Guide to Getting Arts Grants

Creating Your Own Strategic Plan and Getting Grants

A mighty maze but not without a plan.

—ALEXANDER POPE

Becoming an artist can seem like trying to work one’s way through a labyrinth, and the process of finding and applying for grants can certainly have its twists and turns. Yet with gentle planning and easy follow-through, the complexities quickly fade away.

In this chapter, I introduce three different methods for goal planning, taking into consideration the different ways in which people work best. These will include a standard planning tool called SWOT, which helps us uncover the areas we can focus on in our goals and objectives. A second method, creativity mapping, encompasses goal planning in a more visual way. And a third method, storyboarding, takes goal planning and charts it out simply through identifying function and action steps.

The first two methods will help us integrate self-reflection and analysis, and have a bit of fun assessing who we are as artists, as well as our strengths and our weaknesses. These assessments need not seem serious and difficult. They can be as easy and uncomplicated as sitting on the banks of a lovely shoreline contemplating the clouds and thinking of what we will do in the next five years. With a proper assessment, we can dream, set goals, and strategize about the future.

I believe that within the maze of creativity and genius there is a plan. It’s there—not to worry, I’ll help you find and develop it. Come on, it’ll be fun.

THE ONE-MINUTE COMMERCIAL FOR PLANNING

Some of you may not be keen on planning per se, as it can seem tedious, but I “planned” for that and have provided a mix of approaches that will appeal to artists from all disciplines. The place you are in, career-wise, begs for new energy, which can come through new projects. Many of you have aspirations and goals, and there are many opportunities out there for you. You just need to give yourself a couple hours to think, do a few exercises, and develop the vital plans to make your goals a reality.

In my previous work as a grantmaker and consultant, I found that the people who had given even a little bit of thought to planning seemed more centered and able to advance their careers. I know I am positively biased about the efficacy of planning, and I strongly encouraged planning when working with clients, grantseekers, and peers.

Some have criticized this thinking, especially as it seemed to be a regional fad, and grantmakers from Minnesota especially were known for their love of the strategic plan. Perhaps it was the immigrant roots of Germanic people who settled in that great state. Perhaps it was those long winters that challenged a person’s mettle, causing cabin fever that had people nervously climbing walls or staring blindly into a hearth-warming fireplace, planning away the hours. Perhaps it is a personality trait emerging. But it’s safe to note that whatever the motivation, statistics show that 90 percent of successful people have set goals.

It Can Be Very Basic

If you are like me and gravitate toward being spontaneous, especially where your art is concerned, it doesn’t mean you can’t be a good planner. Early in my career, I made very specific goals and plans to advance myself because I felt I had a lot of ground to cover. For instance, in getting prepared to just “talk” to funders and people about my vision, I needed to attend Toastmasters meetings to get more confident about organizing my thoughts into speech.

Some of you may have a more dreamy approach to planning, which I, too, have incorporated into my process. I reflect a lot, visualize, and try out plans A and B in my head. But planning isn’t just staying “in the head” and ruminating about one scenario after the other. It’s getting it on paper and transforming dreams, thoughts, and goals into real action.

VITAL STEPS IN GOAL SETTING

The following are the vital steps you will need in setting your goals. Think of these as you proceed:

* Make sure the goals you have are something you really want, not just something that sounds good.

* A goal cannot contradict other goals; you cannot work at crosspurposes.

* When setting goals, shoot high and be ambitious.

* Write your goals down. It seems that the act of putting them on paper makes them more real and doable, and this is the most important step.

* When writing goals, use positive language instead of negative.

* Write your goals out in complete detail.

PLANNING METHODS

With the advent of “life coaching” and “go-get-um gurus,” there is an array of planning methods to choose from. Sans guru, we will determine through a fun and simple survey our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and risks. With this information, we will develop a personal goal plan.

Try not to worry, if you can’t fathom sitting down with paper and pen or a computer, and writing out your goals. I will help you break down a big goal into small manageable steps.

