February 2012 Engage - Major Events and Their Impact

Compiled by Jeff Olmeda, Rick L'Amie and Marie-Claire Topper
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Austin has been bitten by the festival fever bug and we like it. That was the consensus of the interactive audience poll conducted during this morning's Engage breakfast - part of our ongoing ATXpansion series. The topic focused on major events (from SXSW to the ACL Music Festival and more) and their impact. Austin has become a destination for many top-drawing festivals and conferences that not only shape the city, but also reflect its character. What's more, 50 percent of attendees participating in the live poll said that Austin could use more major events for their economic and quality of life benefits.

February 2012 Engage Panelists (from left to right): Hugh Forrest, SXSW Interactive;
Jon Roberts, TIP Strategies; Lisa Hickey, C3 Presents; Geoff Moore, Circuit of
the Americas; and moderator Shannon Wolfson, KXAN News

UPDATE I: Some sample "soundbites" from our panelists:

• Hugh Forest - Event Director, SXSW Interactive Festival
  SXSW generated $167 million in 2011. We actually increased badge prices for Interactive part to scare people away... but people still come to Interactive. People love a scarce commodity. This is what makes a festival successful. We try to incorporate the community by having free shows, and there are also "spinoff" events to be a part of the festival.
• Jon Roberts - Principal, TIP Strategies
  We can sustain more events in Austin. That's what it means to be an international city. We are never disappointed in Austin. There is always something to do every night because we are international.
• Lisa Hickey - Festival Marketing Director, C3 Presents
  ACL is successful because it infuses Austin's culture. Approximately 60 percent of attendees are from Austin, 23 percent are outside of Texas, and two percent are international. ACL has contributed around $4 million to local charity organizations.
• Geoff Moore - Chief Sales Marketing Officer, Circuit of the Americas
  On opening day, F1 is expecting one third [of the attendees to come from] Texas, one-third from elsewhere in the U.S., and one third international. F1 is trying to build something great. The market determines the pricing.

You can listen to the full conversation in our podcast below, but we'd like to hear from you as well. Do you agree with the attendees who say Austin should have more events? Do the the economic and quality of life benefits outweigh the negatives addressed today such as traffic, lack of hotel space, and rising ticket prices? What thoughts or concerns do you have about festivals and their impact? Leave a comment below and let us know!

As always, many thanks to our presenting sponsor Capital One Bank and special thanks to our program partners - The Long Center for the Performing Arts, KXAN News, Sterling Affairs Catering and Events - and our mobile technology partner 44Doors.

UPDATE II:: Media and blog coverage of the breakfast:

• Blogger Thom Singer: Some Assembly Required
• Community Impact News Event Recap

References from the discussion:

• ACL Music Festival
• Circuit of the Americas
• SXSW
• TIP Strategies
• The Austin Equation

Audio:

Download this audio file (MP3)

Subscribe to the Leadership Austin Podcast via iTunes

Live polling results:

Mouse over the pie charts below for more information on each of the responses.

January 2012 Essential Class - Transportation and Housing

Guest post from Essential Class of 2012 participant Amber Vasquez Bode. The January 2012 class day theme was "Transportation, Land Use, and Housing." 
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Austin City Council Member Chris Riley

Our housing and transportation day started off with a bang via Chris Riley. I came into his presentation curious because I live in Allandale, where the battle with Walmart went down a few years ago and he was a key player. His presentation advocated form based codes over traditional zoning, and he put forward a strong case by unveiling plans for a revamped Airport Blvd. corridor as well as a new Highland Mall area corridor. Of course, my classmates and I wanted to know about plans for other areas of town, since it seemed like the East side has been getting all of the love these days.

It sounded like there was a lot of unanimous community support in the areas that were currently on the radar, especially since the two mentioned in the presentation had nowhere to go but up. It makes sense, but is still a little disheartening for the rest of the run down corridors in need of makeovers in other areas.

Mike Clark-Madison followed with more discussion on land use and housing, examples of amazing results from form-based codes were shown and made me start wondering what was the opposition? It seemed to make so much sense- why not?

