CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS

Boards juggle wide range of crucial duties

BY CHRIS SHULL

The Wichita Eagle

The boards of some of Wichita’s cultural institutions have come under scrutiny lately — and the attention has not always been flattering.

At Old Cowtown Museum, the board has been at the center of a contentious debate over the history museum’s future, how best to repair shopworn facilities and how to overcome a financial shortfall. Last month, some city and county officials said they wanted the board to disband.

At the Kansas African American Museum, the board faces a December deadline to present designs for a new museum building, or perhaps risk losing the riverfront land the city offered to donate more than a year ago.

At Exploration Place, the board grappled with stagnating attendance and financial woes before reaching agreement last year with Sedgwick County for a four-year, $7 million bailout.

At the Mid-America All-Indian Center, the board was forced to relinquish control to the city in 2004 to deal with mounting debt and managerial problems.

The experiences of these cultural groups illustrate the challenges faced by all who agree to sit on the boards of nonprofit groups.

And they raise questions about the duties of boards, and to what extent they should be involved in a group’s day-to-day operations.

For Mitchell Berman, executive director of the Wichita Symphony, a board’s responsibility is clear.

“The board is responsible for all aspects of the institution,” Berman said. “If there is a problem, it is their problem.”

Board members have to have general oversight of their organization. “They must react quickly with changing times,” said Eric Engstrom, an attorney and the president of Wichita Art Museum’s board of trustees.

The leaders of several of Wichita’s cultural institutions agreed that boards have three important duties:

• To raise money

• To chart a long-term course for the institution

• To oversee its budget and day-to-day operations.

They also talked about what they think makes a board successful and highlighted challenges that can cripple an institution.

Who’s who?

Board membership can require substantial effort.

Members must attend meetings, usually at least once a month, and prepare beforehand. They organize special events and undertake fundraising campaigns.

They typically contribute money to the institution — sometimes thousands of dollars a year — and ask others to contribute, too.

Most local boards have nominating committees responsible for identifying and recruiting new members.

Board sizes vary: The Wichita Art Museum board has 29 members, the Center for the Arts, 19, and the Wichita Symphony, 63.

“It is made up of corporate representatives, it is made up of people who love the orchestra,” Berman said of the symphony board.

“As candidates are suggested we look at their level of activity with us — do they buy tickets? Do they contribute? What is their company’s role with us? And is that industry represented on our board?”

There is no consensus on what board size is effective, said Vernetta Walker, a consultant at Washington, D.C.-based BoardSource, which conducts seminars on how to build effective boards.

On smaller boards, it may be easier to reach a consensus. But a large board can provide greater reach into a community.

“Our board is out raising money, so if we don’t have enough firepower in a particular industry, that hurts us,” Berman said.

Board members are recruited as much for their passion for art and music as for their wealth and connections, local leaders said.

“We don’t just put people on the board because they are good businesspeople,” said Howard Ellington, director of the Wichita Center for the Arts. “We make sure that if you are asked to be on our board you have a passion about one of the disciplines we teach. Otherwise, they have no clue when you start talking about why you need money. They just become bottom-line people, and that’s deadly.”

Show me the money

One of the most important and visible duties of a board is fundraising.

“When we sit down with prospective board members, we tell them, besides governance — because you are the legal entity — we expect you to raise money,” Berman said.

The Wichita Center for the Arts requires a yearly minimum contribution to serve on a board. (Ellington declined to name the amount.)

Others expect board members to give some amount annually, and then to take the lead in communitywide fundraising drives.

At the Mid-America All-Indian Center, members of its 11-person board must make a $100 donation and sell four museum memberships annually. At the African American Museum, each board member is asked to raise $1,000 annually.

The Wichita Art Museum does not require a minimum gift, although board members are asked to make an annual contribution. “That varies from $35 to several thousand dollars, very large and generous gifts,” said Charles Steiner, the museum’s director.

Some members of nonprofit boards might consider their service as their contribution; others think monetary gifts are vital to the organization’s health.

“In my mind, if they can’t give a thousand dollars, they should give $25 — and then agree to go out and try to raise additional money,” Engstrom said.

“It just seems to follow — if you are not willing to give $25 to that organization, are you going to be out there trying to raise additional money for it? Are you really interested? Should you be on that board?”

Boards are responsible for the financial vitality of their groups; they should address budgetary shortfalls caused by missed projections, unforeseen circumstances or poor management, the directors agreed.

“The financial part is huge,” said Carol Wilson, a board member at the Center for the Arts. “No one should be a part of any board unless he or she wants to take on that fiduciary responsibility.”

Governing

Though museums typically hire a professional director to oversee day-to-day operations and to create programming, a volunteer board of directors shoulders ultimate responsibility for the museum’s well-being.

BoardSource’s Walker said the board is legally responsible for its organization. The board must ensure that its collection is safe, its mission is fulfilled and government regulations are met.

“By accepting the responsibility of being a board member, you are essentially saying you will exercise a certain ‘duty of care,’ ” Walker explained.

“That means you need to be at least somewhat informed. That means you are going to show up to meetings, you are going to read the materials, you’re going to be prepared and you’re going to exercise your independent judgment.”

Ellington at the Center for the Arts expects his board to direct all aspects of the institution.

“They own the place,” he said. “They establish and approve the budget, they approve all programs, they approve all fundraising events, they approve any updating to the facilities.”

Many directors said they expect board members to critically analyze their organization’s programs and operations, and to implement improvements if standards are slipping.

In 2003, the board at Exploration Place responded to a drastic decline in attendance by changing leadership and turning to Sedgwick County for $7 million in aid.

A new director, Alberto Meloni, took over at the science center in July and immediately booked the popular touring exhibit “A T. rex Named Sue.” So far, more than 17,900 people have seen the exhibit, generating nearly $130,000 in revenue — a 400 percent increase over the same month last year.

Even if it’s difficult to do, board members need to take significant steps to deal with significant problems. And because of their backgrounds, many board members are suited for such work.

“Boards are typically populated by highly successful, highly driven individuals who are successful in their own businesses,” Berman said. “We want them to bring those same standards to our institution.”

At the same time, successful people usually have busy schedules, noted Carolyn McGinn, interim president of the board at the Kansas African American Museum and a state senator.

“The biggest challenge is the demand on everyone’s time,” she said. “Our society has us involved in so many things that it is sometimes hard to dedicate the needed time to one organization.”

The big picture

Though fundraising and overseeing operations occupy a large part of a board’s focus and energy, Walker thinks that defining the mission and purpose of the organization should be the top priority of every nonprofit board.

A board not in agreement with the big picture will be less likely to reach consensus regarding programming and the organizations direction.

Boards should keep their institutions’ best interests at heart, but should not be afraid to take chances and try new things to ensure the long-term health of the organization.

“The board has to be a little visionary,” Ellington said. “They have to understand that because it has been done one way that they can’t just continue to do it forever.”

Negotiating the maze of demands and responsibilities can seem daunting to those who decide to sit on boards.

But the work can be ultimately gratifying.

“The relationships that you form with people who work at the organization and with other board members,” Wilson said.

“The feeling of ownership that you get, and the pride that you feel for being a part of something that is making a difference in this world — that’s why I do it.”