SWOT Method

SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It is one of the most basic assessment tools used today, especially in corporate and business arenas. The SWOT assessment is used in tandem with standard goal-setting, and so it will have great applicability to your planning. Remember, it is important to know yourself, and identifying these areas in your development is one step in that process. Plus, you will be asked time and again in grantmaking reviews to list and talk about your strengths and weaknesses. This is a great opportunity to not only list them but also to delve into finding ways to use them to your advantage.

Identifying Strengths and Weaknesses

I understand that some of this artistic development has us digging in the corners of our most private selves. This is a very personal journey, and we meet our shadow-selves in various forms along the way and may be resistant to this. When we begin the process of identifying strengths and weaknesses, we may be too modest, shy, or humble to talk about ourselves, so identifying our strengths may be a challenge. On the other hand, we may easily identify our strengths but may be unable or unwilling to admit to our weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Try to trust the process and understand there are ways to uncover our talents and foibles without getting bent out of shape.

Lead with Your Strengths while Minimizing Your Weaknesses

Here is an example of what I mean: I had some timidity in talking publicly, having identified that I had a particular weakness in speaking to people, especially funders and decision-makers. After I attended Toastmasters meetings at two different times in my life, I got a real boost in confidence, as their training helped me improve my publicspeaking skills.

At the same time, in identifying that speaking with people can be a challenge area for me, I found that when I connect with people they feel great warmth, presence, and a genuine spirit. In one instance while speaking to 3,000 people in a theater, the remark and feedback from someone in a far row was, “I could feel her passion, her warmth.” Even though I recall having classic stage fright, it seems my timidity was quickly overshadowed by my strength.

In reflecting back, I have had the opportunity to give speeches, inspirational speeches even, facilitate countless workshops and classes, and give numerous poetry readings. No one would guess I have a weakness in this area. The old adage “lead with your strengths” is demonstrated in this example and helps make the point to not obsess or worry too much about identifying weaknesses, as you can reframe and reshape these to your advantage.

In an artist community, opportunities abound and we won’t need to search very far. The survey will help identify the opportunities that are easily available and those that are reachable with a bit of work and preparation. Using my example of public speaking, the opportunity to give readings of my poetry would not have crossed my mind in my mid-career had it not been for some of my other speaking experiences. These opportunities were indirect, since my original intent was to become more comfortable speaking publicly and with decision-makers. Now it is a much easier and accessible prospect. As you go through the process, hopefully you will find hidden opportunities that will provide greater potential for you to develop your talents.

Threats and Risks

We talked about risk-taking in the previous chapter, but in this survey we want to get at what kinds of threats, risks, and vulnerabilities you may face in trying to achieve your goals. And in some instances we need only list them, as they may not be imminent. A great example is the inherent risk that you will not succeed in becoming the artist of your dreams, whether it is a writer, photographer, dancer, choreographer, sculptor, or whatever. This survey allows us to list and identify the threats and risks without getting unnerved by them. Again, using a bit of Zen thinking here, you only have to notice and be aware of them.

Most risks are potential situations that could challenge or impede your progress, but won’t necessarily materialize. They are future situations that are difficult to predict, and without the crystal ball you don’t know that they will become a reality. This part of the exercise will allow you to get a holistic picture of what you are facing in setting up a goal plan. Identifying the potential risk factors will only help prepare you and make you more proactive. OK, we’ve described each of these well enough. Now it’s time for the survey and a step toward greater discovery and planning.

PERSONAL SURVEY

Answer these questions related to the areas of personal, emotional, spiritual, and physical needs.

Personality traits. Select three that are your strengths. You may also write three that are not presented here.

Passion	Kind	Ethical
Tenacity	Assertiveness	Understanding
Patience	Fair	Authentic

Others:_______________________________

Of the same list, select three that you consider weak or challenging areas for you. Again, write three if they are not presented here.

Passion	Kind	Ethical
Tenacity	Assertiveness	Understanding
Patience	Fair	Authentic

Others:_______________________________

Status of Personal Development. Select ONE statement that is closest to your belief of your current personal, spiritual, physical, and emotional status (remember, work needs are not included yet).

I have room for improvement but for my age and development I am where I should be in most areas.

I have let myself go in many areas.

I am dissatisfied with my progress to date even though

I have been working toward my goals.