Lucy Galbraith tied it all together with an in-depth discussion on transportation planning. It was exciting to hear potential solutions to our chronic mobility crisis, but the challenge became clear to me, at least through discussion at my table. As we discussed bonds to pay for all of the new plans and allotting the extra tax revenue to pay for them, Lisa Fielder made the point that she has no interest in paying for projects on the other side of town from where she lived and already paid a fortune in taxes. We all felt the heat of high taxes, and the struggle with how our city gets from here to there came into focus. The transportation plans seemed awesome and ambitious, but still left me wanting even more solutions for the price tag.

The stakeholder engagement exercise we did after lunch was pretty enlightening, and certainly challenged a lot of assumptions I came in with as to who had the power and who was important in community debates. The following panel discussion highlighted some intriguing innovations from car sharing to building mini houses in peoples back yards. I couldn't help myself from asking the same question (again- I know) about why housing in central Austin seems to overlook larger families. The answer from Laurie Loew and Lisa Garcia was that large families need to stop thinking bigger is better and learn to live together in small spaces again, as they did with their respective huge families growing up. Fair enough.  Monica Williams at my table had a strong argument for packing it up and moving out of central Austin if I wanted more space. However, Lisa Fielder held her ground and made it clear that she had no intention of sharing space just because she lived central and felt no obligation to do so to allow more people to be central. All valid perspectives, I felt lucky to be around such informed people.

Amber Vasquez Bode is a Criminal Law Attorney with the Vasquez Law Firm in Austin, Texas.

January 2012 Engage - Water Use and Management

Expert panelists shared some sobering but thoughtful insights on water use and management at today's Engage Speaker Series breakfast at the Long Center. If you missed this important discussion, the audio podcast is below along with references from the discussion and the results of our live audience polling.

January Engage breakfast at the Long Center

What can you do to get engaged in the conversations and solutions surrounding water in Central Texas? Here are some suggestions from the panel:

• Becky Motal - General Manager, LCRA
  We have to develop new supplies and better conjunctive uses of water. Become leaders and help develop new water supplies so the State of Texas can remain a healthy economic engine.
• Laura Huffman - Texas State Director, The Nature Conservancy
  1) Manage existing supplies - the state water plan is our strategy to do that, but it needs funding; 2) Be really careful about protecting water quality in a drought situation; 3) Develop creative partnerships with corporations on water conservation commitments; 4) Help champion the need to create a standing, statewide consortium on this issue.
• Carlos Rubinstein - Commissioner, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
  More people have to recognize that the drought affects them personally. Every drop is precious. Every one of us needs to realize that we can't grow the economy without water. We need to fund the strategies that are already in place.
• Greg Meszaros - Director, City of Austin Water Utility
  Educate yourself. Expect to see water funding increase in the future and realize that it will take a long time to make these changes. Be innovative. Consider the wise use and reuse of water.

Thanks to KXAN's Jim Spencer for being our moderator this morning. Be sure to check out KXAN.com's ATXpansion section for more on this and other important community issues. UPDATE: Watch the KXAN News story below.

Thank you as well to our presenting sponsor, Capital One Bank, and special thanks to our program partners - The Long Center for the Performing Arts, KXAN News, Sterling Affairs Catering and Events - and our mobile technology partner 44Doors.

Attendees using the live polling technology from 44Doors

What did you think of the discussion? What are your plans for addressing this issue personally? Leave a comment and let us know!

References from the discussion:

• City of Austin Water Utility
• LCRA
• The Nature Conservancy
• Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
• 2012 State of Texas Water Plan

Images:
Visit our Facebook page for images from the breakfast.

Audio:

Download this audio file (MP3)

Subscribe to the Leadership Austin Podcast via iTunes

Live polling results:

We asked the audience to indicate the level of importance

they place on the following statements:

Statement 1: The drought's impact on my personal water use.

Statement 2: The drought's impact on property values.

Statement 3: The drought's impact on recreational activities.

Statement 4: The drought's impact on agriculture.

December 2011 Essential Class - A Day for Diversity and Inclusion

Guest post from Essential Class of 2012 participant Ruth Gardner-Loew. The December 2011 class day theme was "Diversity and Inclusion."
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December 14 was the third time since September that the Leadership Austin Essential Class of 2012 met for our monthly, all-day class. Each session had been inspiring and uplifting, but as I sat there and listened and learned and marveled at what was presented throughout the day, I felt deep gratitude and joy to be a part of it.

