Fundraising or fund raising (also development) is the process of soliciting and gathering contributions as money or other resources, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies (see also crowd funding). Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gather money for non-profit organizations, it is sometimes used to refer to the identification and solicitation of investors or other sources of capital for for-profit enterprises. Traditionally, fundraising consisted mostly of asking for donations on the street or at people's doors, and this is experiencing very strong growth in the form of face-to-face fundraising, but new forms of fundraising such as online fundraising have emerged in recent years, though these are often based on older methods such as grassroots fundraising.

Organizations

Fundraising is a significant way that non-profit organizations may obtain the money for their operations. These operations can involve a very broad array of concerns such as religious or philanthropic groups such as research organizations, public broadcasters, and political campaigns.

Some examples of charitable organizations include student scholarship merit awards for athletic or academic achievement, humanitarian concerns, disaster relief, human rights, research, and other social issues.

Professional fundraisers

Many non-profit organizations take advantage of the services of professional fundraisers. These fundraisers may be paid for their services either through fees unrelated to the amounts of money to be raised, or by retaining a percentage of raised funds (percentage-based compensation). The latter approach is expressly forbidden under the Code of Ethics of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), a professional membership body. However, by far the most common practice of American non-profits is to employ a staff person whose main responsibility is fund raising. This person is paid a salary like any other employee, and is usually a part of the top management staff of the organization.

Some non-profit organizations nonetheless engage fundraisers who are paid a percentage of the funds they raise. In the United States, this ratio of funds retained to funds passed on to the non-profit is subject to reporting to a number of state's Attorneys General. This ratio is highly variable and subject to change over time and place, and it is a point of contention between a segment of the general public and the non-profit organizations.

The term "professional fundraiser" is in many cases a legislated term referring to third-party firms whose services are contracted for; whereas "fundraising professionals" or development officers are often individuals or staff at charitable non-profits. Although potentially confusing, the distinction is an important one to note.

Religious organizations

Equally important are fundraising efforts by virtually every recognized religious group throughout the world. These efforts are organized on a local, national, and global level. Sometimes, such funds will go exclusively toward assisting the basic needs of others, while money may at other times be used only for evangelism. Usually, religious organizations mix the two, which can sometimes cause tension.

Political campaigns

Fundraising also plays a major role in political campaigns. This fact, despite numerous campaign finance reform laws, continues to be a highly controversial topic in American politics. Political action committees (PACs) are the best-known organizations that back candidates and political parties, though others such as 527 groups also have an impact. Some advocacy organizations conduct fundraising for or against policy issues in an attempt to influence legislation.

Public broadcasting

While public broadcasters are completely government-funded in much of the world, there are many countries where some funds must come from donations from the public. In the United States less than 15% of local public broadcasting stations' funding comes from the federal government. Pledge drives commonly occur about three times each year, usually lasting one to two weeks each time. Viewership and listenership often declines significantly during funding periods, so special programming may be aired in order to keep regular viewers and listeners interested.

Taxation

Organizations in the United States established for charitable purposes are allowed to raise funds from many sources. They are given a specific designation by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), commonly noted as 501(c)(3) organizations. Other nonprofits such as fraternal associations have different IRS designations, and may or may not be eligible to raise funds. Financial information on many nonprofits, including all nonprofits that file annual IRS 990 forms is available from GuideStar.

Types

Many non-profit organizations receive some annual funding from a financial endowment, which is a sum of money that is invested to generate an annual return. Although endowments may be created when a sizable gift is received from an individual or family, often as directed in a will upon the death of a family member, they more typically are the result of many gifts over time from a variety of sources.

Non-profit organizations also raise funds through competing for grant funding. Grants are offered by governmental units and private foundations/ charitable trusts to non-profit organizations for the benefit of all parties to the transaction.

A capital campaign is when fundraising is conducted to raise major sums for a building or endowment, and generally keep such funds separate from operating funds. These campaigns encourage donors to give more than they would normally give and tap donors, especially corporations and foundations who would not otherwise give. A capital campaign normally begins with a private phase before launching a public appeal.