If you selected number one, list two areas that need further improvement and tweaking.

i.________________________________

ii.__________________________________

If you selected number two, list the areas that are most challenged. Of these, which do you feel are most important?

i.___________________________________

ii.__________________________________

If you selected number three, list the three major goals that you are working toward.

i.___________________________________

ii.__________________________________

iii._________________________________

Now next to each one of these goals, identify how long you have been working on this goal, in weeks, months, or years.

Now list the number of types of interventions, actions, and modes you have used to further this goal. When was the last time you focused your actions to further this goal?

Let’s take a personal area of physical condition or health as an example. Let’s say your goal has been to lose weight, say forty pounds. How long have you had this goal? How many approaches (diet, exercise, behavior modification, etc.) have you used to achieve your goal? When was the last time you reviewed your actions with the goal?

Choose the answers that fit best.

My overall feeling is that I am _________________ .

a. Happy and satisfied most of the time

b. Happy and satisfied some of the time

c. Unhappy and dissatisfied most of the time

Social/Networking. Choose the answers that fit best.

I have a/an ____________ social network.

a. Large

b. Average

c. Nonexistent

It includes ___________

a. Friends

b. Family

c. Other artists

d. Colleagues

e. People from many ethnic backgrounds

f. People from many age groups

I _____________ a significant person or support in my life.

a. Have

b. Don’t have

Balance of Work. Select from the following:

I have achieved a balance between my creative and artistic projects and other work.

I have not achieved a balance between my creative/artistic projects and other work. This imbalance challenges me financially because I have too many creative endeavors that cannot be supported by a menial job that does not provide enough income.

I have not achieved a balance between my creative/artistic projects and other work. This imbalance challenges me creatively where I am able to support myself but have less opportunity to do my art.

I have not achieved a balance between my creative/artistic projects and other work. This imbalance challenges many areas of my life because I am stretched too far in both arenas.

I have not achieved a balance between my creative/artistic projects and other work. This imbalance exists because both arenas are not complementary and are juxtaposed.

Time Management. Select from the following:

I have enough time to pursue my creativity.

I have set aside time every day/week/month/year to be creative.

I don’t have a “creative routine” but I have structured times throughout the year to be creative (summers off, retreats, and work periods).

a. Choose the answers that fit best.

My free time is spent with the following activities:

a. Watching TV (more than two hours a day)

b. Talking on the telephone with friends (more than two hours a day)

c. Going out with friends

d. Working out and exercising (more than two hours a day)

e. Shopping, cooking, eating (more than two hours a day)

f. Time spent with family commitments and responsibilities.

g. Other: _______________________________

After I subtract time for my responsibilities and other activities, I have ___________ hours of free time.

a. I have a routine that is flexible and workable

b. I have a routine that is packed throughout the day

c. I have no routine; every day is a different set of appoint ments, meetings, and activities.

Status of Creativity. Select from the following:

I am satisfied with the level of my creative work. I am particularly satisfied with my technical ability.

I am satisfied with the level of my creative work. I am particularly satisfied with my pace and output.

I am satisfied and would like to chart a new direction for my work.

I am satisfied and would like to continue at this level until I have mastered it.

I am dissatisfied with the level of my creative work. I am particularly dissatisfied with my technical ability.

I am dissatisfied with the level of my creative work. I am particularly dissatisfied with my pace and output.

My idea or vision of the end product doesn’t express what I want to express.

Status of Creative Output and Process

What is the time of day/week/month/year when the creative process is working best?

Quantity of Output. Select from the following:

I have produced over one hundred finished pieces of my work.

I have produced fifty to one hundred pieces of my work.

I have works in progress that I interact with every day/week/month/year.

I have many pieces of my work, but am unsure that they are finished, as I need an expert opinion or outside critique.

I am just beginning and have many ideas but no works in progress.

Briefly describe your creative process (write whatever comes to mind here)

______________________________________

Tools and Equipment

Basic tools I must have

______________________________________

Secondary tools I would like that would advance my technique

______________________________________

Luxury tools

______________________________________

Choose the answers that fit best.

