Non-profit management

Quarterly; nonprofit North American subscription rates vary according to budget size and the exchange rate ($104-$156); Henry Stewart Publications, Russell House, London, United Kingdom.

November 1999, 48 pages; John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Miami, Florida.

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I have had, with my friend Wes Jackson, a number of useful conversations about the necessity of getting out of movements — even movements that have seemed necessary and dear to us — when they have lapsed into self-righteousness and self-betrayal, as movements seem almost invariably to do. People in movements too readily learn to deny to others the rights and privileges they demand for themselves. They too easily become unable to mean their own language, as when a “peace movement” becomes violent.

One summer weekend several years ago, the psychiatrist husband of a dear friend of mine remarked over the dinner table how emotionally healthy his two weekend guests were. "We've taken you through all sorts of things you've never done before, and you've leaped into everything with no fear. You take risks and cope with whatever happens, whether good or bad. It's so impressive!" We looked at him over the tops of our wine glasses and said, "Oh, this is so sad. You've been with sick people for way too long."

Why are you engaged in your current field of work? What significant lessons have you learned along the way? These are questions we ask of applicants to the Durfee Foundation's Sabbatical program, an initiative that provides "time off" to leaders in the nonprofit sector in Los Angeles. Sadly, arts applicants to the program have had difficulty providing compelling answers. By and large, their attempts to explain their commitment to their chosen field have been weak, particularly in comparison to their peers in the social services.

As the Twentieth Century approaches a finale, the arts in America exist in a vast array of styles, disciplines and organizational structures. The purpose here is to examine one major organizational component of the American arts scene, the nonprofit sector, as an organic system that has progressed through three distinct stages over the past century.