and to envision the future that they want to build. That’s the biggest misconception, just that people don’t want to give, therefore fundraisers are bad people. People want to give, they want to support, they care about organizations and they want to see them be successful. All of the people who aren’t “chosen fundraisers,” they all say, “I’m not a fundraiser, I don’t know how to fundraise, I’m not a good fundraiser.” Part of it is that money is taboo, we aren’t supposed to talk about it. Mostly it’s because there’s this myth that people don’t want to give, and that’s just not true. People need to hear directly from donors to understand that fundraising is community-building and mobilizing support. If you can do that successfully with volunteers and board members who are non-fundraisers, you can get them much more on board and more excited. I also think part of the problem is that so many small organizations have been unsuccessful with fundraising. Not only do they not want to do it in the first place, but then they try so hard and get no results. It’s a cycle, and part of it is our brain saying, “We’re not good at this, and our results aren’t going to be good.” It’s a cycle I’m on a mission to break, and to get people to feel good about fundraising so it can build and grow on itself. 

The number one trait it takes to be a successful fundraiser? According to Cindy, it's curiosity. (Image source.)

What personality traits does it take to be a successful fundraiser?

There’s one thing that makes for an excellent fundraiser: curiosity. What people perceive to be fundraising is pitching. Elevator pitch, corporate pitch, talking at people. Good fundraising is the art of listening. It’s hearing from people why they care, and giving them options to take action on that by supporting the organization. Introvert, extrovert, all of those things don’t matter. People have different styles. Authenticity and curiosity are the two biggest, most important character traits. It’s really about how you uncover what the true opportunities for support are. You also need to be curious about the programs. You need to listen to your curators. Be curious about everyone you’re interacting with, because then you get to see a much bigger picture and you can connect people with what you care about. It’s something every good fundraiser needs to be skilled at. I haven’t come across any evidence to say that it’s something we don’t have innately. What it requires is stepping back from our preconceived notions about pitching and presenting and turning that into listening, and everyone has that capability. 

At the end of the day, fundraising is relationship building, it’s customer service, and being able to say, “What is interesting to this patron? Let’s connect them to the right person,” rather than saying, “Here’s what we’ve got. Donate.” 

There are archetypes of what I call “reluctant fundraisers.” There’s consistency in personality archetypes in these people who say, “I’m not a fundraiser, I can’t fundraise, I don’t want to fundraise.” An example is what I call “The Perfectionist.” Often I see this with programming staff or board members who are saddled with fundraising who are very good at what they do, but don’t want to fundraise. What happens with the perfectionists is they seek more and more information, but they never take action. The best way to learn something is to practice it. What I encourage for those people is not to worry about the end, not to think about the ask. Flex those listening muscles. That’s how you’ll learn and get comfortable talking with donors. From there you can build your capacity to have the conversations, and become a “doer.”

Let’s assume someone is put into a fundraising role, perhaps as a larger role, where can they start? What are those key pieces of information you need before you can get going?

Start by listening to donors. Go through that donor list, reach out to as many of them as you humanly can, and ask for feedback and advice. You want to get to know them. We do that without exception, because I think that’s the number one consideration to having a good fundraising strategy and being successful in fundraising. You have to know your donors and understand who is already at the table. Once you do that, the rest comes. 

Learn more about The Good Partnership by visiting their website, and find out which fundraising archetype you are by taking Cindy's self-evaluation quiz. 

RETRACING FOOTSTEPS AND FINDING FUNDING AT PIER 21

(Fun)draising | Samantha Summers

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Pier 21 is a groundbreaking museum located in Halifax which tells the story of Canadian immigration. I sat down with Fiona Valverde, Vice President of Revenue Generation at Pier 21, to talk about fundraising for the museum and how to approach making corporate partnerships when your mission is politicized. 

The Pier 21 Site | Source

What brought you to Pier 21? How did you get to your current role?


So many of us here have a personal connection to the story we tell. In my case, both of my maternal grandparents actually came through Pier 21 in the late 1920s from Poland. My dad immigrated to Canada in the 1960s from his native Spain. He flew, my maternal grandparents came on a boat right through the gateway [at Pier 21]. We tell two stories here at the museum. We tell the story of those who have a direct connection to the immigration at Pier 21, and the other story is the broader story of immigration that represents all Canadian immigration. Working here is coming full circle for me. It feels like home. That drew me here.

It must be incredible to feel so personally connected to your mission here and to work here.


If you want to work in fundraising, you know that passion and having a personal connection is so helpful in the work we do.


Immigration is a hugely politicized issue. Is there ever difficulty trying to find corporate sponsors or grants when you’re telling the story of a topic that’s brought up every election cycle?


That’s actually helpful for us. It adds greater relevance for us when we’re trying to impress upon the importance of why we exist and why it matters to support a Canadian museum of immigration. I think it’s important that when we look at corporate partners we do our research, we look at corporations that align with our values as an organization, values that embrace inclusive and welcoming communities, because a lot of what we talk about is around diversity. As an example, let’s look at TD Bank. They right now are supporting a travelling exhibition of ours that’s called Refuge Canada. It looks at the refugee experience, it looks at dispelling myths about what it means to be a refugee, and it tries to look at things thematically, in terms of humanity and shared points of interest. This idea of looking at things that unite us and bring us together instills an ability to be more empathetic and more understanding. For TD Bank, they’re committed to connecting communities. They wanted to support this project that looks at the refugee journey and what brings people together, and creating this ability to understand and reflect. When we look at corporate sponsors, I think it’s very important that we look for partners that share the same values.

Exhibition Space at Pier 21 | Source

After you’ve identified a partner, how do you steward that relationship? What does contact look like?


