Math Madness: 3 Number Types to Track that Add to Success in the Arts

This post was inspired by past experience as well as by Wendi Hassan, Executive Director of the Alliance for the Varied Arts and a consultant to Utah Presenters. She created a presentation and CD called “A Metrics Primer for the Artistic Mind”. Contact Wendi at whassanarts@gmail.com for more details. Or click here and order a MP3 recording for $5. It was commissioned by the Utah Arts Council.

Hovering over a calculator may be the last thing you want to do.

From taxes to bills, numbers could drive any artist to insanity.

Never fear.

There are numbers out there that have nothing to do with sending money to someone else. Rather, these numbers make it possible to RECEIVE money from others who love the arts.

Every number has a story and it is up to you to transform cold fact to warm experience.

You might be connected with an event that has been an annual tradition for 20+ years. You might be on the brink to start an event.

So what kind of numbers do people want to know about your art?

Remember to track these number types:

1. Audience Types and Consistency

2. Volunteers and Community Involvement

3. Direct Costs and Indirect Impacts

Audience Types and Consistency

Besides smiling at everyone who attends, notice details about the audience. You will often be fascinated by: average age, range of ages, and ethnic groups—attending and “missing”.

Ticket stubs or hand-held metal clickers could be inexpensive items to figure out attendance.

Some events do not require a ticket. Other places have “free” tickets as they serve more of a reservation or RSVP than an actual proof of purchase.

You could provide surveys or feedback forms that use 1-10 scales on enjoyment to receive “hard” numbers. A mix of 3-8 quantitative questions with 1-2 qualitative usually avoids overwhelming the audience member. Attempt to fit the questions on no longer than half sheet of paper.

Be sure to have a place for audience members to put their name and contact information. Include a way for audience members to grant permission for the possibility of using quotes for advertising.

You may want to have a drawing for anyone who returns a form. To promote privacy in answers, a person could receive a ticket stub in exchange for a completed form. Prizes could be mailed to the address on the stub.

The audience type and consistency could give you a hint as to the target market to reach the next year. It could also indicate that the intended audience did not match to those who actually came. Either you could celebrate and continue to connect with the type of audience that did show or you could reevaluate the advertising literature and strategies on why different results were received.

Volunteers and Community Involvement

You probably sent thank you cards to your glorious volunteers and sponsors, but how much do you know about them?

Detect trends, if any, of these people and organizations. You might consider creating a survey similar to what was created to learn more about the audience members.

As for volunteers, these people may range from Cub Scouts groups to retired individuals. Remember any event planners, directors, or Board members who may not have the title of “volunteer” but are still giving of time.

Though most of the attention focuses on event’s profit or impact, time is the most precious commodity for any event or organization.

For volunteers, consider the following and expand to address your needs:

• How many volunteers helped out?
• What is the average age of the volunteer?
• What is the range of volunteer ages?
• What was the average volunteer time dedicated to the event?
• What was the range of minimum and maximum time given?
• How did the volunteers learn about the opportunity to serve?

As for community involvement, this could mean corporations, associations, or individuals who sponsor through money, in-kind, or services.

For sponsors, consider the following and expand to address your needs:

• What category or type of organization or business does the sponsor fit in? Examples: Art Group, Retail Business, Civic Organization, Youth-Oriented Association, Retired Individual, etc.
• What was the value of the donation? (Product vs. Service)
• What donations, if any, has this sponsor provided in the past for your event? Plans to provide for the current year? Intends to give in future years?
• What is the key motivation for the gift? Other motives?

Direct Costs and Indirect Impacts

Consider the cash flow. Gather all the invoices and receipts in one place throughout the planning and implementation.

These receipts may include:

• Location Rental
• Artist Fees
• Employee Wages
• Stipends or Grants
• Advertising Event
• Website Space and Maintenance
• Certificates and Awards
• Hospitality Bags
• Transportation/Lodging
• Food
• Sound Equipment
• And on and on and on!

Correlate the not-so-obvious impact with such things as:

• Hotel Occupancy Rates
• Restaurant Receipts
• Retail Sales
• Property Values

Classic Equations

• Cost Benefit Analysis = Expected Benefits vs. Expected Costs
• Return on Investment = (Income – Investment)/Investment
• Sales Tax Gap Analysis = Expected City Expenditures/Estimated Taxable Sales (less than one means leakage)
• Lifetime Value of a Patron = Annual Expenditure X Average Years Retention
• Economic Impact = Direct and Indirect Spending X Multiplier

Multiplier is a measure of how quickly new money “leaks” out of a geographic area.

Leakage is what fails to be consumed, attended, etc. and could refer to money, taxes, products, or performances.

If these equations seem “scary”, then recruit someone to work out these calculations for your event or organization.

Your Number Story

Tell the story of the event’s results once numbers are gathered about the audience, community impact, and other costs. What do you believe caused or impacted the numbers? Why?

Play with possibilities rather than being perfect in the answers.

