Newspapers / Philanthropy Journal of North … / Oct. 1, 1994, edition 1 / Page 3
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October 1994 Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina • 3 Connections On-line artists Computer technology connects arts community Arts Wire, a two-year-old com puter network for artists, grows as more and more artists and arts groups get on- iine. North Carolina arts advo cates hope to fund an exten sion of the network. By Susan Gray O n August 5, the National Council on the Arts con vened in an austere Washington, D.C., conference room to review a set of photographs and determine whether or not the artists merited grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. Slowly, the 16 council members surveyed the glossy images before them; bodies lying comatose in a morgue, strip-tease dancers shooting up heroin behind a run down nightclub. Several members frowned and rubbed their foreheads, one observer noted. Then, they took a vote. The majority held that no federal fund ing would go to photographers Andres Serrano, Merry Alpern or Barbara DeGenevieve, despite an earlier recommendation for fund ing from an NEA visual arts peer panel. The next day, news of the fund ing denial appeared on more than ur state is so spread out — artists are spread from corner to corner. Arts Wire can combot feelings of isola tion and allow us to be part of a national dialogue. Nancy Trovillian Assistant Director, North Carolina Arts Council 500 computer screens across the country, including several scat tered across North Carolina. David Mendoza, the director of the National Campaign for the Freedom of Expression, had attended the council’s meeting and vigorously transcribed the event onto Arts Wire, a two-year-old computer network for the arts community. Instantly, artists and arts orga nizations who were connected by their computers and modems to Arts Wire could read about the vote. “In the past, we would have had to pick up the phone,” says Perry Mixter, director tor cultural affairs at Appalachian State University. “It would have been much more cumbersome to get information and discuss it - and much more expensive.” The only national newspaper that reported the news was The Washington Post, which doesn’t land on Mixter’s mountain-top stoop in Boone. With Arts Wire, Mixter could read Mendoza’s commentary con demning the vote. He could comb through the transcript and draw his own conclusions about council members’ comments. He could even have a “conversation” with Look for ARTS, page 5 A delicate balance Durham nonprofit mission, finances The Scrap Exchange is in a tran sition period. Overseeing a young organization with increased demand for its prod ucts and services, the non- profit’s board and staff are searching for hew ways to raise funds while still fulfill ing their mission By Kate Foster Durham he idea was simple: Act as / a kind of broker to obtain I clean, reusable industrial materials and recycle them at low cost for use in the creative arts. Parents, teachers and kids, in par- ticuiar, would be ideal customers for the tubing, packing materials and assorted junk generated by commerce. The next step was forming a nonprofit to do the brokering. In 1991, Chris Rosenthal and Joe Appleton, both of Durham, founded the Scrap Exchange. Two years later, Pat Hoffman stepped in as the executive direc tor. But a growing demand for the OT^nization’s services, along with a reduction in the size of its already tiny staff, has offered Hoffman a sobering lesson in the reality of managing a nonprofit. Tucked away in loaned space in a corner of Northgate Mall in Durham and in the New Atlantic Flea Market in Raleigh, the two Scrap Exchange stores boast an eclectic assortment of materials. For $3.50 a bag, you can take home the likes of brightly colored foam tubes, carpet squares and wood scraps. Collecting, sorting and display ing those materials is a huge task that requires recruiting and man aging dozens of volunteers. But that’s only part of Hoffman’s job. The Scrap Exchange has generated broad demand from teachers, school groups and other organizations increasingly seeking to integrate the arts into education. Last year, for example, the Scrap Exchange presented 150 LEADERSHIP workshops for children and adults. In the first eight months of this year, it already has given 125. “Many schools have become dependent on us to do that kind of programming,” Hoffman says. Simply doing its job is a big job. But as demand grows, Hoffman - like many of her peers in the non- Scenes from the Community Arts Program and Events by the Truckload. Photos courtesy of The Scrap Exchange profit sector - finds herself increasingly preoccupied with chasing dollars just to make ends meet. With pressure to remain finan cially stable, Hoffman says, it is tempting to increase the cost of products and services. “You say to yourself, T know Look for SCRAP, page 19 Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina A Publication Of The News and Observer Foundation 215 S. McDoweU St. Raleigh, NC 27601 (919) 829-8988 VOL. 2 No. 2 SUBSCRIPTION PRICES 1 year (12 issues) $57 2 years (24 issues) $104 3 years (36 issues) $143 Multiple-copy discounts g\ra]1oVt1o Call (919) 829-4763 for rates. FOR SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION, CALL (919) 829-4763 OR (919) 829-8991. Regaining trust Upheaval at NAACP holds lessons for nonprofits A North Carolina vice /\president and board / Imember of the National Tlssociation for the Advancement of Colored People is confident that the veteran civil ri^ts organiza tion will weather the storm brewing over actions of its former executive director, Benjamin Chavis Jr. Chavis, a North Carolina native, was fired in August after board members learned that he had paid $82,400 in NAACP funds to settle a sex ual harassment lawsuit filed against him by a former employee. Kelly Alexander Jr. of Charlotte, who has served on the NAAClP’s national board for 20 years and is president of the state conference, says there is a lesson to be learned for all nonprofits: “There should be a dynam ic tension between board members and staff.” “Nonprofit board people tend to spend less time focused on the internal affairs of management than would be true of a corporate board,” says Alexander, who is chairman of the hoard of Alexander Funeral Homes Inc. of Charlotte. “As a result, you rely heavily on what your executive tells you. There needs to be adequate checks and balances to make sure something doesn’t slip through the cracks.” While Chavis’ supporters say his firing was a referendum on his policies - including dia logue with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan - Alexander says the move was made in response to Chavis’ man agement prac tices. For example, Chavis has insisted that the bulk of an approximately $3 million operating deficit was the fault of his predecessor, Benjamin Hooks. But a board-request ed audit of NAACP finances Kelly Alexander Jr. has failed to back that claim. When asked about the impact Chavis’ firing will have on NAACP fundraising, Alexander says that although the Ford Foundation has delayed payment of a $500,000 grant to the national NAACP, Tar Heel foundations and corporate donors have not followed suit. Chester Williams, senior vice president and director of Community Reinvestment at Southern National Bank in Charlotte, says his company will continue to support the state NAACP conference. “They are going through some problems, as most orga nizations do from time to time,” Williams says. “But the perception of the organiza tion from my perspective is still very good, very strong. What they stand for, I think, in North Carolina, is what we look at overall.” Alexander says NAACP board members will continue to meet with key members and contributors to assess the need for damage control. “Ultimately, a nonprofit survives on the confidence that people in the donor com munity and its client commu nity have in its ability, not only to deliver a service, but to handle money efficiently,” he says. “I’ve been in touch with a number of our donors and the contacts have been positive. I don’t think our peo ple are going to desert us.” Barbara Solow
Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina (Raleigh, N.C.)
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