It varies. It depends on the type of partner, how big they are, what their expectations are as far as stewardship and recognition. It’s very much peer-to-peer. I would probably have the relationship with the head of corporate giving, and my CEO might have a relationship with the CEO or a board member of our corporate partner. Corporations have clear giving guidelines and processes, so it’s pretty clear early on who your point of contact is, and you maintain a relationship with that individual. It really depends on the size of the corporate donor and what existing relationships are there to begin with, so we maintain them and continue to build them. It is really important that you figure out who these individuals are and what they’re responsible for. You should be very respectful of their process and who you’re meant to contact, and make sure that you work with them directly. While you can have other volunteers involved, it’s really important that you keep that centre person abreast of all the different touch points that are happening, and look to them first for advice. If it’s a major corporation, head office can be in a different area in Canada. They’ll want to know that you connected first with their regional representative before going to someone else in head office. If you’re looking for a major gift, they can often move you in that direction.


Once you’ve connected with an organization or an individual, and you’re getting down to the point of determining how big the logo is going to be on the exhibition poster, how do those decisions get made?


Every organization will have some kind of giving guidelines that they will adhere to and follow. It’s important you’re consistent in naming recognition and gift activation, and that you are very clear on the expectations of the corporate partner as well, so you’re comfortable early on that you can deliver on their promise and maintain consistency with your giving guidelines. When it becomes a major gift or a transformational gift, it’s important that you also allow some space to make it tailored and impactful for that donor, beyond that traditional logo recognition. For example, the Sobey Foundation has been a longtime supporter of the museum. As our relationship grew and Sobeys was coming up to their 110th anniversary as a company, and it was also Canada’s 150th, they wanted to look at a partnership that would engage their employees in the story that we tell. They came up with an idea of inviting employees from across the country to share their stories with us. It was a really successful project and partnership, because beyond what one would think of in terms of sponsorship and why a sponsor might get involved with an organization, this was about impact and engagement. I think you’ll find that more and more with corporations, that they really want to find partnerships among the communities that they serve around causes that matter to them.


It does make it sound very similar to major gifts, just identifying those shared concerns and priorities and demonstrating impact. Do you see the two as particularly similar?


As an organization, as far as corporate giving is concerned, we very much approach it as we might approach foundational or individual giving. It is typically from the philanthropic arm of the corporate body. The process is very similar. You do your research, find your points of interest. The recognition and the stewardship is a bit more specific in the corporate world than maybe an individual or foundation’s giving, there might be more reporting involved. In those ways it might be different, but at the end of the day the approach is quite similar.


What is the most exciting thing that has been achieved through fundraising since you joined the team at Pier 21?


My favourite thing working here is when you have that opportunity to just make a really deep emotional connection with someone. One example would be the Saputo family. They made a $1M donation to the museum, which in itself of course is memorable and exciting. The most incredible part of it was when Mirella and Lino Saputo came with their family including all of their grandchildren to the museum for the first time since arriving at Pier 21, and they could show them that moment of first arrival and share that with their family. It’s so intimate, and you’re with them and you can’t help but feel just as emotional as they are when they’re retelling that moment in their lives when everything changed. It’s like, “We made it, we arrived, we’re starting again.” And it happens whether it’s a well-recognized family like the Saputos, or one of the many donors who come here to retrace their footsteps. I feel very privileged when I get to be part of those moments.


I’ll be honest, I teared up hearing you talk about that.


I can’t help it either! It’s a very special place, and a very special organization to work for. We need it now more than ever.

RESPONDING TO COVID AT THE AGO

(Fun)draising | Samantha Summers

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When COVID-19 closures began back in March, the GLAM community had to quickly evaluate how it approached philanthropy. With Canadians increasing their giving to front-line workers and directing it away from the arts, GLAM institutions had to put serious thought into what their needs were and how to support their donor community. I sat down with AGO Chief Development Officer Kate Halpenny to learn more about how the AGO acted quickly to address our new normal.

The AGO at dusk. (Source)

I’d love to hear more about how you’ve tackled the pandemic.


It hasn’t been easy, for sure. I think we all feel like this is the great leadership challenge of our careers. Hopefully we’re rising to it. I don’t know how other organizations are tackling it, but right from the get-go the AGO senior leadership team really shifted gears to work very closely together on a daily basis, to tackle every issue coming our way. It’s a very large organization and museums are very complex environments to work in. It’s been really great that the museum sector has a very strong network between the directors of the museums, and they’ve been on regular calls together to figure out strategy. In Toronto there’s been quite a strong connectivity between all the arts organizations, because we’re all facing similar situations.


How has this impacted development, specifically? I imagine there are opportunities and challenges created by this.


Yet to be determined. It’s an evolving question. What we found in the first months of the severe lockdown of the pandemic was that there was a shift amongst philanthropists to the front-line, with incredibly generous support to hospitals, poverty organizations, etc. It was a wonderful thing, and I think in the arts we all recognized early on that was not the point in time to be asking for gifts. It was the time to be there for our donors, be empathetic to their individual circumstances and what they’re going through, because everyone is going through this in a different way. We focussed on connectivity with our donors, so we were not just communicating with them, but engaging them with all that we are as an institution. Interestingly, our fiscal year ends March 31st, so we were pretty concerned that we weren’t going to be able to achieve our goals. We were very, very pleased and grateful that our donors really stuck with us, and everybody that had an outstanding commitment was able to meet that. We’ve done multiple budgeting scenarios. Things change. We found our major corporate partners have been amazing, really supportive. I think that on the corporate side, people are hanging on right now, but given the length of time this is going on there’s a potential for more job loss, potentially companies going bankrupt, they’re very tenuous in terms of future commitments. I wonder if the reverberations of the pandemic will be felt in the next fiscal, even, and not just this fiscal. Time will tell. The other softness will be in our annual giving. Those are gifts where people might be on a tighter budget, versus a major foundation that has to carry on with their giving. It’s changed our perspective on things. Definitely new strategies, and we have some projections but we don’t have a clear sense of whether it’s going to be possible. 

