In a reminder of the power of technology in relation to the current events in Egypt, the Hauser Center blog notes how governments and individuals can both benefit from its enormous power.
An excerpt.
“As hundreds of thousands mill in the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities, it appears that another authoritarian Middle Eastern regime is about to fall to the rage of masses mobilized and coordinated by cellphones and the internet.
“In response, Egypt’s police state shut down the internet and cut off virtually all cellphone service both within the country and between it and the outside world. Satellite communications have also been disrupted by government jamming. (None of this, curiously, seems to have stemmed the flood of images of or broadcasts about the disorders featured on the 24 hour news channels and web sources like Al Jazzera and the BBC).
“Many “progressives” are professing horror and surprise at the internet shut down — yet had little to say when, last summer, the White House requested that Congress grant the president an internet “kill switch” that would allow our government to do exactly the same thing….
“The Roman emperor Nero wished the Roman people had one neck. With IT, alas, his wish has more or less come true — but on a global scale.
“While the media and friends of civil society celebrate the power of the new technology to topple tyrants, we would do well to keep in mind that its power, wielded by would-be tyrants, can also be used to suppress revolutionary social movements.”
Monday, January 31, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Contemplation & Leadership
In this 2010 talk given at West Point, entitled Solitude & Leadership, published in The American Scholar, the author makes the point of the importance of taking time to think—something we’ve noted in an earlier post—especially when joining a large bureaucracy.
An excerpt.
“My title must seem like a contradiction. What can solitude have to do with leadership? Solitude means being alone, and leadership necessitates the presence of others—the people you’re leading. When we think about leadership in American history we are likely to think of Washington, at the head of an army, or Lincoln, at the head of a nation, or King, at the head of a movement—people with multitudes behind them, looking to them for direction. And when we think of solitude, we are apt to think of Thoreau, a man alone in the woods, keeping a journal and communing with nature in silence.
“Leadership is what you are here to learn—the qualities of character and mind that will make you fit to command a platoon, and beyond that, perhaps, a company, a battalion, or, if you leave the military, a corporation, a foundation, a department of government. Solitude is what you have the least of here, especially as plebes. You don’t even have privacy, the opportunity simply to be physically alone, never mind solitude, the ability to be alone with your thoughts. And yet I submit to you that solitude is one of the most important necessities of true leadership. This lecture will be an attempt to explain why.
“We need to begin by talking about what leadership really means. I just spent 10 years teaching at another institution that, like West Point, liked to talk a lot about leadership, Yale University. A school that some of you might have gone to had you not come here, that some of your friends might be going to. And if not Yale, then Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and so forth. These institutions, like West Point, also see their role as the training of leaders, constantly encourage their students, like West Point, to regard themselves as leaders among their peers and future leaders of society. Indeed, when we look around at the American elite, the people in charge of government, business, academia, and all our other major institutions—senators, judges, CEOs, college presidents, and so forth—we find that they come overwhelmingly either from the Ivy League and its peer institutions or from the service academies, especially West Point.
“So I began to wonder, as I taught at Yale, what leadership really consists of. My students, like you, were energetic, accomplished, smart, and often ferociously ambitious, but was that enough to make them leaders? Most of them, as much as I liked and even admired them, certainly didn’t seem to me like leaders. Does being a leader, I wondered, just mean being accomplished, being successful? Does getting straight As make you a leader? I didn’t think so. Great heart surgeons or great novelists or great shortstops may be terrific at what they do, but that doesn’t mean they’re leaders. Leadership and aptitude, leadership and achievement, leadership and even ex¬cellence have to be different things, otherwise the concept of leadership has no meaning. And it seemed to me that that had to be especially true of the kind of excellence I saw in the students around me.
“See, things have changed since I went to college in the ’80s. Everything has gotten much more intense. You have to do much more now to get into a top school like Yale or West Point, and you have to start a lot earlier. We didn’t begin thinking about college until we were juniors, and maybe we each did a couple of extracurriculars. But I know what it’s like for you guys now. It’s an endless series of hoops that you have to jump through, starting from way back, maybe as early as junior high school. Classes, standardized tests, extracurriculars in school, extracurriculars outside of school. Test prep courses, admissions coaches, private tutors. I sat on the Yale College admissions committee a couple of years ago. The first thing the admissions officer would do when presenting a case to the rest of the committee was read what they call the “brag” in admissions lingo, the list of the student’s extracurriculars. Well, it turned out that a student who had six or seven extracurriculars was already in trouble. Because the students who got in—in addition to perfect grades and top scores—usually had 10 or 12.”
