Achieving Excellence: An Executive Leadership Program for Nonprofit Cultural Organizations in Massachusetts

Achieving Excellence is an intensive, yearlong executive leadership program at Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.. The program seeks to strengthen the state's creative sector by fostering more effective organizations delivering public programs in the arts, humanities, and sciences.

The 22 organizations participating in the program this year represent every region of the state. They were chosen for their records of excellence in programming, community engagement, and potential for growth. Over the course of the year, each organization's executive director and one of its other senior executives will attend three, three-day units of top-notch instruction at the Kennedy School. Each organization will also receive one-on-one coaching throughout the course of the program.

The program represents an unprecedented collaboration between the MCC, the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, and eight other major Massachusetts grant-makers who are committed to building the capacity of the nonprofit cultural sector in our state.

This is the first time that a comprehensive executive education program has been developed solely and specifically for the leaders of nonprofit cultural organizations in Massachusetts. The program addresses the array of challenges that organizational leaders face as they attempt to guide the growth and development of their organizations.

The participating organizations are: Actors' Shakespeare Project of Boston, Arts Boston, Ballet Rox in Roxbury, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston Gay Men's Chorus, Color of Film Collaborative in Roxbury, Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, First Night Boston, Lyric Stage of Boston, Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Opera Boston, RAWArts of Lynn, Revolving Museum in Lowell, Shakespeare and Co in the Berkshires, Springfield Museums, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Boston's Theater Offensive, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, Worcester Center for Crafts, Zeiterion Theatre in New Bedford, Zoo New England, and Zumix in Boston.

The Partners
The Massachusetts Cultural Council is a state agency that promotes excellence, access, education, and diversity in the arts, humanities and interpretive sciences, in order to improve the quality of life for Massachusetts residents and contribute to the economic vitality of our communities. The MCC pursues this mission through a combination of grants, services, and advocacy for nonprofit cultural organizations, schools, communities, and individual artists. The MCC receives an annual appropriation from the state of Massachusetts and additional funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Wallace Foundation, and other sources.

The Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations is a Harvard University-wide interdisciplinary research center focused on the nonprofit sector and its role in society. The Hauser Center's executive education activities extend Harvard's unusually strong commitment to professional development. Through the university's various faculty and across its respective professional schools, Harvard offers industry-specific and organization-specific executive programs. An important purpose of these programs is to continuously bring Harvard faculty and nonprofit practitioners into mutually beneficial, meaningful contact.

The John F. Kennedy School of Government has long experience in presenting executive education programs in the US and abroad. Last year, 1800 leaders from public and nonprofit organizations around the world attended more than 50 programs and took up a range of strategic management and leadership strategies and public policy questions.

The program is made possible by major grants from the Wallace Foundation, Fidelity Foundation, The Boston Foundation, Davis Foundation, and an anonymous family foundation, and additional grants from three other Massachusetts community foundations.