We were just a few weeks past Thanksgiving, and still a few weeks away from Christmas and the New Year - the perfect time for introspection and “next step” planning. This “Diversity and Inclusion” class day offered lessons that obliged each of us to take serious, personal stock of the meaning of those ideas. Ultimately, we saw that no matter how liberal and open minded we are, we still form stereotypes about people – especially those different from ourselves – and we observed how we interact with those who are “different” than us and our friends. The goal was to structure what we observed and learned into strengths that help us become better leaders.

Dr. Jean Latting and Stephanie Foy of Leading Consciously lead a workshop that helped us reflect on our personal leadership style and its effectiveness (or lack thereof), and gave concrete examples of how to bridge communication gaps. They helped us recognize how Dominance Dynamics work in society, and personalized it by separating the class into Dominants and Non-Dominants based on obvious characteristics like race, gender and religion. The differences between the experiences of Dominants and Non-Dominants becomes pretty obvious when you own being a part of a particular group, and when you own how you operate as a leader depending on whether your decisions are based on Dominate or Non-Dominate experiences. To be clear, most of us belong to many different groups and experience both roles, depending on the situation.

The exercise that intrigued me the most was “Perceptions of Power & Privilege.” Think about it:

• Dominants are presumed to be competent – Non-Dominants have to prove themselves again and again
• Dominants are more likely to find doors open to them – Non-Dominants are denied regular access to the opportunities Dominants take for granted
• Dominants assume their opinions and perspectives will be treated as normal, general and universally true – Non-Dominants have their opinions and perspectives labeled as “special interest

Even more intriguing was that Dominants are typically unaware of Dominance Dynamics, while Non-Dominants are acutely aware of Dominance Dynamics. Leading consciously, facilitating good communication between vastly different groups, and getting us out of our comfort zones to become stronger leaders was high on the agenda.

Classes are structured to provide food for the brain and for the body, and a day of learning wouldn’t be complete without healthy living guidelines. Paul Carrozza of RunTex gave us his tried-and-proven-successful approach to healthy living balanced with exercise and diet. Before offering expert advice on how to prepare for marathons, he equipped us for training for the Statesman Capitol 10K by offering each class member a pair of custom fitted jogging shoes and a 2012 Leadership Austin team, t-shirt. I love exercising, but I’ve never been a jogger, and Paul’s advice for first time runners or walkers to start out very gradually was welcome news.

H-E-B Dietician Kylie Bentley

Lunch was fun, because not only did H-E-B dietician Kylie Bentley plan the healthy, tasty menu that was presented, she also showed us how to prepare delicious, health-supporting holiday snacks like Tamale Sliders, Dark Chocolate Mint Covered Pretzels, and Berry Cheesecake Bites. Yummmm... now all I need to do is find time to cook!

Finally, communications specialist Barbara Miller showed us how to speak from the heart, and introduced a session in which Essential Class alumni guided small groups on an introspective journey designed to make us aware of how events that took place early in our lives marked us and helped shape who we are today. We were all surprised by how deeply we’ve been influenced by seemingly small, sometimes long forgotten incidents. Well done, and a very fitting close to a day that allowed us to look into the mirror and study ourselves with honesty and impunity, and to continue towards our goal of becoming stronger leaders who know how to bridge communication barriers.

Ruth Gardner-Loew is Executive Director at Atticus Circle and a Certified Feng Shui Consultant with Healthy Homes and Workplaces.

Reflections on Giving

What better time to discuss the state of giving in Central Texas than right around the holidays, the season of giving. And just four weeks into my role as Leadership Austin’s new Fund Development Director, what better topic to have as my first Engage Speaker Series breakfast. As you read in the previous blog post, our panel was an esteemed group: Jeff Garvey of Austin Community Foundation, Gerry Tucker of A Legacy of Giving, Patsy Woods Martin of I Live Here, I Give Here and Lynn Meredith, noted philanthropist and president of the MFI Foundation, with Jim Spencer of KXAN News as our moderator.

The discussion did not shy away from acknowledging the tough economic times and the impact on giving.  However, as Jeff Garvey reported, giving turned in a strong figure in 2010 of nearly $300 billion. And while the corporate world has been hard hit, he was quick to point out that corporate giving has remained stagnant for the past decade at only 5% of that giving total. So where do nonprofits look towards for donations? Individuals make up roughly three-quarters of total giving. From here, the discussion turned especially interesting and insightful.

2010 Charitable Contributions
*Estimate provided by the Foundation Center
Source: Giving USA 2011

While the discussion on philanthropy was approached from both the donor and nonprofit perspectives, what it all boils down to is the same: passion. As Jeff so eloquently shared, “Good giving is at the intersection of the heart and the mind.”  For me, the themes that kept bubbling up were the same as Leadership Austin’s four core values. Here below are our core values and how the panelists unsuspectingly tied into them:

Community Trusteeship: This value is core to the existence of nonprofit organizations; however, perhaps we need more work helping less-experienced donors feel this same level of trusteeship. Gerry Tucker’s work with A Legacy of Giving is a shining example of this by teaching children philanthropy at a very early age. As she said, it’s just not logical to ask people to write a check to your organization without first asking that person to get involved with your organization. In addition to nonprofit leaders needing to be trained to be good fundraisers, people need to be trained to be good donors.

Inclusiveness: Towards the end of the discussion, the panelists tackled the question of how donors can be involved and feel as though their small dollar contributions make a difference. Several years ago while interning at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (a multi-million dollar private nonprofit organization), I listened to the head of External Affairs say that “there are no small gifts”. That stuck with me and informs my approach to development. As Patsy Woods Martin said that morning, “no matter the size of the gift, you are a philanthropist.” The sooner we can shift thinking away from “donor” equals “large sum gifts”, the sooner we begin to understand that there are no racial, economic, gender, etc. boundaries to giving.

More on Leadership Austin's Core Values

Collaborative Decision-Making: Every discussion about nonprofit organizations in Central Texas points out that there is an overabundance of nonprofits in our region. Lynn Meredith cited the early 2000s, when nonprofits really came together in those tough economic times to collaborate or join efforts. Perhaps we again have the right climate to make this possible again. In any case, donors like to see organizations partnering and working together in ways that make sense and show that the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts.

Personal Responsibility: It is no surprise that one of my favorite quotes of the breakfast was Jeff Garvey saying that people need to “get into the habit of writing checks” and that everyone should be a volunteer. I heard Ray Benson once say that with the limited time we have on this earth, we all have a responsibility to say “yes” as often as we can. Each of us must play a part in making a personal impact of our community.

Maybe it’s because 2012 is fast approaching, but this week’s Engage breakfast has really made me reflect, and I encourage the same for you. Why don’t we all think about what more we can be doing, whether it be as donors or fundraisers, or as corporate employees, public servants or nonprofit staff. ‘Tis the season to give … a little more.

December 2011 Engage - The State of Giving

Collaboration, creativity, and a focus on volunteers were some the of the key topics addressed by an expert panel at the December 6 Engage breakfast. A sold-out crowd of more than 150 filled the Kodosky Lounge at the Long Center for the Performing Arts to hear Jeff Garvey (President and CEO, Austin Community Foundation), Patsy Woods Martin (Founder and Executive Director, I Live Here, I Give Here) Lynn Meredith (President, MFI Foundation), and Gerry Tucker (Vice Chair, A Legacy of Giving; VP of Human Resources, Austin Community College) discuss the state of philanthropy in Central Texas. KXAN Chief Weathercaster Jim Spencer moderated the panel.

UPDATE: read a great recap of the event from speaker and consultant Thom Singer, and see the coverage from Community Impact News and KXAN-TV.

December Engage breakfast in the Long Center's Kodosky Lounge

The panel also addressed corporate giving. According to Garvey, only five percent of the $300 billion in charitable giving in 2010 came from corporations. However, Garvey acknowledged that, like struggling non-profits, businesses large and small have been hit hard by the economy. Through an interactive mobile poll provided by 44Doors, audience members strongly supported the notion that companies should give more.