An excerpt.
“My title must seem like a contradiction. What can solitude have to do with leadership? Solitude means being alone, and leadership necessitates the presence of others—the people you’re leading. When we think about leadership in American history we are likely to think of Washington, at the head of an army, or Lincoln, at the head of a nation, or King, at the head of a movement—people with multitudes behind them, looking to them for direction. And when we think of solitude, we are apt to think of Thoreau, a man alone in the woods, keeping a journal and communing with nature in silence.
“Leadership is what you are here to learn—the qualities of character and mind that will make you fit to command a platoon, and beyond that, perhaps, a company, a battalion, or, if you leave the military, a corporation, a foundation, a department of government. Solitude is what you have the least of here, especially as plebes. You don’t even have privacy, the opportunity simply to be physically alone, never mind solitude, the ability to be alone with your thoughts. And yet I submit to you that solitude is one of the most important necessities of true leadership. This lecture will be an attempt to explain why.
“We need to begin by talking about what leadership really means. I just spent 10 years teaching at another institution that, like West Point, liked to talk a lot about leadership, Yale University. A school that some of you might have gone to had you not come here, that some of your friends might be going to. And if not Yale, then Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and so forth. These institutions, like West Point, also see their role as the training of leaders, constantly encourage their students, like West Point, to regard themselves as leaders among their peers and future leaders of society. Indeed, when we look around at the American elite, the people in charge of government, business, academia, and all our other major institutions—senators, judges, CEOs, college presidents, and so forth—we find that they come overwhelmingly either from the Ivy League and its peer institutions or from the service academies, especially West Point.
“So I began to wonder, as I taught at Yale, what leadership really consists of. My students, like you, were energetic, accomplished, smart, and often ferociously ambitious, but was that enough to make them leaders? Most of them, as much as I liked and even admired them, certainly didn’t seem to me like leaders. Does being a leader, I wondered, just mean being accomplished, being successful? Does getting straight As make you a leader? I didn’t think so. Great heart surgeons or great novelists or great shortstops may be terrific at what they do, but that doesn’t mean they’re leaders. Leadership and aptitude, leadership and achievement, leadership and even ex¬cellence have to be different things, otherwise the concept of leadership has no meaning. And it seemed to me that that had to be especially true of the kind of excellence I saw in the students around me.
“See, things have changed since I went to college in the ’80s. Everything has gotten much more intense. You have to do much more now to get into a top school like Yale or West Point, and you have to start a lot earlier. We didn’t begin thinking about college until we were juniors, and maybe we each did a couple of extracurriculars. But I know what it’s like for you guys now. It’s an endless series of hoops that you have to jump through, starting from way back, maybe as early as junior high school. Classes, standardized tests, extracurriculars in school, extracurriculars outside of school. Test prep courses, admissions coaches, private tutors. I sat on the Yale College admissions committee a couple of years ago. The first thing the admissions officer would do when presenting a case to the rest of the committee was read what they call the “brag” in admissions lingo, the list of the student’s extracurriculars. Well, it turned out that a student who had six or seven extracurriculars was already in trouble. Because the students who got in—in addition to perfect grades and top scores—usually had 10 or 12.”
Friday, January 28, 2011
Social Websites & Organizational Marketing
It can open the proverbial can of worms, as well as do wonders for your organization’s community presence.
This article from IdealWare examines the issue.
An excerpt.
“Facebook seems to generate a lot of discussion about the way it handles privacy and security, and not without reason—personal data protection is worth some scrutiny, and Facebook has a questionable track record in this area. However, these issues don’t apply in the same way to nonprofits who have an organizational presence on Facebook. Organizational data is, by definition, far less personal than the information an individual might trust to the site, so you’re much less likely to want to keep it private.