Special events are another method of raising funds. These range from formal dinners to benefit concerts to walkathons. Events are used to increase visibility and support for an organization as well as raising funds. Events can feature activities for the group such as speakers, a dance, an outing or entertainment, to encourage group participation and giving. Events can also include fundraising methods such as a raffle or charity auction. Events often feature notable sponsors or honoree. Events often feature a charity "ad book" as a program guide for the event, but more importantly, as another fundraiser providing members, supporters and vendors to show their support of and to the group at the event by way of placing an ad-like page, 1/2 page, 1/4 page, stating or showing support. Events and their associated fundraisers can be a major source of a groups revenue, visibility and donor relations.

While fundraising often involves the donation of money as an out-right gift, money may also be generated by selling a product of some kind, also known as product fundraising. Girl Scouts of the USA are well-known for selling cookies in order to generate funds. It is also common to see on-line impulse sales links to be accompanied by statements that a proportion of proceeds will be directed to a particular charitable foundation. Tax law may require differentiating between the cost of an item verses its gift value, such as a $100.00 per person dinner, for a $25.00 cost meal. Fundraising often involves recognition to the donor, such as naming rights or adding donors to an honor roll or other general recognition. Charity Ad Books are another form of donation for recognition, sponsorship or selling of ads often in an event related program or group directory.

When goods or professional services are donated to an organization rather than cash, this is called an in-kind gift.

A number of charities and non-profit organizations are increasingly using the internet as a means to raise funds; this practice is referred to as online fundraising. For example, the NSPCC operates a search engine which generates funds via Pay per click links, and Better The World operates tools allowing funds to be raised via members viewing ethical ads on a browser sidebar and/or blog widget.

Some of the most substantial fundraising efforts in the United States are conducted by colleges and universities. Commonly the fundraising, or "development" / "advancement," program, makes a distinction between annual fund appeals and major campaigns. Most institutions use professional development officers to conduct fundraising appeals for both the entire institution or individual colleges and departments. Examples of this include athletics and libraries.

The donor base (often called a file) for higher education includes alumni, parents, friends, private foundations, and corporations. Gifts of appreciated property are important components of such efforts because the tax advantage they confer on the donor encourages larger gifts. The process of soliciting appreciated assets is called planned giving.

The classic development program at institutions of higher learning include prospect identification, prospect research and verification of the prospect's viability, cultivation, solicitation, and finally stewardship, the latter being the process of keeping donors informed about how past support has been used.

Relationship building

Often called donor cultivation, relationship building is the foundation on which most fundraising takes place. Most development strategies divide donors into categories based on annual gifts. For instance, major donors are those that give at the highest level of the organization's fundraising scale and mid-level donors are in the middle.

More sophisticated strategies use tools to overlay demographic and other market segmentation data against their database of donors in order to more precisely customize communication and more effectively target resources. Research by Peter Maple in the UK shows that charities generally underinvest in good marketing research spending around a quarter of what an equivalent sized for profit company might spend.

Donor relations and stewardship professionals support fundraisers by recognizing and thanking donors in a fashion that will cultivate future giving to nonprofit organizations. The Association of Donor Relations Professionals (ADRP) is the first community of stewardship and donor relations professionals in the United States and Canada.

Recent research by Adrian Sargeant and the Association of Fundraising Professionals' Fundraising Effectiveness Project suggests the sector has a long way to go in improving the quality of donor relations. The sector generally loses 50–60% of its newly acquired donors between their first and second donations and one in three, year on year thereafter. The economics of regular or sustained giving are rather different, but even then organizations routinely lose 30% of their donors from one year to the next.

Events

Band Aid (1984), Live Aid (1985) and Sport Aid (1986), for famine relief in Ethiopia

Walk Against Want in Australia

Red Nose Day in the United Kingdom

Christian Aid Week in the United Kingdom and Ireland

If Day (1942) in Canada

Capital campaigns

Capital campaigns are the most common way non profit organizations raise the funds necessary for special large projects, such as a new building or a permanent endowment. A capital campaign is an intensive, time-limited effort usually engaging volunteer leadership, and seeking a larger-than-usual sum of money from the perspective of the nonprofit. A typical capital campaign might last 18 months, with a pledge payment period of 3–5 years. Individual donors are most likely to give to a capital campaign, but sometimes pledges may be secured from corporate donors or foundations. Most non profits consider hiring an outside consulting firm for a capital campaign rather than hiring or utilizing internal staff, since such campaigns are periodic in nature rather than continuous. The consulting firm is typically paid a flat fee rather than a percentage of the funds raised, and capital campaigns are among the most cost effective of fund raising activities.