Interior shot of the AGO. (Source.)

And the same issues are playing out at every level in the sector.


We have to be really careful in what we’re asking right now and be super sensitive to the situations people are finding themselves in. We can’t assume that just because someone gave over the past few years they can this year, we need to be having those conversations. We’re just now going out to start doing major gifts requests, we’ve put a pause on them for a while, so it’ll be interesting over the next couple of months to see what happens from there.


This is the time to care, then.


I believe, particularly in the arts, the donor community is a real community. The communities that come together around art forms are really passionate. They’re people who are committed over long periods of time. This is a time to say thank you for all of that long-standing commitment.


You’ve touched on how the goal posts and the plans change every day. Seeing all of this play out, has it impacted or changed how you see or understand development in the sector?


It’s been a bit of a shake-up. I think we’ve had a couple of decades now in Canada where we have been very focused and reliant on major gifts, and really reliant on a very small segment of philanthropists in our city to be giving. I feel like right now we really need to have a more robust strategy. It can’t just be focussed on that. The whole fundraising pyramid, the whole goal has always been to bring people in at the bottom and bring them up, and the resources are focussed on major gifts. We need to look at how to expand our donor bases a lot more. The most interesting aspect of the time we’re in right now is that we have the pandemic, but layered on top of that we have this significant social change that’s happening, and the AGO certainly feels quite connected to that change. That’s begging many questions as well around the way we sustain ourselves through philanthropy. I think we’re all going to be reshaping our business. Like glitzy events. The arts are quite famous for incredible events, but maybe we can have another kind of special event. 

Interior shot of the AGO staircase. (Source.)

The AGO is coming out with endless social media materials, which have been really impressive.


That was a seismic shift, moving online that quickly. We really went for it. We wanted to shower people with content and to carry people through that time when everyone was at home and couldn’t go anywhere. As we look forward to the rest of this fiscal [year], the online piece is going to be much more significant than the in-person piece. I think we will always now have an online component to our work that engages people. We want them to come to the museum, but they can also engage from home.


What’s your favourite thing that has been achieved through your work at the AGO?


The AGO is an incredibly dynamic organization. There’s so much Toronto art history at the AGO, but it’s also so forward-thinking and progressive. We have a vision right now that’s all about opening up our doors and being as relevant to the Toronto that is now and will be in the future and everybody who lives here. Also, trying to lead more global conversations that can happen through art. That’s powerful. For me, as a development person, I’m most attracted to a really strong vision. There are so many brilliant people who are doing fascinating things at the AGO. To have so many voices at the table all the time to figure out what we’re doing is pretty rich. For all the people on our fundraising team, they would probably say the same thing. There’s never a dull moment, and we feel like we’re fundraising for exhibitions, for collections, for programming, but really? We’re fundraising for our art to be the voice of our time and to be this central meeting ground for people to be inspired by the power of art, but also to dialogue with each other and to figure out our world and how we’re going to respond to it. What better case for support can you have as a fundraiser? I get to think about that every day.

THE ASK: WELCOMING ALUMNI HOME AT UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARIES

(Fun)draising | Samantha Summers

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Unlike the University of Toronto, its faculties, and its colleges, University of Toronto Libraries (UTL) has no alumni. For those of you who have yet to receive an email from your undergraduate institution asking for a donation, universities often rely on their graduates for some portion of their fundraising. Alumni are a majority of donors for academic institutions, and from annual drives to major gifts and planned giving, these institutions mark them out as a primary audience for their donor campaigns. Unlike the rest of these UofT institutions and divisions, however, UTL does not have official alumni. They have no master list of past students which they can tap into in the same way that UofT, its faculties, and its colleges do. And yet, UTL directly contributes to the journey of every single UofT student. Even if you have never walked into Robarts, your online readings, the research for your papers, and the majority of the study spaces you occupy all exist courtesy of UTL.

Robarts Library, in all its peacock-esque glory. (Source.)

So what is the biggest challenge facing Michael Cassabon, the newly-minted Director of Advancement for UTL?

It’s how to make the ask. For those in the field (development, fundraising, advancement, whatever you choose to call it), “the ask” is the moment when an organization asks a potential donor for support. It is carefully planned, generally with months to years of research and preparation involved. It is catered to its recipient, from groups to individuals. “The ask” is a key step in any fundraising campaign.

When you’re an academic institution with no official alumni, however, the question of how to make contact with your past users looms large.

Now, UTL has a history of making successful asks. They accounted for 8% of UofT’s Boundless campaign, the most successful fundraising campaign in Canadian history. They have the ability to develop UTL resources not just with money, but also with gifts in kind. The construction of the Robarts Common is a success story unto itself.

UofT's Boundless campaign was an historic success. (Source.) 

But how can UTL mobilize all their unofficial alumni? Cassabon is convinced that it all comes down to highlighting the mark UTL makes on every student, whether or not they realize that this is the case. An addition challenge UTL faces is that Cassabon’s team consists of only four people, meaning that they don’t have the personpower to seek out donors individually. Through clever campaigns they must convince donors to come to them, and this means tapping into real stories which highlight the important impact UTL has on students.

The trick in any institution, I learn from Cassabon, is to identify who has the stories. Narrative is a powerful way to bring a community together in a shared goal, something he has seen throughout his career. Here at UTL, the keepers of those stories and the mediators of students' experiences of UTL, are librarians, archives, and front-line staff. Centering the work they do is integral to the ask, and essential to demonstrating to alumni that it is worth it for them to return to the UTL community to make their mark as donors.