Does the result of your creativity have an expected outcome in that you know what it is you want to achieve? Yes/No

Does the result of your creativity have an unexpected outcome and is a surprise to you? Yes/No

If it is both, what percent is intentional versus unintentional and unexpected?

______________________________________

Motivation and Discipline. Choose the answers that fit best.

What helps motivate you to do your art?

a. Supporting yourself

b. Expressing yourself

c. Conveying a message (personal, social commentary, global)

d. Advancing learning

What helps discipline you to do your art?

a. A deadline

b. Stimulants like coffee, tea, chocolate, drugs

c. Work behaviors that I have adopted

d. A routine

e. My peer group

f. Other:_____________________

Ability for Outer Learning. Choose the answers that fit best.

I engage in formal learning through classes, workshops, and seminars ___________:

a. Regularly

b. Not at all

c. Don’t see the value in it

I engage in informal learning through __________:

a. Private study

b. Self-tutoring

c. Peer interaction/exchange

d. My own individual learning plan

Ability for Inner Learning. Choose the answers that fit best.

My time for reflection is _____________ :

a. Daily

b. Weekly

c. Monthly

d. During special times of the year

e. Triggered by life-changing events

My favorite time and type of reflection is/could be:

a. Quiet time in the morning

b. Quiet time in the evening

c. Being/walking in a natural setting

d. Personal retreats away from everyone

e. Sitting, meditation, prayer

f. Walking meditation

g. Don’t see the value of reflection

h. Other __________________________

Peer Learning and Feedback. Select from the following:

It would be helpful to have a mentor or teacher

I don’t need or want a mentor or teacher at this time

I have a mentor or teacher

Outreach and Community. Select from the following:

I am ready to be public with my art and welcome outreach opportunities.

I am ready to be public with my art but my outreach efforts have not yet paid off.

I am not ready to be public with my art.

a. Choose the answers that fit best.

I would welcome any of the following outreach efforts:

a. Showing my work

b. Publishing my work

c. Artist collaborations

d. Artist residency

e. Regranting projects with a social/civic focus

f. Regranting projects with a peer artist focus

g. Other: ______________________________

Assessment Rubric: A rubric is a scoring guide used in selfassessments. Even though the traditional rubric has some type of scoring or evaluative measurement, let’s forego point values, as they are unnecessary for our purposes here.

The following list contains topics that have just been discussed in the survey. Review your answers above. Under each topic here, write a brief comment or summary of how you feel the above answers reflect your progress in these areas. For example, under “Time Management,” you may write, “It looks like I use my time well and I have enough time to be creative.”

It is a subjective assessment so it is OK to write any helpful comment you wish. They will give you a quick reference for future reflection.

Personality Traits

______________________________________

Status of Personal Development

______________________________________

Social Networking

______________________________________

Balance of Work

______________________________________

Time Management

______________________________________

Status of Creativity

______________________________________

Status of Creative Output and Process

______________________________________

Motivation and Discipline

______________________________________

Ability for Outer Learning

______________________________________

Ability for Inner Learning

______________________________________

Peer Learning and Feedback

______________________________________

Outreach and Community

______________________________________

Creativity Map Method

The creativity map is a visual representation of the dreams, aspirations, and things you would like to have present in your life— people, opportunities, money, material objects, or experiences that help you to grow and achieve your goals. It is a visual collage that shows where you have been, the major events in your life, and even some of your greatest moments. In creating a map, you can even represent emotions and vital qualities like courage or patience.

Creating a map certainly seems like a fun, “artsy” project to do, but it is much more than that. Taking the time to design this map will challenge you to think hard about what you really want at this time in your life. The inner guide of your creative spirit will have the opportunity to speak to you through images, without your head getting in the way. The exercise of thumbing through magazines or catalogs, and choosing those images that pull at you (without analyzing them) is a good way to get at certain desires or needs. You may be surprised at what gets your attention.

The map helps you discover what you want for yourself and your life. It can be used before goal planning or after, whichever is preferable. Hopefully it will be something you take time and care to develop so you can frame it and use it in your workspace. By following the steps below to create your own map, you approach planning and goal setting in a more abstract way, which for many of us is the way we know best.

