February 1994
Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina • 11
Rogers
Continued from page 10
and solutions to poverty in our area.
The result of that collaboration, 1
believe, has been an 11 percent drop
in poverty in Buncombe County as
reported in the 1990 census over
1980.
1 recently was frustrated when I
read that the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development
was offering $25 million (within a
very short time frame) for innovative
grants to serve the homeless.
The funding program was
announced on the heels of the freez
ing death of a homeless person
across from the main HUD office in
Washington.
While it is noble to want to pro
tect everyone from this kind of
tragedy, the language and time
frame of the federal grants raises
questions about funding solutions to
cover up embarrassment rather than
funding solutions to address root
causes of homelessness.
While a case can be made for the
creative spark of spontaneity over
such an injustice, my organization
and I find ourselves at times over
whelmed at the number of “opportu
nities” for networking, coalition
building, and/or needs assessment
that take away from basic services.
We must stay focused on our mission
and maintain quality controis to
ensure adequate responses to imme
diate needs.
However, 1 fear that in the future
many nonprofits may have to employ
a person who does nothing but act as
a professional “meeter.”
Real innovations, with models
and solutions that work long-term,
come from a combination of paying
close attention to the nuts and bolts
of organizations, being focused on
needs, honest about agency limita
tions, committed to quality services
and inspired by like-minded leaders.
This has been true for our organi
zation’s coalition of churches as they
expanded emergency assistance ser
vices. it has been true in our commu
nity, which seven years ago produced
the Buncombe-Emergency Assist
ance Co-Ordinating Network (BEA
CON), the first coalition of its l^d in
the state.
BEACON has a long-term track
record now of being able to quickly
identify comprehensive needs, avoid
duplication and greatly improve col
laborative efforts, thereby extending
the limited amount of resources to
the greatest number of needs.
Both of these examples were
made possible not through a flurry of
spontaneous creative effort, but
through careful planning and long
term commitments to quality ser
vices.
This coalition and successful
model grew slowly over time, giving
the hipest respect and honor to the
autonomy of a^ncies while focusing
their combined attention on mean
ingful solutions to common needs.
1 want to encourage nonprofits
and chief executive officers to main
tain their focus on what is important
in the life and service of their organi
zation — even when it’s boring.
Sometimes we must resist the temp
tation to be spectacular in order to
maintain the status quo and live
within our limits and, more impor
tantly, not neglect the communities’
needs.
I encourage potential funders to
consider identi^g gaps in the con
tinuum of services and find ways to
help agencies expand existing ser
vices to fill those gaps and fund ongo
ing operations.
Perhaps the challenge in the
future is to find creative ways to
reward those who are in the trench
es, have clearly defined their mission
and needs, evduated the options and
developed practical solutions to
everyday problems.
McGuire
Continued from page 10
opportunities to work together can
be subverted into turf battles by a
number of factors.
One such factor is an organiza
tion’s need for total control over an
issue. Such “control needs” can lead
to an unwillingness to concede that
others may have different, though
equally effective, ways of approach
ing an issue.
A second factor, related to the
organizational need to control, can
be the strong individual personality.
And how important those personali
ties are in the creation and develop
ment of our most progressive and
effective nonprofits!
But how many organizations have
been spMt apart by the opposition of
willful personalities in both board
and administrative functions? How
many “rival” organizations have
begun because individuals could no
longer agree on a common vision?
A third, potent factor in the battle
tor turf is the fear that somehow
funding will be missed or lost unless
every organization circles the wag
ons and protects its own. Actually,
the opposite is true more often than
not. Most corporate and foundation
funders are more interested in the
best ways of addressing community
needs than in the personal differ
ences between individual organiza
tions.
And that is precisely the concept
that can be overlooked when worries
over turf arise: Community needs
drive the relationship between non
profit agencies and funders.
Although funders obviously direct
their support to organizations, their
goal is to find solutions to the com
munity’s problems. The best solu
tions — employing the most creative
ideas and the most efficient use of
resources — often can be found
through open discussions and the
shared efforts of all individuals and
organizations interested in the prob
lem.
Once the true, damaging effects
of turf battles are recognized, elimi
nating them can be relatively easy.