What is next for UTL? Well, another campaign, the ongoing development of the Robarts Common, and of course, the weaving of compelling stories to welcome alumni home.

THE UNCONVENTIONAL FUNDRAISER

(Fun)draising | Samantha Summers

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Well, Musers and shakers, I come to you today hat in hand. Between work, school, and finding an internship, I did not have time to interview anybody this month for (Fun)draising. Fear not, however; as the wisdom goes, whenever you don’t have an article ready, write a listicle. It is in this spirit of last-minuteness (hello, midterms) that I humbly present The Unconventional Fundraiser.

I am often asked how I see my degree in museum studies being practical in a fundraising scenario, especially considering there are degrees and programs specifically designed to prepare people for a career in fundraising. I usually respond by saying that museum studies is about learning to tell a story that matters in a way that makes sense, and what is fundraising if not telling a story that matters in a way that makes sense to a potential donor? Rarely, however, do I hear my fellow museum studies colleagues (and professors) asking about the relationship between fundraising and their future museum careers. It is uncommon in this program to turn the popular understanding that fundraising supports museums on its head, and to ask instead how museums can support fundraising. Enter: this month’s column.

I have written before of my view that the Master of Museum Studies program doesn’t give enough attention to fundraising and development. Despite the fact that development initiatives will impact nearly every student who leaves this program and gets work in the field, many students are left unaware of their relationship to this facet of museum operations. But folks, one day you will all have to fundraise, whether it’s in your job description or not. Just as it isn’t just the collection manager who is interested in preventing items from breaking, maintaining the financial stability of an institution is (directly or otherwise) everyone’s business.

Unconvinced? Or perhaps sick at the thought? I present to you this quick and dirty guide illustrating the relationship between fundraising and nine popular museum careers, to demonstrate that you, too, are a development professional.

This is what administration looks like in action. (Source.)

Administration
How fundraising impacts you: Lots of your work includes processing donations, creating documents and contracts for donors, and arranging events to celebrate donors.
How you fundraise: You provide the foundation on which fundraising happens, and do lots of the technical work (room bookings, contract creation, tax receipt issuing) which allows your institution to process donations. Also, many institutions will house their development team within the administration.

Archivist/Librarian
How fundraising impacts you: Donors are sources of support for your archive or library, and in some cases may even give you material to add to your collection. As archives and libraries are often small in museum institutions and largely underfunded, you rely on donors for a good deal of your budget.
How you fundraise: Fundraising campaigns will often turn to institutional archives and libraries to find information and images for use in campaign materials, which you supply. Furthermore, you may be asked to show donors or potential donors around your workspace, to show them items from the archive, or to work with them in donating their own archival material when relevant.

Collections Manager
How fundraising impacts you: Fundraising helps support building operations, which impact your ability to care for your collection. Furthermore, donors may gift objects to your institution, increasing the size of your collection.
How you fundraise: As collections manager you work with material donors frequently, meaning that you already have established relationships with individuals who are invested in supporting your institution. It isn’t uncommon for that interest to be translated into a financial investment, so maintaining those relationships even after an individual material donation is key.

Welcome to communications. You live on your phone. (Source.)

Communications Manager
How fundraising impacts you: Fundraising is central to your role. Reaching out to new communities and communicating messages about events and promotions is all part of fundraising.
How you fundraise: Every new person and community you reach means a pool of new potential donors. Furthermore, lots of the messages you circulate will be very literally to do with fundraising through the advertising of things like donor drives.

Conservator
How fundraising impacts you: Not only does donor money help you get all the materials and equipment you need to conserve the items you work with, once in a while you might get a massive donation of conservation materials from a donor (as was the case for the John M. Kelly Library conservation studio last year, when I worked there and a local bookbinder donated literally all of his bookbinding materials to the studio).
How you fundraise: Keeping artifacts looking their best makes the institution look its best, which will help attract donors. More science-inclined donors may also want a chance to visit your lab, which will mean meeting with them and showing them around.

Curator
How fundraising impacts you: Your exhibitions are often supported with funding from corporate sponsors, if not individual donors. Without this financial support your exhibition team would be smaller and you would have a smaller budget for loans and acquisitions in support of your latest exhibition.
How you fundraise: You may be required to provide personal guided experiences of your exhibitions for donors and potential donors will be attracted to your dynamic, engaging exhibitions. Every single person who steps into your exhibition space is a potential donor, and your exhibition can make or break their decision to support your institution.

In education, you will spend a lot of time with tour groups (like this one!). (Source.)

Education
How fundraising impacts you: Donor financing is behind a lot of the programs you run, and if you feel like thinking a bit more abstractly, all those volunteers you manage are donating the value of their time.
How you fundraise: Your programs speak to the priorities of the institution, giving potential donors an idea of how their own priorities might fit into your institution’s vision. You might be asked to arrange tours, workshops, and talks for donors.

Front of House
How fundraising impacts you: You staff fundraising events, and have to know all about what is happening at the museum at all times to ensure a smooth visitor experience.
How you fundraise: From helping people sign up for memberships and patron programs to operating the gift shop, every interaction you have with visitors is an opportunity to increase income.

Management
How fundraising impacts you: Donors are a major part of your community, with many of them sitting on the Board with which you work. A solid portion (approximately ⅓ in a standard Ontario museum) of your operating budget comes from donors.
How you fundraise: A good chunk of your work involves meeting and developing relationships with important donors and sponsors. This ranges from inviting them to events to inviting them for private dinners with members of your staff whose work is of interest to the donor.

Still unconvinced? Or did I miss your future career, and you want to know how it fits into fundraising? Drop me a line @medievalist_sam on Twitter and let’s chat.