Seven Easy Steps to Developing a Creativity Map

The following seven steps will help you develop your own personal creativity map that will enhance your goal plans.

Step One: Gather magazines and catalogs.

Step Two: Go through the magazines and catalogs and pull out images, words, and phrases that evoke feelings and/or inspire you in some way.

Step Three: Cut out these images and words, and set them aside.

Step Four: Include the following in your gathered images:

* An image that represents who you are now and an image of who you will become once you are fully developed

* Images of your heroes and sheroes

* An image of your deepest wish to come true

Step Five: Place the words and images on a large board in any way that feels right to you. This may be a sequential representation or you may decide to use a metaphor: an image of a family gathering could signify community; an image of a three-ring circus could show the ability to handle many acts and performances; a calm lake could show the still waters that run deep. The list can go on and on. In creating this map, you may choose a predominant theme that helps connect the many facets of your life experience. Paste the images on the board.

Step Six: After you have completed your map, give it quiet analysis. Buddhists use pictorial diagrams or mandalas in meditation, and you could use your images similarly; try to reflect upon them and what the detail says about your experience and the totality of what it communicates. Review your creativity map and ask yourself the following questions:

* What do I see when I look at my map?

* What patterns and themes pop out?

* Did anything unexpected or surprising come through?

* Does the map look doable, overly ambitious, or not ambitious enough? How might I change it?

* Looking at the image that represents who I am and who I want to become, is there a big difference? If so, can I identify ways in which these two images can meld into one?

* In looking at the heroes and sheroes, how do these people inspire me? If they are not present, how do I connect with their memory? Write these statements next to each of the names or pictures representing your heroes and sheroes.

* Looking at the image of your deepest wish, have you enshrouded or covered it in any way? Is the image clear? How do you feel about having it being part of the map?

* Of the parts of the map that represent action and change, identify the parts that seem easy, challenging, and downright difficult. What parts can you start developing now?

* List all the things you have in the map that you would like to bring into your life.

* What are the next steps to follow my creativity map?

* Consider displaying this as a gentle reminder of who you are becoming and where you are headed.

Step Seven: Identify the major areas that you will focus on in the next year, and jot them down in your notebook. From this list, write “I will” statements for each of the areas in this list. For example, in my map I have represented three major themes that focus on developing my writing: a writer at a desk, a book, and an audience. From these images, I create the following statements: “I will commit to writing creatively every day.” “I will produce a manuscript that I can send to publishers for a possible book contract.” “I will reach out to the public through my writing by organizing two public readings this year.” I can reinforce my second statement and say something like, “I will reach out to a public audience through the book I will write and publish this year.”

Notice that these statements have a general element of time. Number one says “every day,” and numbers two and three, “this year.” This final step helps us create a map that projects our dreams and ambitions in images and words that give us helpful reminders daily to advance toward them.

DEVELOPING THE PLAN

The map and the survey results have helped identify our dreams as well as our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and risk factors. Using these, we will integrate what we know into a personal goal plan. Using the “I will” statements or new goal statements, we will take what seem like fairly large, lofty, and maybe nebulous ideas, aspirations, and goals, and break them down into a tangible and feasible step-by-step plan.

Your Personal Goal Plan

A couple of easy exercises to do and we are set to go—anywhere! Think of it like you have a truck full of sand—ideas—but you have to sort, sift, and move them into a place that is workable. You use a funnel to help get the huge sand truck of material into something manageable. Through the pull of a lever, you start moving the sand through a small shaft, tons of material funneling down into a tiny hole that gives us kernels of sand. These kernels of sand are the activities and baby steps we will need to get the large ton of ideas and aspirations into a manageable form.

Just What Is a Goal?

A short description is needed here because we seem to always mix up goals, objectives, hopes, and dreams. In working with clients and in teaching classes in grantseeking over the last fifteen years, I find it amazing how many people confuse these. Clarity is important in developing a goal plan, because you will be asked, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” If you haven’t thought that far ahead, that will show up in your answer. And you can’t fib or make something up on the spur of the moment because that too will lack credibility and show up in your answer.