Numerous publications, organiza
tions and resources exist tor the sole
purpose of improving communication
— and thus the success rate —
among aU of us in the nonprofit sec
tor:
• Associations of similar agen
cies. Virtually every issue of vital
interest is represented by some type
of association of the agencies that
deal with that issue. Some are
regional, some are statewide; in larg
er communities, there are even local
associations. In all cases, they pro
vide excellent opportunities for the
kind of communication that reduces
duplicated efforts and leads to cre
ative solutions.
• Resource organizations and
publications. Recognizing the growth
in the number of nonprofits, as weil
as the expanding role of the sector
as a whole, several regional and
statewide resources have emerged
within the past few years. Most
notably, the N.C. Center for Nonprof
its and Philanthropy Journal of
North Carolina offer a wide range of
services for nonprofits, in addition to
providing a forum for the exchange
of ideas.
• Local and statewide funders.
Ironically, an outside entity — a cor
porate or foundation funder — can
sometimes help an agency broaden
its perspective on an issue or a com
munity. Because they are continu
ously in touch with a range of service
providers, funders can spot duplica
tions, facilitate communication
among agencies and encourage coop
erative ventures. The Greater
Triangle Community Eoundation has
taken a lead in this area with its
regional community grants, award
ed to organizations in a three-county
area that are willing to work togeth
er on an on-going basis.
• High tech communications. Just
recently, I joined the 1990’s and
became an e-mail subscriber. For
someone who grew up with a manual
Smith-Corona, the electronic high
way was a revelation for me. After
just a few weeks “on the highway”, I
am convinced that these technical
innovations will give all of us oppor
tunities for communication and part
nership that we couldn’t imagine sev
eral years ago. For nonprofits, the
combination of convenience and low-
cost service will make technology an
ever larger part of their operation.
It goes without saying that any
organization — as well as any indi
vidual — may set its own course,
seek funding and implement its pro
grams in any way it feels appropri
ate. No funder should attempt to set
policy for an agency or dictate pro
gramming. The ideal relationship
between agency and funder should
be a partnership in which each side
brings its own unique resources “to
the table” to solve a problem.
But as the representative of a
funder, as well as a former nonprofit
manager and a current nonprofit
board member, 1 am concerned that
fear of one’s colleagues and empha
sis on protecting one’s turf can hurt
us. The job for most nonprofits is dif
ficult enough; to worry about turf
simply drains all of us of time, ener
gy, resources and creative ideas.
The News and Observer Foundation
BOAED OF Dirictors
Frank Danieis Jr. Patricia Woronoff
Wrrr Cu«e Mel Fwch Jr.
PhUanthropy Journal of North Carolina
BPard of Advisers
Barbara Ahen Joel Fleishman
CoiNNE km Barbara Freedman
JovcE Adsir WtUiiAM Friday
WiLUAM Anlyan Jr. James Gooomon
George Autry Robert Hampton
John Bell Maklyn Hartman
David Benevides JAne Kendml
Phiup Blumenthal Thomas Umbeth
William Bondurant Elizabeth Locke
Kenneth Bttop Michael Marskano
Robert Bush Todd Miller
Henry Carter Mary Mountcastle
Juuus Chambers John NtSLoa
: Ray Cope Jani Patterson
JuuA Daniels Miqiael Rose
'Gayle Dorm« Shannon St. John
John Dorn«i Charles Sanders
itoNAtoOsAGO Donald Sanders
Wentworth Durgin : Mary D.B.T. Semans
Martin Eaks Patw3a Smith
itoOIEREMRINSHAUSi ^ SHERWOOD SMITH :
Mebedhh Emmett ' . Wiluam SpenciR:
Euzabeth Fentkss Ronald Swain
JoYafiTZPAraa SmedesYork
The Philanthropy Journal welcomes
letters dealing with its news, opinion
pieces or other philanthropic issues.
Letters must be 250 words or less and
signed. Please include a daytime phone
number. Letters are subject to editing.
Address is located on page 3.
Ideas
Changing the score
Retiring symphony director
reflects on fundraising, outreach
Banks Talley Jr., loi^-time execu
tive director of the North
Caroiina Symphony, wili retire
in June and assume the role of
fundraising consultant for the
65-member orchestra. Talley,
who is credited with preventing
the symphony’s slide into bank
ruptcy in the mid-1980s, spoke
with the Philanthropy Jour
nal about fundraising, board
relations and other issues relat
ed to running a $5-million-a-
year arts organization.