See also

Accountable Fundraising

American Institute of Philanthropy

Comparison of online charity donation services

Crowd funding

Direct mail fundraising

Fondomat Online fundraising through crowdfunding

Friendraising

Fundraiser

Grassroots fundraising

Institute of Fundraising (IoF) UK professional membership body for fundraising

Moneybomb

Street fundraising (including face-to-face and door-to-door fundraising)

Notes and references

Category:Philanthropy Fundraising

cs:Fundraising da:Fundraising de:Fundraising es:Recaudación de fondos eo:Akiro de financa subteno fr:Collecte de fonds it:Raccolta di fondi he:התרמה lt:Kapitalo pritraukimas nl:Inzameling ja:ファンドレイジング pl:Fundraising pt:Fundraising ru:Фандрайзинг sr:Фандрејзинг uk:Фандрайзинг yi:שנאר zh:籌款

Coordinates	51°47′″N55°06′″N
name	Peter H. Diamandis
birth date	May 20, 1961
birth place	The Bronx, New York, New York, United States
nationality	Greek-American
known for	Personal spaceflight industry
education	MIT and Harvard Medical School
employer	X Prize Foundation
occupation	Entrepreneur
title	Chairman }}

Dr. Peter H. Diamandis (born May 20, 1961, in The Bronx, New York City, New York), of Greek immigrant parents, is considered a key figure in the development of the personal spaceflight industry, having created many space-related businesses or organizations. He is the Founder and Chairman of the X PRIZE Foundation, an educational non-profit prize institute whose mission is to create radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity.

His foundation is best known for offering the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE for private-sector manned spaceflight, a prize that was won in October 2004 by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and famed aviation designer Burt Rutan with SpaceShipOne, the world's first non-government piloted spacecraft. More recently, Diamandis has created the Rocket Racing League. Born as a cross between Indy car racing and rocket-powered flight, RRL is developing a brand-new motor sport.

In addition to serving as chairman of the X PRIZE Foundation, Diamandis is also the CEO and co-founder of Zero Gravity Corporation, which offers parabolic weightless flights to the general public. He is also the co-Founder and a Director of Space Adventures, Ltd, the company that has flown eight private citizens on Soyuz to the International Space Station.

Notable achievements

Diamandis also:

Co-founded and is chairman of the Singularity University.

Served as CEO of BlastOff! Corporation, which designed a private mission to land on the Moon as a mix of entertainment, internet and space. The company brought together talent from NASA/JPL and Hollywood.

Served as CEO of Desktop.tv, a spin-off company from BlastOff! Designed to provide a global peer-to-peer television network for broadcasting unique content to the desktop.

Served as Chairman of Starport.com, an Internet channel for space exploration for kids of all ages. The site represents over twenty astronauts and features space heroes, missions and simulations. Sold to Space.com.

Served as President & EVP Business Development of Angel Technologies Corporation - Broadband.com. Angel Technologies Corporation is a commercial communications company developing wireless broadband communications networks (www.broadband.com).

Co-founded Space Adventures Ltd. in 1994 , a leading space- tourism company. Space Adventures arranged Dennis Tito’s flight to the International Space Station in 2001 (the first space tourist).

Served as Vice President of Commercial Space Programs for CTA Inc., a $190M-revenue space technology company responsible for developing new CTA commercial space initiatives in small satellite remote sensing and communications.

Founded and served as Director of Constellation Communications, Inc. (CCI) in 1991. CCI was one of five low Earth orbit applicants designing a low-Earth orbit satellite constellation for voice telephony. Constellation plans to deploy an equatorial ring of 10 satellites to provide communications primarily to Brazil and Indonesia.

Founded and served as CEO of International MicroSpace, Inc. (IMI) in 1989. IMI was an entrepreneurial space technologies company focusing on the provision of low-cost launch services (ORBEX launch vehicle program). IMI was awarded a launch services contract for 1 launch plus 9 options from Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) worth up to $125M. IMI was purchased by CTA Incorporated in 1993 and closed down in 1994 after SDIO canceled the contract.

Founded and served as Managing Director & CEO of International Space University (ISU) in 1987. ISU is the world's leading graduate program for multi-national and multi-disciplinary study of space involving over 30 nations and 140 graduates per year. ISU has established a $30M graduate-level campus in Strasbourg, France. During the period 1992–1994, Diamandis served as Co-Chair of the ISU Business & Management Department.