“But there are other privacy concerns for nonprofits that use Facebook—even if your own privacy isn’t a big concern, it’s important to think of your constituents’ privacy. What does that mean for you? We talked to a few experts and condensed their advice into this article. We’ll take a look at the issues you most need to be concerned about one at a time.
“What’s the Deal with Facebook and Privacy?
“Facebook began as a way for users to communicate with a select group of people they chose to add to their networks. Six short years later, it’s become a nearly indispensable utility with more than 500 million users and its own Hollywood movie.
“As it grew, its privacy settings evolved—and, in many ways, eroded. The first changes made a lot of user information public by default, forcing users to be savvy enough to notice and change them. More recent changes have made additional user data public—and shared it with partners to target ads—without giving the option to change it.
“While it’s still possible to adjust individual user settings to keep a great deal of personal data private, it’s not always easy to do so, and with regular, ongoing changes, Facebook keeps moving the goalposts.
“However, most of this doesn’t apply to organizations. Organizations that choose to have a public Fan Page usually are very interested in reaching people they don’t yet know. If they want to have a more private conversation, they can set up a private Group, for which the privacy settings are relatively straightforward. And the truth is that Facebook is far more interested in information about individual users—who are prime targets for promotions and ads—than organizations, which are more difficult to target with advertisements.
“Constituent Privacy
“However, constituent privacy is another thing altogether. Before you post anything about the people who interact with your organization, it’s important to consider a few things—like whether or not you have their permission. And whether your post might say more about them than they would want, either intentionally or not.
“For example, are you mentioning things done by someone outside your organization and referencing them by name? Are you displaying photos or videos of people, or tagging photos with their names? It’s a good idea to get permission from them first. At an event, this can be relatively easy—post signs, or a note on the invitation or tickets, letting attendees know you’re taking pictures, and asking them to let you know if they don’t want to be included.
“Many schools and organizations that work with children already ask families to sign waivers giving permission to use photos in print and on the Web. It’s a good idea to add Facebook and other social media into those waivers—and if you’re not already using such waivers, give them some thought. But even if you have permission, consider each picture or video. Is it something a constituent would want family or employers to see? If not, think twice before posting it. That picture of your donor dancing on the table with a drink in her hand might be a great illustration of the good time had by all, but may well not be the image she’s trying to portray at work.
“Sometimes simply mentioning someone’s name can be an invasion of their privacy. HIPAA guidelines, for instance, which apply to health-related organizations who receive funding from Medicare or insurance companies, prohibit disclosure of any information related to diagnosis—even general information that someone is enrolled in a program. In this case, it’s clear that mentioning someone’s name in conjunction with your program is a violation of not just privacy, but of the law.”
This article from IdealWare examines the issue.
An excerpt.
“Facebook seems to generate a lot of discussion about the way it handles privacy and security, and not without reason—personal data protection is worth some scrutiny, and Facebook has a questionable track record in this area. However, these issues don’t apply in the same way to nonprofits who have an organizational presence on Facebook. Organizational data is, by definition, far less personal than the information an individual might trust to the site, so you’re much less likely to want to keep it private.
“But there are other privacy concerns for nonprofits that use Facebook—even if your own privacy isn’t a big concern, it’s important to think of your constituents’ privacy. What does that mean for you? We talked to a few experts and condensed their advice into this article. We’ll take a look at the issues you most need to be concerned about one at a time.
“What’s the Deal with Facebook and Privacy?
“Facebook began as a way for users to communicate with a select group of people they chose to add to their networks. Six short years later, it’s become a nearly indispensable utility with more than 500 million users and its own Hollywood movie.
“As it grew, its privacy settings evolved—and, in many ways, eroded. The first changes made a lot of user information public by default, forcing users to be savvy enough to notice and change them. More recent changes have made additional user data public—and shared it with partners to target ads—without giving the option to change it.
“While it’s still possible to adjust individual user settings to keep a great deal of personal data private, it’s not always easy to do so, and with regular, ongoing changes, Facebook keeps moving the goalposts.
