Page 52 - CJMay25

Repertoire & Resources

complicated-relationship-between-audience-building-
strategies-and-financial. Community Choirs
7 “20 Key Challenges for US Charities in 2025 and How to
Overcome Them,” FundsforNGOs— United States, January Matt Hill
13, 2025, us.fundsforngos.org/articles/20-key-challenges- National Community Choirs Chair
for-us-charities-in-2025-and-how-to-overcome-them/. matt@singomaha.org
8 Kellie Ray, “The Top Five Challenges for Nonprofits in
2023,” plante moran, July 20, 2023, www.plantemoran.
com/explore-our-thinking/insight/2023/07/the-top-
five-challenges-for-nonprofits-in-2023. Choral Connections:
9 Scott Konrad, “Strategic Imperatives for Nonprofits in 2024 Building Community Among Conductors
and Beyond,” The Center for asae, Association Leadership, Jan- By Matt Hill
uary 3, 2023, www.asaecenter.org/resources/articles/
an_plus/2024/01-january/strategic-imperatives-for- One of the most compelling benefits of participating
nonprofits-in-2024-and-beyond. in choir is the sense of belonging it fosters. In a world
10 Ali Kelley, Darren Isom, Bradley Seeman, Julia Silver- where social isolation and loneliness are increasing, and
man, Analia Cuevas-Ferreras, and Katrina Frei-Herrmann, where screentime is increasing among all demograph-
“A New Look at How US Nonprofits Get Really Big,” ics in the U.S. population, the act of singing together in
Stanford Social Innovation Review, June 20, 2024. https:// a choir is almost countercultural. Choir members work
ssir.org/articles/entry/big-nonprofits-funding-revenue. collaboratively toward shared goals, such as preparing
11 Anne Napolitano, “Nonprofit Financial Sustainability: Build- for concerts or improving vocal techniques, which cul-
ing a Strong Foundation for Long-Term Impact,” tivates a sense of camaraderie and teamwork, and cre-
Anne Napolitano Consulting, Inc, October 9, 2023, ates a final product that is greater than the sum of the
www.napolitanoaccounting.com/nonprofit-financial- individual contributions.
sustainability-building-a-strong-foundation-for-long-term- As choral conductors, we are intimately familiar with
impact/. the values and benefits associated with participating in
12 Ibid. a choir. We’ve given our professional lives (and some
13 “Transforming Nonprofit Business Models,” Propel Nonprof- of our personal lives) to maintaining and perpetuating
its, 2024, propelnonprofits.org/resources/transforming- the choral art and the communities that surround it.
nonprofit-business-models/. This profession, however, is by its nature isolated and
14 Brent Sykes, “Understanding a Nonprofit Form of Orches- isolating. The responsibilities go well beyond rehears-
tral Music Education through the Ecological Political ing and concertizing, and in most cases we are the lone
Metaphor: The Case of El Sistema Oklahoma,” Shareok. captains of our respective programs, be they scholastic,
org, May 2017, shareok.org/items/1c4d37ea-9e97-49c2- parochial, or community ensembles. While many of us
87f4-226becd3928e. Accessed January 18, 2025. have learned to work and thrive in this environment,
15 “Building Audiences for Sustainability,” Wallace Foundation, we too should remember the value of community and
https://wallacefoundation.org/focus-areas-and-initiatives/ connection for ourselves. This is not to say that we can’t
arts/building-audiences-sustainability or shouldn’t build and maintain relationships with our
16 “What It Takes to Build Audiences and Sustainability,” Sym- choristers—of course we do that by the very nature of
phony, August 15, 2024, symphony.org/features/what-it- our work. But the need to maintain at least some lay-
takes-to-build-audiences-and-sustainability/. er of separation from our singers (even in the case of
17 Jeremy Reis, “25 Innovative Fundraising Ideas,” Nonprofit adult ensembles) creates limitations on the level of con-
Fundraising, March 11, 2023, nonprofitfundraising.com/ nectedness we can experience.
innovative-fundraising-ideas/. Accessed January 18, This is where ACDA and its state chapters have been
2025. an invaluable asset to me. When I began attending the

50 CHORAL JOURNAL May 2025 Volume 65 Number 8