arts & business council

MetLife Foundation National Arts Forums Series

Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston
Boston, Massachusetts

Diversity Delivers: A Proven Strategy to Enhance Your Company and Bottom Line
06//2002

Moderator: Mark Michalowski
Partner, Holland & Knight, LLP

Panelists:

• Donna Walker-Kuhne
  Director of Marketing and Audience Development, The Joseph Papp Public Theater / New York Shakespeare Festival
• Ron Simoes
  Human Resources Manager, College Division of Houghton Mifflin
• Nikki Stanton
  Community Affairs Manager, Trinity Communications
• Joanne Zitek
  Senior Consultant, Center Focus International, Inc

Both arts managers and corporate executives (from HR to marketing to community relations) have been grappling with diversity issues for many years. In virtually every corner of the country, demographic shifts have necessitated that nonprofit arts organizations and businesses change the way they do business to respond to their changing communities. Rarely, however, do arts and corporate executives come together to discuss their efforts to address diversity issues. The audience for this forum included marketing staff from mid-sized institutions, board members from emerging, smaller arts organizations, and managers from Boston’s financial, consulting, and real estate sectors who were eager to explore the benefits of building diverse audiences, customers, and staff in the arts and business.

The major consensus on how to build diverse audiences for the arts was that creating an organization that incorporates diversity requires a long-term commitment of resources and staff, and a strong desire to effect change. Walker-Kuhne, one of the leading speakers, writers, and practitioners in this field, is passionate about the need to build partnerships with the communities you are trying to reach. She offered such advice as:

• Conceive audience development efforts that revolve around creating partnerships based on shared benefits and mutual respect.

• While positive changes in the bottom-line may be the ultimate goal for many organizations seeking diverse audiences, initial efforts should focus on opening the doors to new constituencies, working to collaborate on programs that they want to experience, and expressing appreciation for their participation.

A unique aspect of this session was the inclusion of panelists from the corporate arena who discussed their businesses’ strategies to increase diversity. In many ways the corporate strategies discussed had many similarities to the arts’: the importance of buy-in at the top, long-term commitment, and engaging all employees with the goal. The forum’s overall message was that nonprofit and for-profit organizations alike must make a commitment to diversity at all levels – from staff to senior managers to trustees – in order to effect change. In addition, the discussion underscored that desire for change must be supported by the necessary financial resources.