“However, most of this doesn’t apply to organizations. Organizations that choose to have a public Fan Page usually are very interested in reaching people they don’t yet know. If they want to have a more private conversation, they can set up a private Group, for which the privacy settings are relatively straightforward. And the truth is that Facebook is far more interested in information about individual users—who are prime targets for promotions and ads—than organizations, which are more difficult to target with advertisements.
“Constituent Privacy
“However, constituent privacy is another thing altogether. Before you post anything about the people who interact with your organization, it’s important to consider a few things—like whether or not you have their permission. And whether your post might say more about them than they would want, either intentionally or not.
“For example, are you mentioning things done by someone outside your organization and referencing them by name? Are you displaying photos or videos of people, or tagging photos with their names? It’s a good idea to get permission from them first. At an event, this can be relatively easy—post signs, or a note on the invitation or tickets, letting attendees know you’re taking pictures, and asking them to let you know if they don’t want to be included.
“Many schools and organizations that work with children already ask families to sign waivers giving permission to use photos in print and on the Web. It’s a good idea to add Facebook and other social media into those waivers—and if you’re not already using such waivers, give them some thought. But even if you have permission, consider each picture or video. Is it something a constituent would want family or employers to see? If not, think twice before posting it. That picture of your donor dancing on the table with a drink in her hand might be a great illustration of the good time had by all, but may well not be the image she’s trying to portray at work.
“Sometimes simply mentioning someone’s name can be an invasion of their privacy. HIPAA guidelines, for instance, which apply to health-related organizations who receive funding from Medicare or insurance companies, prohibit disclosure of any information related to diagnosis—even general information that someone is enrolled in a program. In this case, it’s clear that mentioning someone’s name in conjunction with your program is a violation of not just privacy, but of the law.”
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Improving College Degrees
The Chronicle of Education reports on a new strategy to ensure that the college degree a student earns actually results in advancement of the knowledge and skill of the student, a common sense goal too rarely reached.
An excerpt.
“National conversations about the quality of higher education, as well as efforts to measure what students learn in their college careers, could be aided by developing a common understanding of what degrees mean in the United States, officials at the Lumina Foundation for Education say.
“To that end, the foundation released today a suggested framework for defining the knowledge and skills students need to acquire before earning an associate degree, a bachelor's degree, and a master's degree. Lumina's framework, which it is calling the Degree Qualifications Profile, spells out reference points for what students should be learning and demonstrating at each degree level in five areas: broad, integrative knowledge; specialized knowledge; intellectual skills; applied learning; and civic learning.
“Lumina officials say the degree profile is intended to help define generally what college graduates should know and be able to do, regardless of their majors or fields of study. The authors of the framework, though, were specific about how students should be able to apply what they learn, providing clear outcomes that can be measured. Under the umbrella of "intellectual skills," for instance, the document says that students should show fluency in communication. At the bachelor's level, that includes being able to "conduct an inquiry" in a language other than English with a non-English-language source.
“Colleges and faculty members in individual disciplines could then add to the general framework, identifying additional outcomes specific to the college's mission and to particular fields of study. Lumina says it now plans to test and refine the framework, experimenting with it in a variety of settings.
Tests of the Concept
“Two regional accreditors of higher education, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools' Higher Learning Commission, and a private-college association, the Council of Independent Colleges, have already agreed to test Lumina's proposed framework. Lumina says it expects to add more partners in coming months and to award grants to support testing of the framework.
“The Western association, which accredits about 160 four-year colleges, plans to build the degree reference points into its handbook for institutions' accreditation reviews, Lumina said. The accreditor will use the degree profile to help outline what colleges should be demonstrating about student learning.”
An excerpt.
“National conversations about the quality of higher education, as well as efforts to measure what students learn in their college careers, could be aided by developing a common understanding of what degrees mean in the United States, officials at the Lumina Foundation for Education say.
“To that end, the foundation released today a suggested framework for defining the knowledge and skills students need to acquire before earning an associate degree, a bachelor's degree, and a master's degree. Lumina's framework, which it is calling the Degree Qualifications Profile, spells out reference points for what students should be learning and demonstrating at each degree level in five areas: broad, integrative knowledge; specialized knowledge; intellectual skills; applied learning; and civic learning.