Co-founded and served as director of the Space Generation Foundation, a non-profit organization established in 1985 to create, in all people born since the advent of the Space Age on 4 October 1957, a sense of identity — an awareness that they are born as members of a space-faring race. The Foundation supports numerous educational and research projects.

Founded SpaceFair in 1983. SpaceFair is a national space conference hosted by MIT in '83, '85, and '87.

Founded Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) in 1980. SEDS currently is the world's largest college- and high school-based student pro-space organization.

Education

Diamandis received undergraduate and graduate degrees in aerospace engineering and health, sciences and technology from MIT where he became a brother of the Theta Deuteron charge of Theta Delta Chi. He got an M.D. from Harvard Medical School.

Awards

1983 MIT John Asinari Award for outstanding Undergrad Life Sciences research.

1984 MIT William L. Stewart, Jr Award for the Founding of SEDS.

1985–1986 Harvard Med. School Student Research Grant American Heart Assoc.

1986–1987 Biomedical Research Support Grant supported by the NIH.

1986 Space Industrialization Fellowship presented by the Space Foundation.

1988 Aviation Week & Space Tech. Laurel in recognition of Founding ISU..

1992 Space Frontiers Foundation "Pioneers Award" Presented for cumulative work done in the commercialization and development of the space field.

1994 "Top-25 Young Stars of Space" award presented by the National Space Society for outstanding work done by space pioneers under the age of 40.

"Konstantine E. Tsiolkovsky Award" presented by the Russian Government for the creation of ISU (along with T. Hawley and R. Richards).

2002 World Technology Award, presented by the World Technology Counsel

2005 Doctorate of Space Achievement (Honoris Causa) by ISU

2006 Robert & Virginia Heinlein Prize, for Advances in Space Commercialization

Footnotes

References

Diamandis biography on Zero-Gravity website

X PRIZE Foundation website

Testimony by Peter Diamandis to U.S. House

Wired magazine: Who needs NASA?

BBC News: X-Prize man launches rocket race

Philanthropy: "Extraordinary Feats of an X-Man"

External links

Peter Diamandis talks about the X PRIZE and future of space travel (MIT Video)

Peter Diamandis talks about the X PRIZE,Zero gravity,Rocket race league (open ssp08 lecture @ barcelona,spain) SSP08 podcast /rss feed

TED Talks: Peter Diamandis on our next giant leap at TED in 2008

TED Talks: Peter Diamandis on Stephen Hawking in zero g at TED in 2008

Peter Diamandis' lecture at the Quantum to Cosmos festival at Perimeter Institute

Category:1961 births Category:Living people Category:American businesspeople Category:American people of Greek descent Category:People from New York City Category:Harvard Medical School alumni Category:Google Lunar X Prize Category:Space advocates Category:People from the Bronx Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni

de:Peter Diamandis ru:Диамандис, Питер sk:Peter Diamandis

Coordinates	51°47′″N55°06′″N
name	Andy Robinson
birth name	Richard Andrew Robinson
nickname	Robbo
birth date	April 03, 1964
birth place	Taunton, Somerset
height
weight	13 st 0 lb (88 kg)
ru position	Flanker
ru amateurclubs	Loughborough Students
ru nationalteam	England
ru nationalyears	1988–1995
ru nationalcaps	8
ru nationalpoints	(4)
ru ntupdate	22 October 2006
ru clubyears	1986–1997
ru proclubs	Bath Rugby
ru coachclubs	Bath RugbyEnglandEdinburgh RugbyScotland AScotland
ru coachyears	1997–20002004–20062007–20092007–20092009–present
university	}}

Richard Andrew 'Andy' Robinson OBE (born 3 April 1964) is an English rugby union coach and retired player. He is currently the head coach of Scotland.

Robinson played as an openside flanker for Bath, England and the British and Irish Lions. He was head coach of England from October 2004 until November 2006, then coach of Edinburgh Rugby and joint coach of Scotland A between October 2007 and June 2009. On 4 June 2009 Robinson was named the new head coach of Scotland.

Playing career

Born in Taunton, Somerset, Robinson made his England debut against Australia on 12 June 1988, and gained eight caps, playing his last match on 18 November 1995 against South Africa. Robinson was quite small for a back row forward, being only 5 ft 9in (1.75 m), and weighing 13 st 12 lb (88 kg). He played 6 non-international games for the British and Irish Lions on their 1989 tour of Australia.

