Advocacy is the way that nonprofits can give a voice to the people the represent or the causes they support, and it is perhaps one of the most important aspects of the non-profit process. It matters not at all whether a non-profit has a good program if nobody knows about it and if the popuation served is not represented. After all, at the heart of every non-profit, there is a need that's being underserved or a resource underutilized. Adding all these voices to the conversation of how we should move forward as a society creates a "normal" set of boundaries for a society. Take the example of the recent Planned Parenthood struggle. The role that they have is not only service provision, but advocacy for better reproductive health practices and essentially giving voice to all of the men and women who face reproductive choices but cannot afford to make the right ones. The existance of the organization as a part of our society speaks to our collective views toward reprodctive health, that everyone should have the resources to make their own choices. Taking out such an organization means removing this voice from the conversation, devaluing it, making it "abnormal." And alienating all of the lower-income men and women who are served by them.
Art. What can a thoroughly intelectualized linguistics major say about art? Well, I spent a good deal of my undergrad the first time around in studios and the bookstore basement. Art isn't the antithesis to intellect, it is the breeding ground for it. Because of my extensive art training, I have this great ability to think abstractly and manifest those ideas into the concrete world, and this is a skill set that can't be taught, but that is rather soaked in by facing absolutely creative challenges. It is possible to go through life without being creative. There is a fix for everything that can be bought, but true innovation is creativity concentrated. If you're looking at the world in a frame, things that could be better served by creative solutions are pushed to the side, business as usual. I hope this is all making sense, bear with me: creative thinking, which is best taught through the purely abstract medium of art, is central to innovation in all sectors. Once you teach someone not just how to use a product, but how it's made, why the colors are so, etc, they can have a much deeper understanding of not only what it is, but what it could be.
The Power of Non-profits
Oh how America loves to lobby! I think one of our great strengths as a nation is our interest in doing work ourselves as community members. I think it is a tremendous testament to our community ethos that we have taken matters into our own hands, even back to the birth of the nation and Tocqueville's time. For better or worse, I really enjoy this about the US, and I liked that this article was a little more history. It's nice to get a grounding for the topics we've been visiting.
Poetry gives Teens a Voice
Yes it does. Along the same lines as my above art discussion, it also gives them creative skills. I'm not going to get into this one too much, but I will say that as a former teen poetry slam attendee, it's hard to involve an outside audience because a lot of teen poetry is poorly developed and hard to listen to. A good way to work with arts programs would be to individually develop skills and help teens find mentors to help them realize their artistic and creative talents.
Non-Profit Association of Oregon/Senate Bill 40
Yes! Right on! Consumer confidence is a HUGE factor in where people put their money, and people will be more happy to donate if they can feel confident that the non-profit the support actually performs the task they claim. Not much more than that, but I DO support a new look at the groups who would swindle others using a good name.
Arts Groups Pumped $166.2 Billion into US in 2005, Study Says
The Business of Art is a fantastic album by Tegan and Sara, a sister duo from Canada that sings about love, etc. But the idea of art as a business is something that needs to be expanded upon. There is so little creedence given to the fact that artists CAN make a living doing art as a business. I myself work at a nonprofit on campus that employs artists to teach classes and to run the Craft Center for the UO community to have access to often expensive equipment and instruction. Museums make money. Artists sell work. Performers make money. And often, these are some of the happiest professionals because they are engaged in something they love and support. The idea that we are doing no good in funding the arts is misguided, and I'd love to see more articles like this pointing that out.
Art. Advocacy. THESE ARE REALLY IMPORTANT. It's frustrating to see these areas marginalized, often getting the most support by people "following their heart" to deliver services. It is not smart or acceptable to only invest in quantitative services when the quality of life plays such a part in people's experience and in ultimately how they interact with and perform in the "real world."
The Business of Art is a fantastic album by Tegan and Sara, a sister duo from Canada that sings about love, etc. But the idea of art as a business is something that needs to be expanded upon. There is so little creedence given to the fact that artists CAN make a living doing art as a business. I myself work at a nonprofit on campus that employs artists to teach classes and to run the Craft Center for the UO community to have access to often expensive equipment and instruction. Museums make money. Artists sell work. Performers make money. And often, these are some of the happiest professionals because they are engaged in something they love and support. The idea that we are doing no good in funding the arts is misguided, and I'd love to see more articles like this pointing that out.
Art. Advocacy. THESE ARE REALLY IMPORTANT. It's frustrating to see these areas marginalized, often getting the most support by people "following their heart" to deliver services. It is not smart or acceptable to only invest in quantitative services when the quality of life plays such a part in people's experience and in ultimately how they interact with and perform in the "real world."
4 comments:
Thank you thank you thank you for mentioning that about Planned Parenthood. And your comment about art being marginalized is evidenced this very week! in that every other topic got its own week all to itself but art had to share with advocacy, which is a good choice if you are hooking up, but did not get the attention it would have had it gone solo.
I appreciate you sharing your personal experiences about your relationship with art. I agree that being a good artist or truly understanding art takes great intellectual stamina - which leads to the most rewarding stimulation. There is definitely an important role for all majors. I remember you sharing about how you were told that your degree gave you no tangible skills: this is false. We need to start utilizing all the unique talents that people possess, especially the non-traditional ones. Specialization of skills is something that we as a country lack. There is so much more to be maximized on.
I have a client who is a TOTALLY amazing photographer.. http://www.kemlenphotography.com/index.html
and she is just now figuring out that YES what she does is art and YES it has value... A couple of months ago she came to my office totally depressed. She couldn't let herself move forward with her plans to purchase a new camera. Her family kept telling her that she needed to get a "real job" and quit 'playing' with her art. Her mom offered to purchase some cards from her.. and then proceeded to lecture her she was asking too much ($2.00 a card for a set of 12)
I have watched her over the last couple of months as she has reached out and listened to peoples feedback about her work.... over and over again people told her she was undervaluing herself!! she needed to up her prices 500% and start to make a real living off of her work.
Today when she came in, she was happy, bright and full of energy. She has increased her prices, improved her websites and changed her self image completely. She is taking an opportunity to go to Hawaii. I am personally anxious to see what she finds with her camera.
Art isn't JUST in the eye of the beholder... it starts with the creator. It's valuable.. and needs to be encouraged and supported whether it be 5 year olds playing with finger paint, or an experienced photographer learning a new way of looking at the world. (sorry for the rant)
I totally agree with you regarding Senate Bill 40 - not only do I view it as a possible path to removing some of the 'swindlers' but also as another avenue to improving general public outlook toward non-profits and their fund raising.
You know those Health Department stickers that are on the door of every establishment that serves food - the one that says 'complied' or 'failed to comply' - what if there were a system that somewhat resembled that - asserting to the public that they have complied with regulations about honest fund raising?
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