VOLUNTEERS: THE RESOURCE THAT KEEPS ON GIVING AT THE AGO

(Fun)draising | Samantha Summers

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Last term, I attended an iSkills workshop with Melissa Smith, Assistant Curator, Community Programs, Public Programming & Learning. After learning about how Melissa organizes the Gallery Guide volunteer program at the Art Gallery of Ontario, I became intrigued by the idea of volunteering as a form of fundraising. After all, volunteers donate their time, which has a cash value. Interested in learning more, I sat down with Melissa to discuss the finer points of the volunteer programs.

The Art Gallery of Ontario, located at 317 Dundas Street West, Toronto. (Source.)

What do you guys do here? What is your mission?

With Stephen Jost, our new Director and CEO, we’ve shifted our mission more toward three words: access, art, and learning. We also want to lead important conversations that are based in Toronto that become more known throughout the world.

How many volunteers do you manage?

Typically there are anywhere from 600 to 800 volunteers in the building at any given time. My team is the gallery guides: the folks that offer tours, pop-up art conversations, and float in the galleries, of which there are 200.


And you estimated that just for the summer, the cash value of those volunteers was $2000 a month?

$2000 to $3000.

The main concourse of the Art Gallery of Ontario, where tours often begin. (Source.)

That’s hugely impressive. This is a well-established gallery, but I can’t imagine there’s room in the budget to pay for that kind of manpower.

Something I hear a lot from folks is, “Oh, you must have a lot of money.” You know, this program has no budget. But it would be sad if we didn’t have that volunteer commitment and that volunteer passion, and if we weren’t supporting that. We would not have the daily tours and the daily engagement. What I find most important about the gallery guides is that they lower barriers to the collection, and it’s really important that there’s someone there to support folks in seeing that they can make meaning in art. We know that the number one reason don’t come to art galleries isn’t cost, but that they feel they need to come equipped with art knowledge. If you have somebody there that’s there to greet you and has information to share, that’s wonderful. That’s fundamentally what I care about, and what our team does very well.


When I speak to development professionals who work with traditional donors they often have massive budgets to thank donors. They throw galas, private talks, and so on. Volunteer programs often don’t have that same leeway to throw huge events for volunteers.

That’s where we’re different. We have our Volunteer Annual Party. It’s a huge event supported internally. Our food and beverage team is involved, there are hors d'oeuvres, wine, and it’s all free. We often invite special speakers to give a talk about something the volunteers are interested in. There are activities and door prizes. Volunteers plan it with our budget team and with our food and beverage team, so it isn’t the staff dictating what we think volunteers want.

We have a reciprocal agreement for Toronto, Ontario, and certain institutions in the United States and Europe. We also have volunteer appreciation week in April, when the whole establishment is activated to show appreciation for volunteer contributions. We also have a long service program in place, where at a certain milestones volunteers receive a certificate that’s signed by the director and a letter of thanks. For people that are over 20 years there is an additional tea event hosted to thank them for their long service. When you might transition out the program we have an alumni tea event, which we host once a year. We also provide free tickets to special exhibitions which people can share with their friends and family. Finally, volunteers get discounts at the cafe, at the bookstore, and on courses.

The view on Dundas Street from the interior of the Art Gallery of Ontario. (Source.)

Often in museums you find that there’s a pizza party once a year for volunteers, and that’s all.

A big concern for volunteer management is volunteer burnout. When you have really robust, demanding placements, the longer someone is in a role the more they think, “What I’m contributing is really important, why aren’t you acknowledging this?”


What do you see other institutions get wrong about managing volunteers?

I think you have to be very clear about what the volunteer role is and really manage expectations in order to get good volunteer integration into the institution. Some of our legacy guides were recently invited to speak at a national symposium. They didn’t tell me they were accepted, and went and represented the gallery without approval. The folks that have come on with me have a better understanding of the scope of their work, how they integrate into the gallery, and what that relationship is. For a very long time, this type of integration - clear placement descriptions and managing expectations - wasn't as big a priority. These elements, when properly communicated, are what support the best integration into the program.

The viewing hall in the Tannenbaum Centre for European Art at the Art Gallery of Ontario. (Source.)

Do you find that the staff here value the volunteers as much as you think they should?

Certainly. The people that see the impact they have on the visitors, and they talk about this even at the Board level. They are very important elements in the building. However, I don’t know if people completely understand the true amount of effort and time and energy they put into their roles. I don’t know if it computes. It’s like trying to understand how much a million dollars is. For me to say I coordinate so many volunteers who do so many tours, and we talk to 64 000 people in the galleries every year, that’s huge. The amount of energy and passion that goes into that is huge. It’s probably undervalued, which isn’t to say it isn’t valued at all. I just know how much energy and effort the volunteers put in. I think it people really knew that they would be even more blown away, although they are already very appreciative.


Since you came on board here, what is the most exciting thing that has been accomplished through volunteering?

What I’ve been seeing lately is a shift in activations. What I’ve noticed is that curators are more apt now to ask for special projects for certain exhibitions or artworks that are put out on the floor. There was this stereoscopic viewer that Sophie Hackett [Curator, Photography] wanted to put on the floor. It required that you flip it by moving a certain element, but as a museum piece it was so delicate that it couldn’t be moved. Sophie asked the gallery guides to help support that object by activating it with visitors, by helping them look through the viewer but making sure they didn’t touch it. That way they were be able to see the slides in it, and those slides changed weekly. I thought that was a great way to activate an object which would have had lots of barriers, but could be engaged with through guidance from a gallery guide.