Teaching

Whilst playing for Bath, Robinson taught mathematics, physical education and rugby at Writhlington School, King Edward's School, Bath and later Colston's Collegiate School in Bristol, where he and Alan Martinovic masterminded the school's Daily Mail Cup wins in 1995 and 1996. 'Robbo' then left to play rugby professionally with Bath.

Coaching

Robinson later coached Bath before being appointed forwards coach of England and was deputy to Clive Woodward with the World Cup-winning England side in 2003. When Woodward resigned from the role of England coach in September 2004, Robinson was named as acting coach before being confirmed in the position. He was also a coach on the Lions tours to Australia in 2001 and New Zealand in 2005.

Robinson won just nine of his twenty two matches in charge of England. In November 2006, it was confirmed that Robinson would remain Head Coach with the position reviewed after the two tests against South Africa. Defeat in the second test increased demands from supporters that he should be replaced. On 29 November his resignation as head coach was announced, with Robinson blaming his lack of support from the RFU.

In the summer of 2007, the Scottish Rugby Union appointed Robinson the new head coach of Edinburgh Rugby, as well as joint coach of Scotland A with Glasgow coach Sean Lineen. In his first season as coach, he guided Edinburgh to the highest ever finish by a Scottish side in the Magners League (joint 3rd), despite numerous international players leaving the previous summer for more lucrative contracts in England and France. The following season (2008–09) Edinburgh leap-frogged Leinster and the Ospreys on the final day of the competition to finish runners-up behind Munster. Edinburgh also finished highest points scorers. He stepped down in June 2009 to take up the role of head coach of Scotland, replacing Frank Hadden.

Personal life

Robinson is a vegetarian.

Career record

Record as England player: Games played 8, Won 4, Lost 3, Drawn 1; 1 try (vs France)

Record as England head coach: Games coached 22, Won 9, Lost 13, Drawn: 0

Biggest Win: Canada 70–0 (November 2004)

Biggest Loss (home or away): Australia 34–3 (June 2006)

Biggest Loss (home): New Zealand 20–41 (November 2006)

Record as Scotland head coach: Games coached 11, Won 6, Lost 4, Drawn 1

External links

Planet-rugby stats

Sporting Heroes

References

Category:English rugby union players Category:English rugby union coaches Category:Bath Rugby players Category:People from Taunton Category:1964 births Category:Living people Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:England international rugby union players Category:England national rugby union team coaches Category:Scotland national rugby union team coaches Category:Loughborough Students RUFC players Category:Alumni of Loughborough University

fr:Andy Robinson it:Andy Robinson zh:安迪·羅賓遜

Michael M. Kaiser is president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Dubbed "the turnaround king" for his work at such arts institutions as the Kansas City Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre and the Royal Opera House, Kaiser has earned international renown for his expertise in arts management.

Early life

Born October 27, 1953, in New York City, Kaiser grew up in New Rochelle, New York, earning an undergraduate degree in economics and minor in music from Brandeis University, Magna Cum Laude, and a masters degree in management from the MIT Sloan School of Management. His study of vocal music reflected an early passion for the arts, and while he hoped for a career as an opera singer he was, as he put it, "just dreadful"

Career

Kaiser's early career focused on management consulting. In 1981, he founded Kaiser Associates, a strategic planning company, whose clients included General Motors and IBM. But in 1985, spurred by his lifelong love of the arts, he sold his management consultancy to enter the world of arts management.

Transition to arts management

When he joined the Kansas City Ballet as general manager in 1985, the company was on the brink of bankruptcy. Within two years, Kaiser had revamped and energized the troupe's fundraising, and attracted critical attention and acclaim through ambitious programming initiatives. His leadership enabled the company to pay off the accumulated deficit, which had nearly led to its closure.

Kaiser joined the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater as executive director in 1991. The company faced extreme challenges, stemming from a $1.5 million accumulated deficit. Kaiser developed a strategic plan with the company's board and staff, targeting fundraising and marketing as key areas for overhaul. Recognizing the company's broad, international appeal, Kaiser set about putting the dancers before a much larger audience. In December 1992, the company was featured on ''The Donahue Show'', then the premiere daytime television program. In an unprecedented move, the full one-hour program was devoted to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, an event viewed by 18 million Americans. In 1993, the company performed at President Bill Clinton's inaugural gala, which was broadcast to an audience of 88 million. During Kaiser's tenure as executive director, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater eliminated its deficit, increased the efficiency of its touring programs, and enhanced its national and international image.

