From the June 12, 2006 print addition

Dayton Business Journal

by Yvonne Teems

DBJ Staff Reporter

In December, art lovers came to Jane Black with a holiday wish: to have the Dayton Visual Arts Center’s gift shop open year-round.

Open for a month and a half during the holiday shopping season, DVAC’s Art-to-Buy program stays closed the rest of the year so DVAC can focus on its gallery and other programs, said Black, executive director. But in late May, the gallery opened the shop again and will keep it open until June 24, testing the market to see if it can launch the program year-round.

Art-to-Buy, which earns the organization $60,000 during the holidays, will likely generate just $15,000 this spring. But Black said if shoppers respond to this recent opening, she may open the store year-round, which would flush much needed revenue into the 15-year-old arts center.

The program, which sells local artists creations for anywhere from $15 to $300, is a hit with Christmas gift buyers seeking items with local flair. Shoppers can find anything from paintings and photography to pottery and jewelry.

Black said she’s looking for additional revenue because her organization, like many nonprofits, is hurting from sluggish corporate and individual donations.

“More and more nonprofits are pursuing earned income strategies for many reasons,” said Jim McClurg, president of Seattle-based Social Enterprise Alliance, a nonprofit that helps other nonprofits create ventures to earn income.

While competition is increasing for charity dollars, traditional donors are expecting nonprofits to become more self-sufficient, McClurg said.

So in addition to increasing fees, many nonprofits are launching programs that align with their missions but also earn money.

“It’s too important to leave it to chance or the whims of donors,” McClurg said.

But in the past several years, the group’s budget has grown — it was $174,000 in 2002, $240,500 in 2005 and is on track to hit $282,000 in 2006. The organization’s recent capital campaign raised $500,000, much of which was used to move it into its new home at 118 N. Jefferson St. in Dayton.

The space is 3,600 square feet, two-and-a-half times the size of its old facility at 40 W. Fourth Street, and its gallery grew by 50 percent with the move, Black said.

On the other hand, the retail store may take too much time away from DVAC’s core mission: its gallery. Black doesn’t want to occupy her 500 member artists’ time solely with producing art for sale, she said.

Plus, she’s concerned a year-round Art-to-Buy program will recycle the same artists over and over, leaving little room for new, beginner artists. But some of the time spent on the Art-to-Buy program is setting it up and tearing it down. If she had it year-round, Black wouldn’t have to worry about that task.But it’s important for nonprofits to keep in mind both the need to grow its revenue and its core mission, said Joceyln Harmon, director of development and communications for the National Counil of Nonprofit Associations. A program like DVAC’s seems to tackle both challenges.“You want to make sure when you’re starting a program that you’re bringing in money, but you want to impact the mission,” she said.