When we had our Brian Jungen exhibition and we wanted to have a more embodied experience for visitors and play with how visitors perceived the gallery. The gallery guides created multisensory bags, where we put scents and things in the bag to help activate the space in a different way. The gallery guides would have multisensory pop-up dots. Staff see volunteers as a resource now.

The entrance to the Art Gallery of Ontario. (Source.)

Visit the Art Gallery of Ontario at 317 Dundas Street West, and check out these upcoming events and exhibitions: Hito Steyerl: This is the Future, AGO Live: Music in the Galleries, Art & Ideas: Drawing. Drinks. Social.

SUPPORTING OVER 130 YEARS OF INNOVATION AT THE WOMEN’S ART ASSOCIATION OF CANADA

(Fun)draising | Samantha Summers

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One day earlier this year, while walking through Yorkville, I saw a beautiful historic house with a fascinating name: The Women’s Art Association of Canada (WAAC). After learning more about the organization, I realized that this historic yet progressive group of women (and some men) are a perfect example of how small organizations leverage fundraising, volunteer effort, and careful events planning to stay afloat decade after decade. I sat down with Association President Dale Butterill to talk shop.

The exterior of the Women’s Art Association of Canada at 23 Prince Arthur Avenue. (Image courtesy of Samantha Summers.)

How would you characterize the Association’s mission and what it is you do here?


We’re the oldest arts association of its kind in Canada. We were founded in 1887 by Mary Ella Dignam, who was an artist in her own right. Her mission, which remains today, was to support women in the arts. We are a not-for-profit nationally incorporated charitable organization, which enables us to receive charitable donations and issue charitable receipts. Our current mandate is to support women and students in the arts, and to provide public education in the arts through lectures and workshops. We offer 21 scholarships covering seven top-notch arts institutions in Ontario. Each year we host an annual luncheon for the students and their faculty supervisors, an event our members take great pride in. We also offer the students the use of the Dignam Gallery in the summer free of charge, for an exhibition of their work. This gives them the opportunity to learn how to curate and hang a show.


What is your membership like?


We have 230 members. Our members consist of practising artists and those who support the arts. Many of our artist members are returning to the art world after child rearing and ending their careers. We depend on members to volunteer their time and help in the running of the Association. You could say we are a volunteer led organization with a skeletal staff. If it wasn’t for the volunteers, we wouldn’t be able to offer the exhibitions and programming that we do. One of the challenges that face organizations like ours is that of retaining members. We have plans in store to better engage new members early on. This is important because as we move away from being a club to a hub, new members come in without knowing anyone. Helping them to establish personal connections is increasingly important. I think we have a pretty big untapped pool of social capital, skills, and knowledge that can be engaged and we look forward to implementing our plans.

The installation of an exhibition for the F8 Photography Collective at the Women’s Art Association of Canada. (Image courtesy of Samantha Summers.)

How does the WAAC go about making connections with new members? How do you maintain relationships with existing members in order to maintain their support of the WAAC?


It’s very important for us to bring new people in and to introduce them to the abundance of what Women’s Art offers. Participating in Doors Open has been a very good way for us to introduce the Association to the broader public. So many visitors told us: “I’ve always wondered what went on in here. I always walk by your building but didn’t know I could go in.” It’s a bit paradoxical having been around for 132 years and nobody’s heard of us. How did you hear of us?


I walked by.


Also I should mention that just about everything that goes on at WAAC is open to the public. We see this as a positive as we move towards becoming a hub for the arts. New visitors will frequently ask about the benefits of membership and how to become a member. We aren’t necessarily looking for a deluge of new members, because we are a small organization with limits to how many members we can effectively support, but we are definitely open at this point.


This year we became a member of the Bloor Street Cultural Corridor because we thought that would assist in achieving more public recognition. We’re also on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. What I’m seeing is that it takes time for these media to gain traction. Just because you have 1000 followers doesn’t mean that they’re all rushing to come through the doors and participate. There’s so much going on in this city, there’s a lot of competition. WAAC isn’t for everybody, but it does offer something that’s quite unique and special.

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What unique challenges does the WAAC face as a smaller organization?


I mentioned earlier that we rely heavily on volunteers. So many people here have great ideas, and I have to say, “That’s a great idea. Who’s going to do it?” It’s very important for small organizations to engage members. Not just coming out to luncheons and shows, but in the work and operations. People find that when they’re sitting on a committee and they take on a task that there’s a certain degree of satisfaction. You’re investing in the organization and you’re getting to know people through work. That’s a really good way to meet people. I really try to emphasize the rewards of that. At the same time, I think it’s important for an organization to be able to accommodate people whose only interest is in receiving the monthly newsletter so they can know what’s going on. However, as a Board, reaching out, connecting with and engaging members in the work of the organization is important. Finding the time to do that is hard. None of us are getting paid, and we all have other things going on in our lives. You have to set some limits, so the more people we have engaged, the more we can take on.


Where do you get your revenue?


As a charitable, not-for-profit organization, generally speaking we are self-supporting. Our revenue streams consist of membership fees, donations, fundraisers, gallery and studio rentals (we have 11 studios) . We have not approached the city for grant money. With the scholarship program, the majority are funded by individual members. Without their support there would be fewer scholarships.

Photography from the F8 Photography Collective show at the Women’s Art Association of Canada. (Image courtesy of Samantha Summers.)

It sounds like you have lots of flexibility.


Yes, we have flexibility within our limits (financial and human resources). Being an organization with such a long history we take pride in remembering where we came from and acknowledging our heritage. But we also recognize that this is 2019 and we need to move with the times as I mentioned before moving from a club to a hub. Organizations must adapt to the times if they are to ‘stay in business.’ It’s encouraging that we continue to be very good at attracting new members, I think because we remain relevant.


