Stanford Financial Excellence in the Arts
Is it possible for artistic organizations to support and foster top-notch works of creativity and stay financially healthy? Stanford thinks so – and makes a point of rewarding those that do both well.
A Right-Brain Award for a Left-Brain World
Cindy Rice says she learned the value of a dollar from her father. “People call me cheap,” she says. She prefers to call it “frugal.” And it shows in her work as the executive director of the Davidson Community Players, which is going strong after 42 years in a small town about 20 miles north of Charlotte, N.C. The theatre company consistently sells out shows in its four-play-per-year season. And they do it on a budget of less than $200,000. “I never want to be wasteful,” Rice says. “I’m very aware that our donors are trusting us with their donations.”
That focus on the simultaneous pursuit of artistic and financial excellence is what the Stanford Financial Excellence in the Arts (SFEA) award is all about.
In 2005, Stanford Foundation President Suzanne Hamm and Susan Schadt, president and chief executive of the Greater Memphis Arts Council, developed the idea for the SFEA as a way to reward arts organizations for the way they manage their money. The program, which is the only one of its kind in the country, awards grants to arts organizations that demonstrate exemplary fiscal management and financial oversight. The grants range in value from $5,000 to $45,000, based on the size of the organization’s operating budget, and are awarded as unrestricted funding. The program’s success in Memphis caused Stanford to introduce it as a signature community investment program in its other markets throughout the southeast.
“As a wealth management firm, we value the importance of fiscal management and being good stewards of one’s resources,” Hamm said. “This program helps these nonprofit arts organizations think and act more like for-profit businesses, and, as a result, benefits their bottom line,” she said. The recipients are selected based on financial information and bottom-line results the organizations are already providing to their local or regional arts council, meaning no additional administrative manpower is required for the program.
Another unique aspect of the program is the physical award given to each recipient organization. Stanford works with artists and arts organizations in each market to commission a work of art as the program’s physical award. Schadt says the buzz about the award in Memphis and in cities where it’s been copied is a surprise to her. “The pride of ownership of an award like this is just taking off,” she said. “I had no idea it would have such legs and such a profound effect on the community,” said Schadt.
Rice says the award for the Davidson Community Players represents about eight percent of its annual budget. “Receiving this was truly astonishing,” she said. “Artists and arts organizations have such a focus on the creative works they’re producing that there can be a lack of focus on the finances. I wish that more organizations would follow in the footsteps of companies like Stanford and reward merit-based funding. It’s a great way to help organizations strive for excellence,” said Rice.