In 1995, Kaiser became executive director of American Ballet Theatre. With an accumulated deficit of $5.5 million, the company was struggling on the brink of closure. Ticket revenues were insufficient to meet the company's needs and the towering debt had reduced the board, management, and staff to a daily struggle to keep afloat, forestalling any strategic or long-range planning.

Kaiser set about finding the large donations needed to reduce the $5.5 million deficit. He revamped the touring program, reaching out to cities across the United States as well as in Asia and Europe. He created new education programs to nurture both new dancers and new audiences. And he fueled aggressive new marketing programs, burnishing American Ballet Theatre's long-held reputation as a "company of stars." Within three years, the company had eliminated the entire accumulated deficit and established a surplus. After his success at American Ballet Theatre, the ''Chicago Tribune'' coined the sobriquet "The Turnaround King" for Kaiser.

In 1998, Kaiser assumed leadership of the Royal Opera House in London, home of the Royal Opera, London and the Royal Ballet. In the midst of a major renovation, faced with a projected $30 million deficit, and flailing in a firestorm of criticism from the public, its board, and its patrons, the Royal Opera House was facing the most severe crisis of its history. Despite press reports predicting, even welcoming, the demise of the organization, and vitriol from patrons, Kaiser set to work, negotiating with the unions, placating the creative staff of the two resident companies, guiding the new facility through its final construction and problematic technical and stagecraft operations, and beginning the delicate work of repairing the institution's reputation as he worked to erase its debt. Within two years, the deficit was paid off, the new building paid for and opened, and an endowment fund established to protect the security of the Royal Opera House's future.

Kennedy Center

In 2001, Kaiser joined the Kennedy Center as president. Unlike the organizations which had established his reputation as a savior of companies on the brink of disaster, the Kennedy Center was financially stable and not in need of a turnaround. But Kaiser set the goal of enhancing the Center's status as the nation's center for the performing arts, a destination for both American and international arts lovers.

His first undertaking was the "Sondheim Celebration", an unprecedented staging of six musicals by Stephen Sondheim, within one season, under one roof: ''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'', ''Company'', ''A Little Night Music'', ''Sunday in the Park with George'', ''Merrily We Roll Along'', and ''Passion''. Critical response to the Sondheim Celebration was extraordinary, and the box office opened to record-breaking sales.

Two other theatrical achievements were a retrospective of Tennessee Williams' work and a highly acclaimed celebration of the ten plays of August Wilson presented in sequential order.

Having set the bar high, Kaiser continued to upgrade the Kennedy Center's artistic profile, negotiating long-term agreements with the Mariinsky Opera and the Mariinsky Ballet, the Royal Shakespeare Company, New York City Ballet, and the Bolshoi Ballet that ensured their regular appearance at the Kennedy Center; producing major festivals of the arts including "The Festival of China", "JAPAN: culture+hyperculture," and "Arabesque: Arts of the Arab World;" each bringing hundreds of international performers and artists to American audiences for the first time; and expanding the Kennedy Center's jazz and family programming. He has expanded educational programming, increasing the annual education budget to $25 million for programs reaching young people and adults—more than any other arts institution.

Long committed to teaching and education, Kaiser has made the Kennedy Center a university of sorts for arts organizations and arts managers, creating the Kennedy Center Arts Management Institute to provide advanced training for young arts administrators and developing a series of programs to help train others in the field.

He has created a "capacity-building" program, that offers mentoring services to the leaders of 33 African American, Latino, Asian American and Native American arts groups from across the United States, and has instituted similar programs for over 250 arts organizations in New York City and 74 in the Washington, D.C. metro area. He has established a fellows program for arts managers, enabling students and practicing arts managers to study at the Kennedy Center in a practicum that exposes them to the day to day work of the center's departments, from marketing and fundraising to programming and operations.