Since you joined WAAC seven years ago, what is the most exciting thing that you have seen accomplished?

That is a hard question because there have been many pivotal moments over the last 7 years but I’ll name a recent one. Last year we had an event called BASH - Bold Art Stars Happening. This was a celebration of women artists over the age of 80. We reached out to the Arts and Letters Club and the Heliconian Club and we collaborated on five days of programming. We had a cocktail party, a big BASH event, and I even learned how to make a Mai Tai cocktail. What was really quite wonderful was that everything on the walls were works created by older women, we had a woman from the theatre who performed, we had two workshops led by two women in their nineties, and we had an author from the Heliconian who had just published a book about Canadian history. It was a true celebration of the endurance of the creative spirit.

The exhibition space at the Women’s Art Association of Canada set up for the F8 Photography Collective exhibition. (Image courtesy of Samantha Summers.)

That sounds really powerful.


It was and it also was also a successful fundraiser, raising $25,000. But most importantly it put the spotlight on women who have been engaged in the creative process their entire lives and are still thinking about their next work and are still active members of arts organizations. It was very inspiring for people of all ages to see the fruits of a creative life.


Visit the Women’s Art Association of Canada at 23 Prince Arthur Avenue, and check out these upcoming exhibitions and events: Friends in the RUG, The Artist's Hand, Literary Nites.

(FUN)DRAISING RETROSPECTIVE: 1.5 YEARS OF INTERVIEWS

(Fun)draising | Samantha Summers

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This is my penultimate column of 2019, and thus it marks 1.5 years of me writing the (Fun)draising column. Rather than feature another interview this month, I decided to sit back and reflect a bit on what I have learned about fundraising over the past 16 months. (Don’t worry, I have some amazing interviews lined up for later this month and for 2020.)

A quote adorns the wall of the Textile Museum's collection space. "Who is worthy of memory?" -Desmond Miller.
Photo courtesy of Samantha Summers.

I started (Fun)draising knowing nothing at all about the art of fundraising. In fact, I didn’t even realize I was interested in this field as a career. I went to my first Musings meeting, was told it was essentially the only column available, and so I took it. Knowing nothing about fundraising, I decided the best way to tackle this would be to feature the words of those who do know something about fundraising. Surely that would be a better use of readers’ time than the ramblings of someone who knew nothing about the field.


Armed with all of the confidence of someone who did not understand this field very well, I set out to meet with anyone and everyone who was involved in the financial side of museums. I sent emails with abandon. I have met with Executive Directors, COOs, Directors, curators, and even high-profile donors. I have met with people who, now that I understand the field better, I am shocked ever took the time to meet with me. Which brings me to the first thing I have learned about fundraising through writing this column: this is a field of incredibly friendly people. You cannot be successful in fundraising (or I think a more accurate term, development) unless you are excellent at meeting with people and building and maintaining relationships with them.

The Art Gallery of Hamilton in downtown Hamilton. (Source.)

I would characterize the average development professional as passionate, driven, and incredibly warm. They are all deeply invested in the educational and social programming at their institutions, and work hard to ensure that other departments have the support they need to achieve their goals. My favourite question to ask my interviewees is what they think is the most exciting thing achieved through fundraising since they joined their institutions. Almost every single person I have spoken to has discussed providing the support for educational programming, supporting marginalized communities, and supporting their institution’s involvement in the local community.

I have learned that the root of development work is education; teaching potential donors about the importance of the work your institution does and showing them how they can support that mission. This can take many forms, from throwing major events like galas to meeting with people for coffee and a chat. As an aside, if you hate coffee, this might not be the field for you.

Friday Night Live, an event hosted at the ROM in which the museum becomes a club. Drink and dance with your favourite dinos! Source.

I have learned a lot of practical things writing this column, like the ideal ratio of funding from various sources to which major corporations tend to support what kind of philanthropy (any literacy initiatives coming up? Talk to TD). I have learned tips for how to make “The Ask” (for money) to major donors and smaller donors alike. I have learned that the financial side of museums requires just as much passion and heart as the more artistic side.


I get the impression at the Faculty of Information that we prefer to avoid talking about the financial side of museums, or to think of them as less our business than what might be more cultural concerns. It isn’t easy to marry ambitions of social justice and curating conversations with the capitalist reality in which museums exist, so we tend to sweep those realities under the rug. While there is a half-year course offered about fundraising and project management, and the Ethics, Management, and Leadership course usually includes an assignment involving a spreadsheet, we really don’t talk about money in a practical way during our museum studies courses here. The overwhelming impression this gives is that we are museum professionals, interested in tough conversations and changing the world, and the money side of things will be sorted out by the cold capitalists working in accounting and development.

A gift of custom Caxton Cicero stationary given to donors who helped the Fisher purchase the Caxton. Photo courtesy of Samantha Summers.

I think that this is a grave injustice to the field of development. This is not only an important field and one that everybody working in museums should have some understanding of, but also one that engages with some of museology’s biggest questions today in a very unique way. I hope that my column has introduced readers to this fascinating field, challenged our understandings of development, and provided some insight into this extremely important aspect of running a museum.


Here’s to another 16 months!

MEETING THE PERSON BEHIND THE BRAND

(Fun)draising | Samantha Summers

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The Art Gallery of Hamilton (AGH) plays a major role in its community, which means establishing strong relationships with corporate sponsors both small and large who have a stake in the arts in Hamilton. I chatted with Cindy Carson, Director of Corporate Partnerships and Development for the AGH, to talk about corporate partnerships and meeting the person behind the brand.

The Art Gallery of Hamilton in downtown Hamilton. (Image.)

The Art Gallery of Hamilton is obviously a very well-known gallery. How would you describe its mission?

The gallery is 105 years old now. We were founded in 1914, and our mandate has always been about the art. We expanded our mandate with our strategic planning over the last five years and going into the next five years, our four strategic priorities are:  the art, community engagement, long-term sustainability, and learning through the art. Those are our four key priorities.


A big part of that, and in supporting all of that, is sponsorship.

Traditionally fundraising is done under the guise of donations. Donations and then you have sponsorships, which are two totally different pots, especially your corporate funders. You have your tried and true donors, who support the art gallery, who are largely individuals, through their memberships and then sometimes through donations as well on top of their memberships. I used to say we attract corporate sponsors through branding and alignment. When I meet with the corporate sponsor and I get to interact with a person one-on-one, at the heart of it, they are sponsoring the Art Gallery of Hamilton because they know it’s important to support the arts, period. They aren’t sponsoring it so much because, I get my logo here and I get my logo there and this and this. Corporately, maybe they are. When you break it down and talk to an individual, they’re doing it for good, philanthropic reasons.


So there’s the brand, and the person behind the brand.

Right, absolutely. They have different motivations.


How do you develop those partnerships?

We’ve worked really hard and over a long period of time and we continue to work on developing sponsorship opportunities. There are some natural segues. Say for instance, there’s our film program. Who’s going to be a natural fit for our film program? You’re going to look at your Rogers Media,  Bell Media,  Cogeco, all of those sponsors to support your film program because there’s just a natural tie-in. But the other side of that coin is BMO Bank of Montreal is our major film sponsor, and the Insight Foundation has always been a big film sponsor of ours too, so areas where we thought should tie in to film don’t really. However, there’s lots of exposure with our film program. BMO does have a fair bit of corporate presence there.


So you try to predict it, but…

Yeah. So when we do a local Hamilton exhibition, I tend to go to the local businesspeople. And you are looking at smaller sponsorship dollars there, but they’re very tied to that because they’re proud Hamilton supporters, and you can see that.

Part of Cindy’s job is finding local Hamilton businesses to partner with, specifically for exhibitions and programming that features or benefits Hamilton. (Source.)

What do you look for in a sponsorship partner or a corporate partner?

Well, the financial dollars are certainly important. My goal is to try to round out our financial well-being. Half of my role is commercial revenue, and the other half of my role is philanthropic development, fundraising, corporate sponsorship and development.


So you’re working with both pools.

Yeah, so say we have a client who holds an event here. Say, it’s a large bank. It gives me the great opportunity to call them up after the event to say, “Hey, I know you guys had your corporate mixer here. Did you know we have this exhibition going on? It ties in well with your values. If you want to learn more about sponsorship let’s go out for coffee.” That’s a great avenue for me to go down that road.


Is the approach very different between the corporate side and the more donations-based side?

Totally. So we do a direct mail appeal once a year, but I’m trying to do it at least twice a year now. We find the part that really resonates with the individuals is we pull out the programming, the education value of an art institution, the value we bring to kids, and to the school system. So we will create a direct mail appeal to ask individuals to support the AGH’s educational programs, and that really resonates with individuals. It’s not as though I can compete in a really strong way with healthcare in my own backyard and say, “We really need your help to buy this piece of art,” the urgency isn’t there when I’m saying, “This kid has cancer over here, but we really need to buy this piece of art, so you, Joe Individual, support this artwork versus that.” It’s a really, really careful ask. So you do have to make it more about what’s in it for the whole community, what’s really going to be an emotive way, that’s going to stir people to actually break out their checkbook, open it up, pop it in the mail, and go through that whole psychology of giving to something that has meaning for them.


It can be very difficult to get the public to support ongoing operations. They like to be able to say, “This is a project, I did that, I helped fund that program, I did this or bought that thing.” Is it easier with corporate sponsors?

In some regards. When they have their corporate hat on they like to be able to say, “We own this,” and their logo can be on all of that. But again, when you get back to the person, they’re like, “Oh as long as it’s going toward something good.” It always comes back to an individual. So you’ve got certain avenues, like literacy. Everybody knows TD’s big stronghold is literacy and the environment. So when we’re rolling out an authors series or a reading and literature series, the first thing I’m thinking of is TD.


I’ve never thought of corporate relationships with institutions as being very personal. I’ve always thought of them on a business level.

We’ve been very fortunate, because the individuals I work with who represent those corporate entities, we’ve really been able to cultivate good strong relationships with them. They’re people I feel I can pick up the phone and just have a coffee with them for no reason at all, and it’s not about, “Oh I have to check in with that person every four months,” it’s because I feel like we’ve actually developed a very good friendship. I think it’s all about relationship building ultimately. Sponsors with their corporate hat on, want to know that they’re supporting an institution that’s in good standing, t respected, is a leader, and that’s trying new and innovative things. We don’t always do everything perfectly, but they have faith and confidence in us that we’re going to get there and that we’re going to keep striving and that we’re doing a good job, as best a job as anybody else in the museum and art gallery business can go.


What is the most exciting thing that’s been achieved here at the AGH through sponsorship since you started here?

Thank goodness it’s happened, our biggest achievement, was the launch of our new website. We so desperately needed a new website. Our older one couldn’t even take donations online. It has made a world of difference for us. That has been probably the most important change for us, institutionally. It certainly impacts  our exhibitions attendance, all of our programming, our retail shop, and our wedding and events services. People are tied to a website, and rightfully so. That has been such an important thing. We do all our tickets online now, which is something we didn’t do three years ago.


Check out these current and upcoming exhibitions and classes at the Art Gallery of Hamilton: My Back Pages: The Art of Zines and Indie Publishing, The Collection Continues: A Quarter Century of Collecting, Adult Studio Class: Intro to Stone Carving, Adult Studio Class: Altered Books.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.