Ron Halverson, Ph.D., at the Earned Income Symposium

We were part of an important conversation about growing earned income for cultural institutions at the Earned Income Symposium, November 7-8, hosted by our long-time partners, Newfields (formerly the Indianapolis Museum of Art). The most important takeaway from our presentation is the importance of shifting the mindset of your organization.

MINDSET SHIFT #1 Broaden the definition of your competition (for the IMA, this meant breaking into the larger category of leisure time and stealing visits from other activities, such as going to the zoo or the movies)

MINDSET SHIFT #2 Focus on helping people make progress in their lives (your goals are important, but focusing on helping people meet their goals is what will draw more visitors)

MINDSET SHIFT #3 Increase focus on “Moveable Middle” (people not visiting today but with interest and openness)

MINDSET SHIFT #4 Align and energize by connecting the dots between your mission and people’s lives (and make sure to bring along every department of your organization, from brand management to programming to experience measurement to team engagement)

To learn more about Ron’s talk at the Newfields, see the video below:

To learn more about the transformation of IMA to Newfields, see the video below: