Nonprofit Award for
Excellence

SPRINGBOARD FOR THE ARTS

Springboard for the Arts believes that individuals can and should make a living and a life doing creative work. Springboard has made this possible for artists and small, artist-led organizations by providing resources, education, and consultation services for more than 20 years. Springboard helps artists navigate complex systems, like healthcare and copyright law; learn and develop best business practices, and build audiences and revenue. Springboard’s services encourage the growth of the independent creative sector, and bring economic vitality to neighborhoods, communities and the region. Springboard’s mission is to cultivate a vibrant community by connecting artists with the skills, information and services they need to make a living and a life.

In 2004, Springboard for the Arts entered a new era in the organization’s history. At that time, the organization was experiencing lagging financial support and programs were generated on an ad hoc basis. In response, the board and staff launched a strategic planning process, eventually resulting in a leadership transition, and rededicated organization purpose.

The ensuing six years have brought invigorating growth and change to the organization and innovative services to constituents.

Springboard now has a “living strategic plan” which allows them to make in-course corrections as needed. They have adopted a dashboard that tracks financial indicators and program outputs, creating shared understanding of key issues and more effective board meetings. The board is engaged and has a clear sense of governance and responsibility. The organization has adopted and uses creative evaluation tools to determine which projects and partnerships to pursue. They have improved their financial position, and they have identified new ways to attract donors and partners, including securing national grants.

As a result, the organization has accomplished a number of impressive goals.

1. Springboard has expanded programs regionally to serve the five-state Upper Midwest.
2. The organization has developed healthcare programs to serve uninsured and underinsured artists.
3. They created an extensive fiscal sponsorship model to support small unincorporated arts organizations that includes fund management, access to legal referrals, peer convenings at networking opportunities, check writing services and 1099 preparation for contractors, an extensive fiscal manual, development support and consultation services.
4. And they launched an innovative new program, Community Supported Art (CSA) to help connect artists directly with new patrons.

Springboard for the Arts clearly demonstrated its alignment with the Principles and Practices for Nonprofit Excellence and as such, has been awarded the 2010 Nonprofit Award for Excellence in a Small Organization.

WILDERNESS INQUIRY

Since 1978, Wilderness Inquiry has pioneered integrated outdoor programs, setting best practice standards and serving more than 275,000 people with and without disabilities from Minnesota and around the world.

This nonprofit organization was founded on the idea that shared outdoor experiences have the power to transform individuals and communities – a discovery made after an eight-day trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area for 12 people with and without disabilities, organized to demonstrate that motors were not required for the handicapped, the elderly and women to access the wilderness. While the original intent may have been to keep motors out of the Boundary Waters, the result was the discovery that shared wilderness adventures with mixed groups of people bring out the best in all involved.

Today, Wilderness Inquiry continues to bring out the best in people thanks to underlying excellence throughout the organization, as demonstrated by its alignment with the Principles and Practices for Nonprofit Excellence and noteworthy accomplishments.

Wilderness Inquiry has:

• Formed strategic alliances with the National Park Service, the Mississippi River Fund, the Minneapolis and Saint Paul schools, and other organizations, in order to connect 10,000 urban youth annually to the amazing outdoor activities in their own backyard.
• Used strategic planning to achieve aggressive growth goals for each of the past 15 years; and ended 2009 as one of their most successful years ever, in terms of people served, achieving mission and meeting revenue goals.
• Completed two successful capital campaigns in the last 10 years, resulting in establishing an office headquarters and warehouse in Dinkytown and an outpost near Little Sand Bay which serves as a base camp for their Apostle Islands’ programs.
• Achieved donor loyalty. Ninety percent of the organization’s donors have been giving for five years or more with an average gift of $250 or more.
• Developed a board recruitment matrix that appears to be a best practice.
• Active collaborations with more than 100 different organizations serving youth, families, people with disabilities, low-income families and the elderly.
• Actively engaged in evaluating the results of its work both through internal and independent studies. (Participated in more than 30 independent studies.)

Wilderness Inquiry clearly demonstrates its alignment with the Principles and Practices for Nonprofit Excellence and as such, has been awarded the 2010 Nonprofit Award for Excellence in a Large Organization.