Here are a few other notable comments from our panelists:

• There are more non-profits in Central Texas than gas stations and restaurants combined. -Jeff Garvey
• When economic times impacted Austin in the past, non-profits came together. Collaborations happened, new non-profits formed; we have an opportunity to do that again. It's something positive we can focus on. -Lynn Meredith
• There is no magic to raising money. It's a process. It's about meeting the needs of the individuals from whom we want support. Are you doing it [fundraising] reactively, or are you doing intentionally? -Patsy Woods Martin
• Do your homework. It is a process and there's a way to do it. It really is 'why do you believe in it?' The most important thing is to take care of that donor afterwards - whether they say yes or no. Staying in that relationship is critical because you don't know when they may be ready to give. -Lynn Meredith
• Connect the donor with what you do. Find what tugs at their hearts, and be creative. If you're running your agency like you always used to run it, it won't work any more. You have to do things differently. -Gerry Tucker
• There is no substitute for passion. Passion is contagious. Have your most passionate people delivering the ask. -Jeff Garvey

Complete polling results from the event are below, along with references from the discussion and the audio podcast. Thanks again to our presenting sponsor, Capital One Bank, and special thanks to our program partners, The Long Center for the Performing Arts, KXAN News, and Sterling Affairs Catering and Events.

Now it's your turn... stay engaged and get informed! What did you think of the program? What are your next steps for taking a leading role seeing that philanthropy is promoted and applauded in Austin? How can Leadership Austin help? Leave a comment and let us know!

References from the discussion:

• Austin Community Foundation
• I Live Here, I Give Here
• A Legacy of Giving
• Blackbaud report: Growing Philanthropy in the United States
• 44 Doors - our mobile technology partner
• Support Leadership Austin

Audio:

Download this audio file (MP3)

Subscribe to the Leadership Austin Podcast via iTunes

Live polling results:

Question 1: I wish I could give more to charitable organizations,

but my personal finances take priority in the current economy.

Question 2: The charitable organizations I (or my company)

support have had to cut programs or resources in a

way that reduces the quality of life in our community.

Question 3: For-profit companies have a responsibility to help

fill the philanthropy gap through increased corporate giving.

Collaboration and the Creative Arts

Guest post from Essential 2010 graduate and Engage attendee Karen LaShelle.
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Tuesday morning I had the pleasure of attending Leadership Austin’s Engage breakfast discussing the capacity of the creative arts in Austin. As the director of a local nonprofit arts organization, Theatre Action Project, and someone who has been involved with a number of initiatives to research and plan for the sustainability and growth of the creative sector, it was a truly fascinating discussion. And, I was pleased to see such a packed house at 7:30 am!

The conversation began with a great question by moderator Leslie Rhode to kickoff the discussion: “Does the arts community have the support it needs to grow as Austin grows?” Panelists discussed the various and typical barriers to growth for local arts organizations, such as low attendance and weak philanthropy. It seems we artistic folks discuss these predicaments at every gathering when brainstorming how to save the arts... yet, it doesn’t seem like these problems are going away any time soon. But then a new idea emerged that seemed to offer tangible possibilities for sustaining the arts in Austin: focus on collaboration.

What are the untapped opportunities for creating partnerships between the arts and the business sector? The truth is that the arts community and the business sector NEED each other, and perhaps neither legion locally has quite realized this yet. Arts organizations need funding and patrons, and arts leaders could benefit from the help of savvy business professionals. Businesses need Austin to maintain its cultural life and to produce an innovative, critically-thinking workforce... plus, they need venues to market their brand! The arts are undeniably a critical part of what makes Austin alluring to young talent from across the country, and the arts and arts education are foundational to fueling innovation, creativity and the entrepreneurial spirit. If this potentially symbiotic - and mostly untapped - relationship between these two sectors can be fully articulated and carried out by arts and business leaders, the arts community can grow and thrive AND business will prosper, too. Long Center ED Jamie Grant offered, "we need to think of these as business to business relationships that are about marketing opportunities, not philanthropy," which seems like the heart of it. Arts orgs can’t ask for money just because we know the arts are important. We need to help businesses see how we can help them, too.

Refocusing some (we won’t give up on expanding the audience and donor base, too!) of our efforts towards collaborations seems like a critical step in sustainability. I know that this was certainly an “A-Ha” moment for me. I plan to spend time thinking about the mutually beneficial goals Theatre Action Project can discover with local businesses. As we reach youth and families in seven school districts every week with our dynamic arts programs, we might just have something to offer businesses who want to reach a new audience.

Karen LaShelle is Executive and Artistic Director at Theatre Action Project.