“Lumina officials say the degree profile is intended to help define generally what college graduates should know and be able to do, regardless of their majors or fields of study. The authors of the framework, though, were specific about how students should be able to apply what they learn, providing clear outcomes that can be measured. Under the umbrella of "intellectual skills," for instance, the document says that students should show fluency in communication. At the bachelor's level, that includes being able to "conduct an inquiry" in a language other than English with a non-English-language source.
“Colleges and faculty members in individual disciplines could then add to the general framework, identifying additional outcomes specific to the college's mission and to particular fields of study. Lumina says it now plans to test and refine the framework, experimenting with it in a variety of settings.
Tests of the Concept
“Two regional accreditors of higher education, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools' Higher Learning Commission, and a private-college association, the Council of Independent Colleges, have already agreed to test Lumina's proposed framework. Lumina says it expects to add more partners in coming months and to award grants to support testing of the framework.
“The Western association, which accredits about 160 four-year colleges, plans to build the degree reference points into its handbook for institutions' accreditation reviews, Lumina said. The accreditor will use the degree profile to help outline what colleges should be demonstrating about student learning.”
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
IRS Form 990-N Threshold Increased
This is very good news, reported by Guidestar.
An excerpt.
“The IRS reminds smaller nonprofits that a higher filing threshold has gone into effect for Form 990-N; invites smaller businesses, including nonprofits, to attend a free webinar on the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit; has published new fees for exempt organizations for 2011; and has released instructions and withholding tables related to the payroll tax cut.
“New Form 990-N Filing Threshold
“The filing threshold for Form 990-N, also known as the ePostcard, has been raised for returns covering the 2010 tax year that are filed in 2011. Most exempt organizations with gross annual receipts of $50,000 or less may now file Form 990-N instead of Form 990-EZ or 990. Private foundations, however, must continue file Form 990-PF, regardless of organization size.
More info here.
An excerpt.
“The IRS reminds smaller nonprofits that a higher filing threshold has gone into effect for Form 990-N; invites smaller businesses, including nonprofits, to attend a free webinar on the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit; has published new fees for exempt organizations for 2011; and has released instructions and withholding tables related to the payroll tax cut.
“New Form 990-N Filing Threshold
“The filing threshold for Form 990-N, also known as the ePostcard, has been raised for returns covering the 2010 tax year that are filed in 2011. Most exempt organizations with gross annual receipts of $50,000 or less may now file Form 990-N instead of Form 990-EZ or 990. Private foundations, however, must continue file Form 990-PF, regardless of organization size.
More info here.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Nonprofit Branding
Good marketing is crucial for local grassroots organizations dependent upon small individual donations for the bulk of their funding, and part of that is branding, which this article from Guidestar tackles.
An excerpt.
“So you're starting a nonprofit organization or have one and want to know how to build or strengthen your brand. Well, what is a brand? Is it advertising, your spokesperson, a logo? We have heard of the Red Cross, Oprah, McDonald's. These are all brands. And while there may be positive or negative perceptions about each of these, you'll notice their missions are easy to define—providing disaster relief when needed, inspiring people to live better lives, and providing a cheap, convenient meal. They are all based on making a clear promise to their audience. Essentially, your brand is the reputation you have for delivering on your promise.
“What does this mean for a nonprofit? A strong brand will help the organization stand out from the masses of solicitations, distinguish its cause from other organizations doing similar work, and inspire others to support them. The best brands elicit positive emotional responses because people understand and identify with each one's mission and know that the organization is consistently true to it. When carefully developed and nurtured, the brand becomes the fabric of an organization's culture.
“Over the long term, organizations with strong brands become well known and tend to raise more money. In today's environment, with more nonprofits than ever competing for funding, an organization can't afford not to have a strong brand.
“This article, along with helpful links, can help you get started in understanding how to create a successful brand for your organization.”
An excerpt.
“So you're starting a nonprofit organization or have one and want to know how to build or strengthen your brand. Well, what is a brand? Is it advertising, your spokesperson, a logo? We have heard of the Red Cross, Oprah, McDonald's. These are all brands. And while there may be positive or negative perceptions about each of these, you'll notice their missions are easy to define—providing disaster relief when needed, inspiring people to live better lives, and providing a cheap, convenient meal. They are all based on making a clear promise to their audience. Essentially, your brand is the reputation you have for delivering on your promise.
