An Interview with Shelley Rugg
Making community art a successful nonprofit business.
I have strong ties to West Marin, a stunning region of two dozen small towns and many ranches. When Shelley Rugg attended one of my fundraising workshops for small nonprofits (hosted by the West Marin Fund) she really wowed me! Read on to learn about her home-GROwn story as a new executive director and her fearless donor engagement.
Tell us about your nonprofit.
A group of local artists started Gallery Route One (GRO) in Point Reyes Station (CA) to pool resources, share space, and exhibit together. GRO became a nonprofit in 1983. Volunteer members created most of our programs:
Artists in the Schools connects young people with naturalists and professional artists, making art while learning about the environment in West Marin.
Visiting Artists invites non-GRO members to exhibit on themes like environment and social justice.
Latino Photography Project builds skills and self-esteem, empowering community members as professional artists. As our program co-director (and former participant) says, “GRO helped me feel like I belonged in America after moving from Mexico.”
A Fellowship offers stipends, exhibition opportunities, and honorary GRO memberships to two young artists each year.
Tell us about you. How did you come to this work?
I became executive director (ED) a few years ago. My journey included board member, volunteer grant writer, gift shop manager, and gallery coordinator! I wasn’t a Gallery artist, so getting to know the organizational culture was really important – and hard at first. It is important to me to have a deep understanding of how things are before I suggest changes.
I'm new to fundraising and, in many ways, so is GRO.
How is your revenue structured?
It breaks down into earned income…
Gallery artists pay nominal dues and volunteer.
An annual juried show brings in application fees, and better event technology has helped grow revenue.
Retail sales include artwork by Gallery artists and visiting artists, and gift shop items.
…and donations:
Our Annual 26-year fundraiser – The Box Show – has a silent auction where 150 artists transform plain wood boxes into artwork for sale.
The year-end appeal expanded last year to include our base of consistent supporters.
A new Molé Dinner for Latino Photography Project has been very successful.
A spring fundraising e-blast was inspired by our first-ever matching gift challenge.
Grants historically came from only two foundations. This year, a grant writer has helped us connect with and receive funding from several new foundations.
Fundraising had been the “job” of a group of members and the well-connected board president. Then things changed – a new board president and a funder directive, asking that we use their grant to develop our financial sustainability.
Now the board is actively working on a strategic Resilience Plan to build financial stability. It includes investing in infrastructure: bringing in a financial manager to oversee program-related expenses, hiring a development manager to diversify revenue, and getting staff salaries up to par.
Staff have had the stress of doing a lot of work while limiting their hours, so we could keep costs down.
So our $300,000 budget is increasing as we experience a lot of planned growth. It’s the first time I’ve had a fundraising plan and strategy to present. We’re a small team – 7 staff, most are program directors and all are part-time. Contractors help with website, bookkeeping, and PR.
What about the nonprofit world has surprised you?
For years, the artists and founders did all the work and all the fundraising. A key leader’s passing was a catalyst for change, and GRO hired its first executive director. It wasn’t the right person, and made the board wary of bringing in an outsider. I’d never been an ED, so I went into it with beginner’s mind. I knew how to work with artists, I'm a fast learner and I like to collaborate. I joke that …
“I don’t know if I’m EDing correctly.”
A friend connected me to a mentor who’d been in a similar role and it was hugely beneficial. She helped me to understand that no one knows how to do everything, and it’s OK to ask for help.
Growth has happened in unexpected ways. We’d planned to expand into an adjoining space and had the lease in hand, yet decided it wasn’t the right move. Three months later COVID hit, and we counted our blessings.
We had to rethink Artists in the Schools and invited, for the first time, a non-Gallery artist to run the program.
Surprising factors can influence donors. We lost a major donor over a philosophical difference about vaccines, something completely unrelated to our mission.
Share a donor success.
One of our foundations offered a grant opportunity focused on community enrichment, so we applied for a new Art Walk program.
Then the same funder offered two grants: a small one for organizational effectiveness, and a large one for collaborative impact. We applied for both, and got the smaller grant – with feedback that we didn’t have the financial stability yet for their larger grant. The funder suggested we focus the $10,000 grant there, and create a plan to move towards a place where a $100,000 grant would make sense. It also paid for a professional grant writer.
Our financial Resilience Plan includes growing our support base by building donor relationships, like hosting small fundraisers. I thought of someone, and my email led to a Zoom meeting.
I was very honest with the donor. “I’ve never done this before, and I want you to know that we have this goal of financial stability. And part of that is growing our donor base. Could you help us with that?”
I asked him…
Would you host a fundraiser for a program you’ve supported? He said yes.
Will you be on the board? He said no, but then offered to help with a strategic plan.
So he hosted a donor appreciation event at his home, a “gathering of artists.” I invited the artists; he invited other folks. One guest said he only supports the regional community foundation, but then asked, “How much money would it take for GRO to feel more financially stable.” I wasn’t ready for that question, but did a quick calculation and came up with $25,000. The next morning, he emailed me that he would give $12,500 if we raised the other half. So we sent a special spring e-blast appeal and raised it! I kept the donor informed all along, and let him know when we reached the goal
So twice I turned a “no” into a “yes”! We also reached out to individual donors and our board saying that, with their support, we could do this every year.
Where do you find connection? What helps when the going is tough?
I’m a member of Nonprofit Leadership Lab with Joan Garry. They have lots of resources on their website, including video workshops. It’s a tether – a place I can go to ask “How do I do this? Am I doing this right.” The local community foundation also has an Executive Directors’ Group, and that’s been a great support network – especially when we were navigating COVID.
Connect with Shelley and support her work through Gallery Route One.
Wow! What an inspiration! Not a word wasted in telling this stellar story.