Arts in Crisis

Kaiser launched ''Arts In Crisis: A Kennedy Center Initiative'' in early February 2009, which provides free arts management consultation to arts organizations across the United States. Within 24 hours of unveiling the site, the program received 110 emails from 31 states. "[The initiative] is a high-tech support service through which arts administrators can talk to the Center's personnel about the challenges of shrinking income, budget-conscious audiences and other difficulties in keeping the doors open." ''Arts in Crisis: A Kennedy Center Initiative'' is a response to the emergency facing arts organizations throughout the United States. The program, open to non-profit 501(c)(3) performing arts organizations, provides free and confidential planning assistance in areas pertinent to maintaining a vital performing arts organization during a troubled economy. Over 100 experienced arts leaders from across the country are volunteering their time to serve as mentors to organizations in need. Since the initiative's launch in February 2009, the Kennedy Center has hosted symposia and arts community conversations in major cities across the country.

Arts in Crisis: 50 State Tour

In June, 2009, the Kennedy Center launched a 50 state tour supporting the Arts in Crisis initiative. Michael Kaiser travels to cities in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia to lead arts management symposia. At each event, hosted by a local arts organization, Kaiser addresses the challenges facing non-profit performing arts organizations in each city through such areas as fundraising, building more effective Boards of Trustees, budgeting, and marketing.

Other activities

Kaiser is also a cultural ambassador for the U.S. State Department, advising performing arts organizations around the world on building institutional strength through marketing, strategic planning, and fundraising. He has created an online educational forum for arts administrators, where professionals and students in the field can share experience, ask and answer questions, and seek employment and board opportunities.

In June 2009, Kaiser became a weekly blogger for ''The Huffington Post''.

Awards

''Dance'' Magazine Award. 2001

Capezio Award, 2002

Helen Hayes ''Washington Post'' Award for Innovative Leadership in the Theater Community, 2003

St. Petersburg 300 Medal, 2004

Washingtonian of the Year, 2004

US Department of State Citation, 2005

Blacks in Dance Award, 2005

First American to receive China's "Award for Cultural Exchange", 2005

The Order of the Mexican Eagle, 2006

''Musical America'' 's 2006 Impresario of the Year

Kahlil Gibran "Spirit of Humanity" Award from Arab American Institutue Foundation, 2009

George Peabody Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Music in America, 2009

Doctor of Humane Letters, ''honoris causa'', Georgetown University, 2011

Kaiser's publications

Kaiser has served as a research economist for Nobel prize-winning economist, Wassily Leontief, and is the author of five books:

''Leading Roles: 50 Questions Every Arts Board Should Ask'' (October 2010)

''The Art of the Turnaround: Creating and Maintaining Healthy Arts Organizations'' (Brandeis University Press, 2008. ISBN 978-1-58465-735-4

''Strategic Planning in the Arts: A Practical Guide'' (1995)

''Developing Industry Strategies: A Practical Guide of Industry Analysis'' (1983)

''Understanding the Competition: A Practical Guide of Competitive Analysis'' (1981)

Personal life

Kaiser has two siblings: Thomas Kaiser is a history professor at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock and Susan Kaiser founded a non-profit pre-school named "Bread and Roses". Kaiser donated a kidney to his sister, Susan, in 1988.

References

External links

Bruce B. Auster, "Turnaround Artist", profile in ''US News & World Report'', March 2, 2003

Michael Kaiser, DanceUSA Winter Council 2002 Keynote Address, February 1, 2002, Canadian Embassy, Washington, DC

Sid Smith, "Makeover Artistry: American Ballet Theatre Reclaims Financial Footing Thanks to 'Turnaround King' ", ''Chicago Tribune'', August 11, 1996

Tim Page, "Michael Kaiser: Impressario of the Year", ''Musical America'' musicalamerica.com online, 2007

Todd Purdom, "An Impresario With a Sideline: Rescuing Troubled Cultural Groups", interview in ''The New York Times'', December 9, 2004

Michael Kaiser, "Contributing to the Human Spirit: Arts Education and the Creative Economy", 2007 Testimony on Arts Education before the Louisiana Senate and House

2008 Kennedy Center August Wilson Festival

Kaiser describes his work with arts organizations from the Kansas City Ballet, the American Ballet Theatre, and the Market Theatre in South Africa to London's Royal Opera in conversation with WOSU's Christopher Purdy from public radio WOSU.org

ArtsManager.org

ArtsinCrisis.org

Category:1953 births Category:Living people Category:Brandeis University alumni Category:Impresarios Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Category:MIT Sloan School of Management alumni Category:People from New Rochelle, New York Category:Recipients of the Order of the Aztec Eagle