“What does this mean for a nonprofit? A strong brand will help the organization stand out from the masses of solicitations, distinguish its cause from other organizations doing similar work, and inspire others to support them. The best brands elicit positive emotional responses because people understand and identify with each one's mission and know that the organization is consistently true to it. When carefully developed and nurtured, the brand becomes the fabric of an organization's culture.
“Over the long term, organizations with strong brands become well known and tend to raise more money. In today's environment, with more nonprofits than ever competing for funding, an organization can't afford not to have a strong brand.
“This article, along with helpful links, can help you get started in understanding how to create a successful brand for your organization.”
Monday, January 24, 2011
Public Art & Nonprofits
Getting rid or moving public art no longer wanted-totally or at a particular site—is a problem, but giving it to a nonprofit may be the best solution, as this article from the Huffington Post notes.
An excerpt.
“Back in 1970, Hyland Biological of Costa Mesa, California commissioned sculptor Claire Falkenstein (1908-97) to create a large-scale artwork that was installed outside the front of the building, paying her $20,000. The 18 foot-tall (five-foot wide and deep) metal and glass piece was titled "DNA Molecule," and it greeted visitors for the better part of four decades. A couple of mergers later, the pharmaceutical company (now called Valeant Pharmaceuticals) sold the work to a private collector in 2007 at an auction in San Francisco for $150,250, which exceeded the auction house's estimate of $60,000-80,000. Not a bad return on investment and a pleasant surprise for auctioneer Bonhams & Butterfields.
“Actually, the auction house was stunned. "It took a lot of convincing to get us to take the Falkenstein in the first place," said auctioneer Bonhams & Butterfields Chief Operating Officer Patrick Meade. "It's a very good piece, but how were we supposed to bring it into our auction room? We're not equipped to do this kind of thing." Instead, the auction house took the novel approach of picturing the sculpture in its catalogue but directing prospective bidders to travel to Costa Mesa to see the work in person. (Special Note: The $150,250 price didn't include the cost of disassembling the sculpture, moving it somewhere else and filling in the hole in front of the building.)
“The sale and the price, Meade noted, have resulted in more calls to Bonhams & Butterfields from (California) owners of big, publicly displayed works of art. Consigning to auction houses may be one answer to the question of what to do with public art that its owner no longer wants. With thousands of works of art in public spaces -- sculptures and murals, mostly -- that have been commissioned and installed over the past four decades, the question is likely to come up more and more.
“And, what's wrong with the art that someone wants to get rid of it? Nothing, necessarily. Valeant Pharmaceuticals relocated 25 miles away to Aliso Viejo, selling the building in Costa Mesa and the art in front of it as separate transactions. In another instance, an environmental landscape, or bush sculpture, called "Topo" that artist Maya Lin had been commissioned to create for the City of Charlotte, North Carolina back in 1991, interfered with the plans of an Atlanta-based real estate developer, Pope & Land Enterprises, which bought the land (and the art on it) from the city in 2006. In 2000, when Comerica Bank moved its branch within Detroit's downtown Renaissance Center to a location that could not accommodate the 160-foot long mural by Glen Michaels, which had been commissioned back in 1975, the artwork had to be taken out. A sculptural installation by Stephen Antonakos, "Neon for Southwestern Bell," which had been commissioned by the company in 1984, was in the way of a current improvement project in Dallas' central business district, leading AT&T to want it gone. Advertising giant J. Walter Thompson, which had amassed an 8,000-10,000 art collection between 1965 and 1986, has spent the last 20 years disposing of it, including the three life-size bronze figures at the entrance to the elevators that the company had commissioned Bruno Lucchesi to create in 1966….