A goal is the object of an effort. When you state a goal, you declare your ambition to do something. A goal is a dream, a hope, a desire; when it begins to take shape it is usually unencumbered and pretty basic—that is, “I want to be a writer.” I first uttered that dream nearly forty years ago, when I was child. I revisited that goal in my twenties but it was still only a dream, since I had little time on task to make it a reality. I had written very little and certainly had not achieved any advancement beyond uttering the desire to be something more than I was. Stating the goal, in itself, does not bring about a result or outcome. Goals can be stated in lofty, larger-than-life terms. We need not limit ourselves to small statements, because goals should express our far-reaching dreams; that is their nature. And because they can be far-reaching, they need not be attached, initially, to measurements of achievement, which I call “objectives.”

I recommend using a three-step approach because it is usually difficult for people to think immediately about a goal complete with objectives or actions that are measurable, with time, specificity, and so on. So we start with big goals and move to a more manageable place— say, the objective, which is a statement that breaks the goal down as we try to advance it. From there, we plan, create, and strategize our actions and sequence of events. Example:

Goal: I want to be a writer.

Goal Advancing: I want to write stories, poems, and creative nonfiction.

(Here’s where you need to break it down more and have elements of measurement, so that it isn’t just a lofty desire or romantic notion.) Objective: I will write a collection of poems and publish them in 2009.

Plan of Action/Strategy: Collect all of my writings, edit them, and sort for the best and most complete pieces—January-April 2008. Discuss writings and edits with a mentor (possibly a respected poet?) who can support and guide me—April-September 2008. Produce a completed manuscript to send out to publishers, contests, and competitions—December 2008.

Goal-Setting Exercise

We will use all of the exercises that we have already completed and collect our thoughts and results to help set our goals. What I want to encourage here is thinking that incorporates a holistic vision of your development, so I will ask you to create goals that are career-driven, that develop you as an artist, and that help you develop personally.

Personal and Artistic Development

Let’s start with your creativity map; take one or two of the “I will” statements from it. Write them down in the spaces on page 65. Then add a statement about the picture or image of who it is you want to become. And finally, from your map, write out the wish you made during the exercise. For example:

“I Will” Statement: I will write, edit, and publish a collection of poems.

Statement from Image: Image of me on the back cover of my chapbook, with the statement, “Ellen Liberatori is a poet and writer living in Cairo.”

Wish: I wish to develop my writing more and find success in publishing my work.

______________________________________

Now let’s incorporate our survey results and write a few statements that help us develop more holistically. Look at your survey and see what you have written for SWOT. Identify your weaknesses; choose one or two of these. Look for any correlation to how your strengths may compensate. If you don’t see any relationship between a weak or challenge area, don’t worry. Choose one or two, anyway. Write a goal statement for each of these.

______________________________________

Career Development

For this exercise, write a goal statement focusing on the areas of time management, networking, and community outreach. Other areas you can focus on may be balance of work and creative output. In midcareer, you may still choose these but perhaps you want to also focus on community outreach and inner learning. Seasoned professionals may choose similar areas, but may also focus on producing new work, collaboration, or a self-mastery skill like integrating more reflection time into their day. Collect and write all your goal statements here or in your notebook.

______________________________________

What Do We Have?

Let’s look at these before we move on to our objectives and create tangible measures. Do these goals focus your energy in a beneficial way? When looking at this, do the goals address “you” in a holistic way, or are they directed to one area of development? Focusing on one area is useful, but I encourage you to look more holistically at how you can direct your energies. It is like multitasking; you can accomplish more than one thing at a time. Don’t worry, it doesn’t mean you are going off in a million directions. This plan is a tightly woven set of goals, objectives, and action steps, which will actually make things easier in the long run.

Next Steps

Reviewing your goal statements, let’s move on to breaking them down into smaller steps—objectives that are measurable and doable.

Take each of your goal statements and write an accompanying statement that includes elements of time, space, and quantity. You may have a few objectives for each of your goals, so don’t worry if at first it seems like a lot. Just stay with the exercise for a minute because it will be less daunting as we break it down into smaller steps. Here is an example of a goal statement I created and its accompanying objectives:

Goal: Increase the creative process through productivity and time spent on the task of learning and writing.

