Operating Support Grant
Operating Support Grant
A critical need to build consistent and sustainable public relations/communication plans.
Tara Makinen: executive director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, musician; Moira Villiard: visual artist, cultural programming coordinator at American Indian Community Housing Organization; Amber Burns: choreographer, dancer, actor, middle school art teacher; Margaret Holmes: visual artist, poet, and former Children’s Theatre employee; Tammy Mattonen: visual artists, co-founder of Crescendo Youth Orchestra; Kayla Aubid: Native American craft artist, writer, employee at MacRostie Art Center; Ariana Daniel: mixed media artist, arts instructor; Kathy Neff: musician, Director, Fine Arts Academy at the University of Minnesota Duluth; Ron Piercy: jeweler, gallery owner; Emily Swanson: arts administrator at Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community; Christina Nohre: writer and arts advocate.
Tara Makinen: executive director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, musician; Margaret Holmes: visual artist, poet, and former Children’s Theatre employee; Kayla Aubid: Native American craft artist, writer, employee at MacRostie Art Center; Ariana Daniel: mixed media artist, arts instructor; Kathy Neff: musician, director, Fine Arts Academy at the University of Minnesota Duluth; Ron Piercy: jeweler, gallery owner.
ACHF Arts Access ACHF Arts Education ACHF Cultural Heritage
The Nordic Center will increase community participation in and artist satisfaction with its arts and culture programming by improving communication and public relations. Goal 1: Engage and work with professional web and marketing experts to build, design, and implement a comprehensive public relations/communications plan for 2019. Objective 1: The professionals work with the Nordic Center Board to draft and implement a comprehensive plan for 2019. Outcome: A comprehensive public relations/communications plan by February 2019 for 2019 programs with defined actions, timing, responsibilities, budgets and deliverables. Objective 2: The professional updates the Nordic Center’s website. Outcome: An easily accessible, dependable, attractive and consistently current website by Fall 2019. Goal 2: Use acquired operational capacity to build and implement communications/PR plans for 2020. Objective 1: The Nordic Center Board uses learned capacity from 2019 to draft and implement plans for 2020. Goal 1, Object one Measures A. Board reviews in June, September and December (2019) of the public relations/communications plan show 95%-100% success in completing tasks on time and within budget. B. Arts program participant questionnaire feedback demonstrates increasing use of marketing materials throughout 2019. C. Artist participant questionnaire feedback shows increasing satisfaction with Nordic Center’s programming support. D. Advisory Council members provide semi-annual feedback to the Board about Nordic Center marketing and programs. Goal 1, Object 2: Measures A. The website is updated by Fall of 2019. B. The website is 75% manageable by Nordic Center’s Board by 12/2018. C. 100% of web content is consistently current Sept.-Dec. 2019. Goal 2, Object one Measures A. The Nordic Center uses the 2020 program calendar to develop a public relations/communications plan with defined actions, timing, responsibilities, budgets and deliverables by September 2019. B. Board reviews in March, June, Sept., and Dec. (2020) of the public relations/communications plan indicate 95%-100% success in completing tasks on time and within budget. C. Program participant questionnaire feedback demonstrates increasing use of marketing materials throughout 2020. D. Artist participant questionnaire feedback demonstrates increasing satisfaction with Nordic Center’s programming support. E. Advisory Council members provide semi-annual feedback to the Board about Nordic Center marketing and programs.
The Nordic Center board is collecting quantitative data (participant and presenter written surveys, event attendee tracking, and a formalized membership structure) and qualitative data (focus group and testimonials). Website tracking - A brand new format began running in Aug. with event listings, pictures and other pertinent information. Fatcow statistics reports show a gradual increase beginning in Aug, from 271 unique visitors and 313 visits to Dec. stats of 1233 and 1561. Total visitors were 5472. Facebook and Instagram tracking - NA Eventbrite - twelve unique event announcements were sent to Mailchimp subscribers Mailchimp - the first of 30 campaigns started in Jan. 2019 sending event email annoucements to NC's 400 subscribers Additionally, while evaluative data collection is still underway, we are learning that: Written surveys are easier for presenters to complete than program attendees. All artist presenters completed feedback forms. Positive feedback was provided in all but one instance in which constructive comments were provided to how to improve Nordic Center's interface with artists. This feedback resulted in significant procedural changes in terms of communication and venue planning. Focus group participation is good, but could be better through improved timing and programming interest. While the conversation yielded good information and ideas, the advisory council on 10262019 and the member meeting on 3252019 were attended by fewer participants than we expected. Perhaps attendance would be better if connected to a specific and particularly attractive program. We are also learning that with improved program structures and increasing constituent participation in programming, the workload experienced by the all volunteer board is growing as attested to by the gathering of in-kind hours, a system of measure not previously used at the Nordic Center. Through tracking in-kind volunteer hours, we recognize the need for a paid activities coordinator.
Other,local or private