Lee -

That's really good to hear...and certainly something for me to think 
seriously about.

Understand that your mission is much broader and affords many more 
opportunities for a variety of arts than mine, so it may be that UTC in 
general, and the Patten Performances in particular, operate in ways so 
far off the beaten path that grants funding for my type of series is a 
tough issue even under the best of circumstances. Consequently, I don't 
bother.

 From an operational standpoint as a presenter, it comes down to two 
concepts for me: 1) if you're absolutely depending on $500 or so in 
grant funding to make something work, you probably ought not do it to 
begin with and 2) those who have staff support for writing multiple 
small grants and tracking them can put some money in the budget, 
perhaps enough to overcome the personnel costs of obtaining the money. 
Where grants become worthwhile is when they go over the $3000 mark. At 
that point, you should at least double your money because (in my 
experience with Tennessee Presenters) it takes about $1200 in staff 
time and travel expenses to prepare a grant, attend a funding hearing, 
resubmit the required modified budget and fill out the paperwork on the 
back end.

Applying that same calculus to touring grants and such, if you're 
spending 50 hours of your time (total) in obtaining $1500 for one show, 
I submit that you can use that time more effectively by seeking out 
corporate sponsors through sales efforts and building new audiences 
through programming. But as I say, at around $3000 and up, grants 
strike me as well worth the effort.

I guess it's my economics degree finally coming out after 30 years - 
opportunity cost for me has become a huge personal consideration. And, 
as a long time small business owner, I always looked for money by first 
cutting costs to the bone before going after additional revenue 
sources. The cost of finding one new customer was always far higher 
than the revenue generated through operating budget savings and getting 
the customers you have to spend more.

See you Monday!

Bob


Robert Boyer
Patten Performances Director
UTC Fine Arts Center
www.utc.edu/finearts
423.425.4379


On Friday, June 20, 2008, at 10:09 AM, Lee Warren wrote:

> Bob - I had a difficult expereince the first time I applied as well. 
> They did give us some money but later I was so excited to be able to 
> open one of their visual arts shows here at the Dixie. I try to think 
> beyond the money and the reporting difficulties with organizations 
> like SAF to what else they might be able to bring to the table at a 
> later date.