The telling of this audience story may be most useful when shared aloud, written down, or recorded. There could be several versions of the story. As the story is told over and over, feel free to tweak or change the story as more information or insights are illuminated.

Sometimes the numbers provide a “happy ending” for the event. . .or it could be better described as a Greek tragedy. No matter the results, recognize that “things happen” for good or bad. Be humble with high and encouraging numbers. Comfort yourself that there will be improvement with any pit-of-the-stomach numbers.

Besides, you are involved. That should count for something!

***Besides collecting statistics for your event, search for any other number stories available for events that are either similar in art form, style, or that match your intended audience. When gathered before your event, personal goals could come from it. You might also gage your success by looking at those numbers.

Until we tell again,

Rachel Hedman

Professional Storyteller

Tel: (801) 870-5799
Email: info@rachelhedman.com

URL: http://www.rachelhedman.com/

How-To Blog: http://storytellingadventures.blogspot.com/

Family Famine Series Site: http://www.familyfamine.com/

Year of the Family Book: http://www.yearofthefamily.com
Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/rachelfans
Other places to find me: Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Professional Storyteller

The Story Box: World Celebrates One Story at a Time

Thanks goes to Kevin Cordi (pictured upper left) for granting permission to post pictures and to share comments from a telephone interview on December 19, 2008. The end of this post reveals how to have your own Story Box.

A box could hold the wonders of the world, especially if it is The Story Box. As you celebrate the New Year, consider The Story Box as a gift for you and your community. This would be a resolution worth sharing.

"Dare I say since 1995 at least a million people have participated with The Story Box," said Kevin Cordi. He is the 1st ever Academic-Storyteller in Residence at the Ohio State University's Multicultural Center. He has taken up the charge to share how stories can be used to help address issues such as diversity, leadership, transformation, and community.

Background and Current Endeavor

Cordi founded The Story Box Project in 1995 and its popularity inspired another launch beginning January 15, 2009 through June 2009. While working in partnership with the Multicultural Center, Cordi is spearheading a movement to continue to share Story Boxes around the world.

Cordi expressed that one time he attended a Story Box event with more than 800 people. At other times, a Story Box was shared with a more intimate group of five, ten, or twenty people. The numbers have grown, mostly due to how global this project has become.

At first it was going to be limited to the Ohio area. Then friends of Cordi asked, "Why can't I do it?"

Enough people approached Cordi that currently over 40 organizations and centers in and around Columbus, Ohio (see list at end of post) along with other locations including Singapore and Nicaragua will participate.

This six-month effort will culminate with a storytelling festival on June 3rd and 4th 2009 featuring community and university Story Box ambassadors selecting stories to share from their Story Boxes. During the year, noted storytellers Eth-Noh-Tec, Olga Loya, Onawumi Jean Moss, and Dovie Thomason as well as Cordi will present two-day residencies for the community and university to model story giving.

In June, each location's Story Box will be shipped around the world, traveling to a new place every three weeks, and finally returning one year later to Columbus.

Stories from The Story Box Journey
Sometimes The Story Box has its own story with the mailing itself. The box never reached past customs in China because they could not tell what was in it.

Another time a small school in India received the box. It was supposed to stay for three weeks. Seven months later, the box was still there and two people volunteered to travel to India to ensure its safe return.

Cordi laughed, "I never know how quick The Story Box will travel."

Since The Story Box could be sent anywhere in the world, some people may take an hour or two to translate your story. Cordi confirmed, "And people have done this." One of his fellow PhD classmates, Camille Cushman, is traveling to Nicaragua. She will take a video tape recorder and audio recorder to transcribe stories.

Cushman is the same person who recently worked with the famous Patch Adams, now known to some people through the movie that featured Robin Williams. Cushman has already created narratives for The Story Box using humor and puppetry with those who have little time left in hospitals and clinics.

Cordi added, "Some people have put in the original story or the original script and it is probably the only copy." The story would not be heard unless it was in The Story Box.

Though any kind of story could be placed in the box, the theme for 2009 is for stories to discuss peace or conflict resolution. Each Story Box will carry a message of peace along with countless stories that are real or imaginary.

A woman in New Mexico had The Story Box and the day she was going to ship it, she met the Dalai Lama and blew him a kiss. He blew a kiss back. When she told Cordi about her experience, he responded, "You should add that to The Story Box."

She gasped, "I didn't think I could."

Types of Story Contributions
Cordi has had other people wonder what would be considered "appropriate" to put in The Story Box.

The Story Box defines story as any means to share narrative. Past contributions have included: DVDs, photographic images, small paintings, posters, MP3s, fiction and non-fiction. "I consider this global publishing. Not only will hundreds and thousands of others read, listen, or view their work, but the Story Ambassadors will encourage others to share this work in an organized way," Cordi stated.

Cordi admitted that when he created The Story Box, he expected print stories. "People surprised me by putting in chapter books, newspapers about Walla Walla, WA, a beautiful handmade fabric from India, and CDs and DVDs of professional storytellers."

