Art academy becomes magnet for young adults

Sally Little

Pacific Business News

Friday, November 11, 2005

Over the past two years the Honolulu Academy of Arts has focused on building a relationship with young professionals through its successful ArtAfterDark project.

Knowing that people donate to organizations that interest them, the Honolulu Academy of Arts has encouraged these potential donors to learn about the many opportunities at the museum as well as experience an enjoyable and fun evening with friends.

Beginning with the Starlight Ball in January and monthly theme-based events on the final Friday of March through October, ArtAfterDark attracts at least 1,000 people per month. August's theme, Havana Heat, attracted a record 1,670 attendees.

Both Karen Sumner, director of development, and Lori Admiral, coordinator of ArtAfterDark, have capitalized on the historic Honolulu Academy of Arts as a special venue for this evening event. In addition, they have been very sensitive to factors that have helped engage this new generation of donors. Following are tips they have shared.

• Let the young adults own the project. The idea for ArtAfterDark was generated by the younger curatorial, development and education staff at the academy. They solicited their friends and together they formed a committee that sets the monthly theme and plans each event. This guarantees that the event will focus on the desires of this age group.
• Be consistent. Following the example of the popularity of First Friday in the arts district of Honolulu, the planning group decided on the final Friday of each month for these monthly events. Beginning at 6 p.m. and ending at 9 p.m., these young professionals begin their weekend at the academy and then move to other activities as the evening progresses.
• Keep it affordable. While most young professional groups require members to donate $500 to $1,000 to participate in events, the entry fee for ArtAfterDark's monthly event is $7. Beer, wine, soft drinks and pupus are available for purchase. For those attendees who become members of the Honolulu Academy of Arts, entry is free.
• Offer the familiar as well as different. Each event offers either a band or disc jockey, food and also some form of alternative entertainment. These have included palm and tarot card readers, poets, dance performances and dance lessons.
• Build a relationship with the museum. Although the entire museum is available throughout the evening, each event highlights a specific exhibition with 10- to 15-minute zip-tours.
• Offset costs with sponsorships. Due to the popularity of these events, the Honolulu Academy of Arts has not had difficulty recruiting corporate sponsors. Not only have these sponsors funded the events, they have added special incentives to attend. For example, Tori Richard, the corporate sponsor for August's Havana Heat, gave gift bags to the first 400 guests.
• Empower the planners to direct the proceeds. In order to further engage the planning committee in the operations of the museum and enhance a sense of ownership, the committee is allowed to direct the proceeds from these events. They recently earmarked $10,000 for the conservation of a western gallery piece.
• Recognize the challenges of your volunteers. These volunteers are in a very fluid stage of their lives. They are distracted with marriages, job shifts and the birth of babies.

"Staff need to be very flexible and pick up the slack for the volunteers," Admiral said.

Since building the next generation of donors is a long-term strategy, the return on investment on ArtAfterDark is yet to be determined. However, the number of memberships to the Honolulu Academy of Arts sold at these special events increased from 293 in 2004 to 355 in 2005.

Sally Little, president and CEO of Entrepreneurial Solutions LLC (www.entrepreneurialsolutions.biz), provides planning, management and financial consulting services for small businesses and nonprofits. Reach her at slittle@hawaii.rr.com.

source: http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2005/11/14/focus2.html