One such resource is entitled Getting on Board with Effective Orientation – and it (and its companion volumes) are available free of charge to League member orchestras until September 30, 2011 only. To register for Getting on Board with Effective Orientation, please click here.

Here we go:

• From Charity Village’s Cynthia Armour CFRE, a short guide to special event evaluation;
• Courtesy of the Department of Canadian Heritage, Ken Wyman’s comprehensive yet highly entertaining guide to special event management;
• From the League of American Orchestras’ Volunteer Council, the ever-popular Gold Book On-Line, a comprehensive databank of award-winning volunteer-led projects.

Meanwhile, we’re hard at work confirming details for Orchestras Canada’s national orchestras meetings, taking place at the new Vancouver Symphony School of Music from June 13-15. A full update will be sent out next week, but in the meantime we’re delighted to confirm that one of our favourite presenters, Douglas Kinzey of Audience Strategies for the Arts, will kick-off Revenue Development Day on June 14 with a session entitled Successful Strategies for Building a Subscription Audience.

Charitable organizations in BC and Ontario wrestling with the implications of the new Harmonized Sales Tax now have access to new resources developed by the Canada Revenue Agency. They include:
A webinar on the application of the GST/HST to charities
A GST/HST checklist for charities

Finally, an absolutely vital (and provocative!) speech from the opening session of the League of American Orchestras‘ 2010 conference, by Russell Willis Taylor. Here’s how National Arts Strategies describes the speech: “There are no crises in the arts – there are crises in arts organizations as they are currently constructed. Audiences are not shrinking, they are growing, but they are not necessarily interested in consuming all the art our member organizations produce. Between 1970 and 2010, the number of arts organizations grew from 2,700 to 27,000 but the number of people funding them, and attending their events, did not grow at all. In this keynote address delivered at the joint annual conferences of  Chorus America and The League of American Orchestras, Russell Willis Taylor, President and CEO of National Arts Strategies, explores the extraordinary opportunities that arts organizations have today.” You can find it here.

Hats off the the Association of British Orchestras ,which has just posted a new briefing document that “highlights the extensive range of education work our orchestras deliver in schools and in the community”. “Unlocking Potential: Education and the Orchestra” is “the latest in a series of briefings being produced by the ABO to raise the profile of British orchestras” – and it tells an inspiring story. You can download the document here.

From what we’ve been seeing on the League’s pre-conference weblog, the discussion is likely to be both provocative and inspirational – and we strongly encourage you to take part! Just go to the conference blogsite and click on the video player at the appointed hour.

Community engagement is increasingly important to orchestras of all sizes and kinds, yet it can be challenging to measure its impact and effectiveness.  Two years ago, the League of American Orchestras tested and released a “civic engagement” tool, designed to help orchestras self-evaluate their work in this area.  It’s now available free of charge – and it comes complete with videos, a podcasts and even the opportunity for free consulting.  You can find it here.

First of all, some moderately provocative thoughts by Kennedy Center CEO Michael Kaiser on ticket pricing for performing arts organizations, on the Huffington Post, here.

Next up, some good, common sense marketing “new year’s resolutions”, courtesy of the team at Arts Consulting Group.  You can find them here.
Even better, you can sign up on-line to get their monthly newsletter in your inbox.

Finally, the League of American Orchestras is now making its award-winning Symphony magazine available on-line.  In the perky communique from the League, they state

“To celebrate the arrival of 2010, we’re introducing SymphonyOnline. Every new issue of the award-winning Symphony magazine is now available online – with all the same in-depth reports, provocative essays, and cutting-edge research that you love – plus additional content not found in the print issue.  Read, see, and hear Symphony wherever you are – at work, home, or on your iPhone. Live links, audio and video, and the ability to forward on your favorite article are just some of the exciting features of SymphonyOnline.”  You can find it all here.