These items have found a home in The Story Box as much as any print stories.

Internet vs. Physical Box
Though the Internet allows for a digital box, Cordi encouraged that people host an actual physical box. He expounded, "I want a physical feeling of receiving story, something I can hold in my hand or listen on a CD, so they know that value of really being touched by story. It's an emotional experience when you hold stories in your hand or listen to them."

Cordi saw the Internet more as a way to spread the word about the project rather than becoming the project. He reiterated, "On the Internet you get lost. I think it's a wonderful tool, but the old-fashioned way of sending something to someone says so much more." Cordi continued, "People say we don't write letters anymore, but we know what it feels to get one."

He compared The Story Box experience to when a child waits by the mailbox for that birthday gift from his favorite aunt. The mailbox suddenly becomes the giver of gifts. The wait could be unbearable, though eventually the boy howls with delight and all is worth it. Perhaps the mystery that the mailbox grants is better than sneak peaking in the closet for presents.

The Hunger for Stories
There is a certain hunger for stories and the mysteries each one may hold.

"Someone once told me they were story-starved." This prompted Cordi to reflect on his own life. "When I was 18, I was starved."

At 18, he discovered tapes of professional storytellers like Jay O'Callahan and Elizabeth Ellis and he could feel a little more satisfied, but this only increased his craving for stories. Many people around the nation witnessed as Cordi went on a crusade.

He urged, "We need to feed people stories so they know who they are. We need to value each others' words." Cordi added, "After 14 years as an educator, I don't want to see people starve for something with little or no expense." He upheld that The Story Box Project, and in particular the stories created and shared as a result, could feed others when they need to be nourished.

How Can I Help?
Cordi is enlisting "Story Ambassadors". Story Ambassadors will collect stories and serve as hosts for the "Drop-Off" location for The Story Box Project. Story Ambassadors will also send their Story Boxes to the Ohio State University Multicultural Center (MCC) in June 2009 so that they can be part of the global launch.

Individuals can host a Story Box by sending an email to Kevin Cordi at kcteller@sbcglobal.net or calling (614) 272-6153.

People can find out more about The Story Box Project at http://kevincordi.com/storybox.html. A digital story detailing The Story Box can also be found on Kevin's website at http://kevincordi.com/storybox-av.html where educators, community members, librarians, and school personnel have shared their own stories.

In the month of May each Story Box location will swap with another location to celebrate the new stories. Throughout the year, the MCC will present internationally known storytellers in free public performances and workshops. Details are on the MCC's site at http://multiculturalcenter.osu.edu.

People can send a physical copy of a story (or many stories) or by email to kcteller@sbcglobal.net to be placed in one of the boxes. People may photocopy stories, but the originals must remain in the box. Imagine such a treasure from all over the country arriving in your city or country to share.

After the storytelling festival in June, The Story Boxes will travel around the world, including Northern Ireland, Singapore, Nicaragua, and Japan. The Story Boxes will return one year later and the celebration will begin again.

The following organizations are committed Story Box Drop-Off Sites. A full list with contacts will be available on the MCC's site by January 15, 2009.

• VoiceCorps
• Columbus City Schools
• Bexley City School District
• The Multicultural Center at the Ohio State University
• St. Matthias School
• Office of Minority Affairs of the Ohio State University
• Dublin Scioto High School
• St. Mathews School
• "Step Back from the Baggage Claim" Organization
• Yellow Springs, Ohio (various places and organizations)
• Communities/Schools in Singapore
• Ohio State University Folklore Department
• Columbus State College Student Ambassador Program
• Southern Ohio Central Storytellers
• Undergraduate Student Academic Service Administration & Academic Advising
• Columbus Area Writing Project
• Herbert Mills School
• Fairmont College, West Virginia
• Columbus State International Student Association
• Collected stories from Nicaragua, via OSU Student
• Ohio State University College of Teaching and Learning, The Martha King Center
• Kerouac Kafe
• Avery Elementary School
• Mont Vernon Middle School
• United Church of Christ
• Ohio State University Residence Halls
• Community Work in Middleport, Ohio
• Saint Pius Catholic School
• Brown Mackie College in Cincinnati
• The Athletic Club of Columbus
• Hickory Ridge Elementary School
• Medical Care Facilities in Columbus
• The Ohioanna Library
• Saint Andrews Catholic School
• The Center for Teaching and Writing, Ohio State University
• Orient Correctional Facility
• Princeville Grade School, Illinois
• Hinds Feet Farm, North Carolina
  

Until we tell again,

Rachel Hedman

Professional Storyteller

Former Co-Chair of Youth, Educators, and Storytellers Alliance

Tel: (801) 870-5799
Email: info@rachelhedman.com

URL: http://www.rachelhedman.com

How-To Blog: http://storytellingadventures.blogspot.com

Performance Blog: http://familyfamine.blogspot.com
Other places to find me: Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Professional Storyteller