JOURNAL: What should we call
your new position with the orches
tra? Are you retiring or being pro
moted?
TALLEY: As of November 1994,1
will have been here 10 years. I’m 67
now. While I still can operate, I think
it’s good to get someone else to take
over. What the trustees and I decided
to do is for me to say I will retire at
the end of June if the search commit
tee can find a new director. I’ll con
tinue on as a consultant so I can first
of all concentrate on raising money
for a permanent endowment and sec
ondly, work with the new executive
director and the [state] secretary of
cultural resources to do lobbying
with the General Assembly.
JOURNAL: Raising money for
cultural organizations is getting
harder and harder. How do you feel
about the current mix of support for
the symphony?
TALLEY: A lot of things are
going on in the symphony world and
one of the biggest we’re wrestling
with is that for years, most orches
tras had subscription drives once a
year. What’s happened is those are
beginning to decline and sm^e-ticket
sales are becoming more important.
We think we understand what we
need to do...We’ve got to not only
have that annual subscription cam
paign, but to advertise and promote
our concerts all year long in a variety
of ways. We’ve done a lot more tele
marketing than ever before and
that’s beginning to work.
JOURNAL: At a time when cor
porate giving to nonprofits is static,
you have emphasized the need to
seek more corporate support for the
symphony. Why?
TALLEY: This orchestra
wouldn’t be what it is today if we
hadn’t had corporate support.
Companies like Aunerican Airlines,
Glaxo, IBM, the banks, have given us
an amount between $200,000 and
$300,000 for several years. Northern
Telecom was the first to make a
$25,000 commitment. And what that
meant was that we could have some
internationally recognized artists
coming in. Those guest artists have a
tremendous positive effect on the
musical director and the orchestra.
'The corporate money really made a
difference.
JOURNAL: How did your experi
ence as a college administrator help
you in your job at the symphony?
TALLEY: My first amateurish
efforts at raising money were when I
was with the universify. I was head
of the division of student affairs [at
N.C. State University] and we began
to seek grants for special kinds of
programs. So I got a good feel for
fundraising.
JOURNAL: What are your plans
for future fundraising?
TALLEY: Our endowment is now
about $11 million to 12 million in dif
ferent categories of funds. In the size
orchestra we are, we ou^t to have
an endowment that’s twice that. I try
hard to find ways that potential
donors want to go - endowed chairs,
endowed programs, purchases for
the musicd library. I’m talking to a
lady right now about setting up a
fund for flower arrangements for the
BANKS TALLEY JR.
• Executive Director of N.C. Symphony since
1984.
• Spent 33 years os on administrator at N.C.
State University and one year os an adviser
to Gov. James Hunt during Hunt's first term.
• A native of Bennettsville, S.C., Talley served
as vice president of the National Trust for
Historic Preservation in Washington D.C.
• Raised $1.7 million in endowment funds dur
ing his first seven months with the orchestra to secure matching
money from fhe General Assembly.
Negotiated unusual contract with musicians' union giving orchestra
members a soy in policy in exchange for flexible wages, work rules.
auditorium. I’m cultivating that idea,
so to speak.
JOURNAL: How do you feel
about the identity of the symphony
as a statewide organization?
TALLEY: Historywise, the North
Carolina Symphony was the only
symphony in the state before World
War n. After the war, other commu
nities decided they’d form their own.
As these other orchestras emerged,
some of our orchestra members got
concerned that people would think
we are the Raleigh symphony, when
we’re the state symphony. My
answer to our musicians is, “Look,
we’re the N.C. Symphony. You know
that and I know that. It would be nice
if every citizen knew it, but they
don’t. You have to be realistic.”
JOURNAL: What advice will you
give the new symphony director?
TALLEY: You’ve got to have an
executive director who has an under
standing of the musicians’ contract
and how that operates. I’ve tried to
move us toward being more of a part
nership than adversarial. You have
to be a person who likes to raise
money. And you’ve obviously got to
have a sensitivity toward state gov
ernment.
'This orchestra would maybe be a
chamber orchestra if if weren’t for
the state of North Carolina. 'The state
had uninterruptedly supported the
orchestra tor 50 years. 'There isn’t
any other state that has that kind of
record. We’re part of the fabric of the
history of the state and that helps us
a lot with the General Assembly. I
think it’s important to have someone
in this position who understands
that.