25 APR 2024 · Strategic planning is not merely a bureaucratic exercise—it's a vital tool that small town arts organizations can use to define their future and ensure their relevance and resilience in their community. With all this said, strategic planning can be extremely difficult for small organizations in small communities. Bandwidth is at a premium and this includes bandwidth of time, finances and people. Strategic planning facilitation can be expensive and time consuming.  This month we welcome back Virginia Commission for the Arts Executive Director Margaret Hancock. The Virginia Commission for the Arts worked with the consulting firm Spark Mill to create an open source and https://vca.virginia.gov/resources/strategic-planning-workbook/. As a grant giving agency, she speaks to the importance of a strong strategic plan and a pathway to execute a plan with limited and stretched resources. 

21 MAR 2024 · In January's podcast, Geoff shared five successful organizational models he has seen emerge repeatedly in multiple communities. The Collaborator, The Center, The Facilitator, The Enclave and The Developer. To learn more read: https://www.smalltownbigarts.com/blog/ahi3hy6yq2vj2uovqqj1s8i22l68s3 Small Town Big Arts would now like to add a sixth organizational model, "The Torchbearer." Listen to find out more. 

20 FEB 2024 · Small Town Big Arts has identified that one of the key qualities that leads to small community organizational longevity is that the art work produced reflects with specificity the community the organization serves. The identity of the organization is tightly entwined with the community itself (history, culture, landscape, and/or geographical). This month's episode shows you a path to this type of work, what it can look like, and the impact it can have in your community. We speak with playwright James McManus who specializes in developing community based "docudrama." We talk about his approach, his experiences, and how this type of work can tear down barriers, build bridges and enrich your small town. Learn more about Jim and his work here: https://newplayexchange.org/users/11130/james-mcmanus

9 JAN 2024 · Over the last year and a half of research in the field, Geoff has noticed that success in small community arts delivery often occurrs in organizations that have similar operating approaches. For this month'ss podcast, Geoff shares five successful organizational models he has seen emerge repeatedly in multiple communities. The are... The Collaborator The Center The Facilitator The Enclave The Developer To learn more, read: https://www.smalltownbigarts.com/blog/ahi3hy6yq2vj2uovqqj1s8i22l68s3

12 DEC 2023 · Since 2015, SMU DataArts has taken a look at the arts vibrancy of every community in the United States. This study, through 13 variables, itendifies the top 40 most vibrant arts communities each year. https://culturaldata.org/arts-vibrancy-2023/executive-summary/ Geoff has the honor of speaking with SMU DataArts' Research Director Jen Benoit-Bryant about the study, its variable, and what makes their top 10 small communties "arts vibrant." Also, you can watch a recent SMU DataArts webinar about the study and hear from some of the top arts-vibrant communties: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAKXIsj2f08

21 NOV 2023 · Geoff engages in a thoughtful conversation with Margaret Hancock, the Executive Director of the Virginia Commission for the Arts. Committed to upholding the Commission's mission, Margaret is actively advocating for the equitable distribution of state funds to reach every municipality in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Notably, the current disparity in funding primarily affects smaller rural communities scattered throughout the state. It is crucial that public funding for the arts extends beyond densely populated cities in Virginia and also reaches rural towns and less populated counties. The reasons for this imperative are manifold. Firstly, there is the evident issue of equitable distribution of tax dollars, impacting the entire citizenry. Additionally, there is a significant cultural impact that these funds can bring about. The arts serve as economic drivers, enhancing the quality of life in any locale. Finally, when these funds reach every corner of the state, the politics of advocacy for the arts become less contentious and are not a wedge issue. The arts should be perceived not as exclusive but as something for everyone, everywhere.

31 OCT 2023 · Keene, NH has about 23,000 residents and is the home of Keene State College. It is two hours from Boston and about three hours from Burlington. There is no major interstate and the last leg of the drive from Logan International Airport weaves down two lane roads. Nestled in Downtown Keene is an old brick warehouse. It is home to a fantastic partnership between multiple businesses and organizations. During the day, it is home to https://brewbakerskeene.com. At night, the space turns into a music venue with multiple concerts produced each week by https://www.novaarts.org This collaboration, also supported by https://monadnockartsalive.org, is building a culture where the people of Keene can discover new music, create and perform music of their own, and have what so few small towns have; an authentic music scene.

10 OCT 2023 · This is the first of two episodes this month. The first focuses on a fantastic organization right in my own backyard; Wolfbane Productions. Wolfbane is in Appomattox, Virginia. The county of Appomattox has a population of 16,353 and is home to the historic site where General Lee surrendered to General Grant, ending the Civil War. The community, about 18 miles from Lynchburg, VA, is an agricultural community filled with farmland and rolling hills. For 16 years, Wolfbane's Artistic Director, Dustin Williams ("Gene's Boy" as we will discuss), has built a resilient, inventive, and joyful community of artists. These artists are comprised of local actors but also a large cohort of performers from larger metropolitan areas. We discuss how Dustin has created an artistic home for so many and how what may seem a contradiction in these divisive political times when rural communities are pitted against urban communities through political movements and media narratives. We learn how at a Wolfbane Production, people discover they have much more that binds them than tears them apart.

29 SEP 2023 · This month I have a brief episode I recorded at the Radically Rural conference in Keene, NH. I plan to do two episodes in October and I have some fantastic stories to share from my time in New England. For more information on the Radically Rural conference, please visit: https://www.radicallyrural.org/

22 AUG 2023 · As we enter Season 2, we look at two different models of patron and donor engagement for small community arts organizations: the subscription and the membership. The decline of subscriptions over the decades is not new news to those in the arts administration field, but this old model of ticket engagement isn't without its modern-day merits. Memberships have their patron engagement benefits and are more flexible than subscriptions, but they also push organizations into a more transactional relationship with their patrons. We welcome back Cyrus Pace from The Jefferson Center in Roanoke, VA (pop. 99,261) to discuss. The Jefferson Center uses the subscription model, while my organization in Lynchburg, VA (pop. 79,285), the Academy Center of the Arts, uses the membership model. Whether you have an existing approach or are looking to engage your patron base, we have some advice to share.