“Often, the most advantageous outcomes for both artists and publicly displayed art owners are donations of the objects to nonprofit institutions. AT&T, for instance, had the 34 foot high and 75 foot long Antonakos piece appraised at $90,000 (three times what the artist was paid as a commission), for which it will take a deduction, and the work is expected to be reinstalled on a side of Dallas's convention center. For its part, Comerica had an appraisal of $350,000 for the Glen Michaels mural. In another example, an untitled outdoor sculpture that George Sugarman (1912-99) was commissioned to create in 1987 for the NCNB Plaza in Tampa, Florida for $250,000, was displaced by the demolition of the plaza. However, the plaza's owner, the North Carolina National Bank, is donating the sculpture for a new mixed-use development in Tampa, having received a $1.1 million appraisal for the work.”
An excerpt.
“Back in 1970, Hyland Biological of Costa Mesa, California commissioned sculptor Claire Falkenstein (1908-97) to create a large-scale artwork that was installed outside the front of the building, paying her $20,000. The 18 foot-tall (five-foot wide and deep) metal and glass piece was titled "DNA Molecule," and it greeted visitors for the better part of four decades. A couple of mergers later, the pharmaceutical company (now called Valeant Pharmaceuticals) sold the work to a private collector in 2007 at an auction in San Francisco for $150,250, which exceeded the auction house's estimate of $60,000-80,000. Not a bad return on investment and a pleasant surprise for auctioneer Bonhams & Butterfields.
“Actually, the auction house was stunned. "It took a lot of convincing to get us to take the Falkenstein in the first place," said auctioneer Bonhams & Butterfields Chief Operating Officer Patrick Meade. "It's a very good piece, but how were we supposed to bring it into our auction room? We're not equipped to do this kind of thing." Instead, the auction house took the novel approach of picturing the sculpture in its catalogue but directing prospective bidders to travel to Costa Mesa to see the work in person. (Special Note: The $150,250 price didn't include the cost of disassembling the sculpture, moving it somewhere else and filling in the hole in front of the building.)
“The sale and the price, Meade noted, have resulted in more calls to Bonhams & Butterfields from (California) owners of big, publicly displayed works of art. Consigning to auction houses may be one answer to the question of what to do with public art that its owner no longer wants. With thousands of works of art in public spaces -- sculptures and murals, mostly -- that have been commissioned and installed over the past four decades, the question is likely to come up more and more.
“And, what's wrong with the art that someone wants to get rid of it? Nothing, necessarily. Valeant Pharmaceuticals relocated 25 miles away to Aliso Viejo, selling the building in Costa Mesa and the art in front of it as separate transactions. In another instance, an environmental landscape, or bush sculpture, called "Topo" that artist Maya Lin had been commissioned to create for the City of Charlotte, North Carolina back in 1991, interfered with the plans of an Atlanta-based real estate developer, Pope & Land Enterprises, which bought the land (and the art on it) from the city in 2006. In 2000, when Comerica Bank moved its branch within Detroit's downtown Renaissance Center to a location that could not accommodate the 160-foot long mural by Glen Michaels, which had been commissioned back in 1975, the artwork had to be taken out. A sculptural installation by Stephen Antonakos, "Neon for Southwestern Bell," which had been commissioned by the company in 1984, was in the way of a current improvement project in Dallas' central business district, leading AT&T to want it gone. Advertising giant J. Walter Thompson, which had amassed an 8,000-10,000 art collection between 1965 and 1986, has spent the last 20 years disposing of it, including the three life-size bronze figures at the entrance to the elevators that the company had commissioned Bruno Lucchesi to create in 1966….
“Often, the most advantageous outcomes for both artists and publicly displayed art owners are donations of the objects to nonprofit institutions. AT&T, for instance, had the 34 foot high and 75 foot long Antonakos piece appraised at $90,000 (three times what the artist was paid as a commission), for which it will take a deduction, and the work is expected to be reinstalled on a side of Dallas's convention center. For its part, Comerica had an appraisal of $350,000 for the Glen Michaels mural. In another example, an untitled outdoor sculpture that George Sugarman (1912-99) was commissioned to create in 1987 for the NCNB Plaza in Tampa, Florida for $250,000, was displaced by the demolition of the plaza. However, the plaza's owner, the North Carolina National Bank, is donating the sculpture for a new mixed-use development in Tampa, having received a $1.1 million appraisal for the work.”
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