Shelby Morrison

All in all, our "Door 2 Door" program was a success.

There are some hilarious failures to talk about, which include a prospect calling the police after suspicions of terrorism and the group dancing on the lawn of a prospect that had security cameras - all of the types of mishaps you can imagine when showing up at a strangers doorstep.

The project gained us a significant donor and our current board chair, which is exciting.

When our organization looks at new projects or considers some type of change or innovation, whether it be development or program related, we always consider the following:

Leveraging Existing Resources
What was so significant about the doors project is that it was incredibly cost effective. We had the hollow core doors in house already layered with over 10 years of paint and stories. We had youth artists in the building every day, and a silly van to transport them in. While the doors were a little tough to part with because they had such significance to our growth over the years, they were used to help us grow and spread our reach even further. In any arts organization, there are SO many non-financial resources available. Tapping into the talent of our alumni is unmatched by any type of printed material.

Engaging the Audience with the Producers and Curators
Everybody is looking for access when it comes to the arts. For a program like Raw Art Works, where we are based in art therapy, it is sometimes tough to engage our donors and supporters with our kids because their art groups are confidential. This was a creative way to introduce prospects to our youth artists in a setting outside of our studio. Access is the key to engaging an audience of donors, patrons, or program participants.

Revel in Your Success (and learn from your failures)
Innovations, big and small, should always be looked at as adaptable models when possible. The door project could have easily been replicated year to year, but we were scared off by some of our less than successful attempts. We could have also adapted the concept and scaled it down a bit. We would suggest exploiting your successes. You just worked hard and had an “Aha!” moment. Make it count!

The most challenging part of any innovative process is to get from the “what and why” to the “how.”

For RAW, the “what” was having trouble bringing our audience to our studios and gallery to convert them into donors.

The “why” was a variety of factors, including reputation and education.

Once we were able to clearly define the “what and why”, we were able to come up with a solution that fit both the organization and the audience.