Objective: Use two-hour window of time in early A.M. every day to write creatively.

Objective: Add one to four new poems each month to current

collection. Check progress in two months.

Objective: In six months, refine collection by editing poems with mentor.

Back Casting

Now, the final step in all of this is to take an objective and look at the time measurement you have given it. Follow the time sequence backward, or “back cast” as it is called, and identify all of the steps necessary to achieve this objective. Back casting is a way to see and plan all the necessary steps, but it is also a vital tool in determining whether a timeline is feasible. With the example of publishing a book, when I back cast from seeing the end product, I know a short timeline is inappropriate, because the publishing of a book is not solely reliant on the writer. Therefore, I allow enough time for a publisher’s schedule and the time this hand-off will take.

STORYBOARD METHOD

The storyboard process is a charting system used to identify, set, monitor, and implement goals. Used as a tool in time and project management, storyboarding will help you establish goals, plan strategies, and monitor the overall progress in achieving and implementing your goals. (See page 68 for an example.) Storyboarding can enhance an individual’s overall productivity. Its value is highly maximized in teams and team process since you can see at a glance all aspects of the team’s work and how each project activity interrelates.

Some of you are familiar with storyboards since your art and creative endeavors have taken you into the field of story development, which relies on a visual tool to show the action and progress of the storyline.

How It Works

The process of storyboarding comes from the movie industry, where “the story” for a film is displayed in the steps, cards, or frames. Each frame presents one step critical to the completion of the action/project. We will use this process to display the objectives and actions needed to complete our projects and achieve our goals.

Benefits of the Storyboard Versus Other Methods

Storyboards design a workable, effective plan that includes timelines, achievable deadlines, and the specific tools, people, and resources you need to achieve the goal. It has advantages for artists who may be more visual and provides an actual board that can be manipulated on an ongoing basis.

I like it because it easily monitors progress of projects and helps you identify bottlenecks, barriers, and blocks to steps in your planning. It will help analyze and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses inherent in any process of trial and error. It allows you to “visualize success,” reduces the risk of project overload, and helps determine feasibility. It can be a motivator for you by posting goals and visually prioritizing a daily/weekly/monthly schedule. The storyboard is a personal goal plan and doubles as a visual chart and planning tool.

A storyboard differs a bit in how it is created in that it is a visual tool that illustrates a goal accompanied by main objectives, or functions, that then flow into detailed action steps. These, of course, are similar to action steps seen in a standard goal plan. In this process, because it is visually driven, a goal may have a one-word statement to represent it. For example, if you want to publish a book, attract an audience, and increase your personal development, signify your goals with statements like “book,” “audience,” and “personal development.” Another benefit is that the storyboard can be abbreviated in some areas. It will still have detail, but these are mostly seen in the actual action steps of the goal plan.

Creating Your Storyboard

You can create a storyboard on a computer, but I would suggest that you use the process I describe below, because this way you will make a board that can be displayed in your office and workspace. Seeing your goal plan visually can be a great motivator. I know of companies that encourage their employees to use storyboards in this way.

For a storyboard created manually without a computer, you will need three different colored cards—I suggest colored index cards—and a large placard, wall, or whiteboard that you can pin, tape, or write on. Choose a favorite color for the goals, key functions, and activity cards. On the adjacent page you’ll find an example of a storyboard I developed around the three main goals and concepts I have been focusing on. Use your imagination for the colors.

I have kept this storyboard simple to give you the basic idea. Once you have completed a “card” or activity, you can cross it off. When using storyboards with groups and work teams, it is also helpful to place the name of the person who is responsible for a given action step next to the date. Revisit this daily, and you will soon accomplish all of your goals.

VOILA!

And there you have it—three methods for goal planning and development. With these, you will have some semblance of a plan to advance in your development. Let’s go on to the next chapter to understand the inner workings of grantmakers who support artists and the necessary networking skills to access these.

THE GRANTS ZONE

Developing personal and professional goal plans will have a positive spillover into your grantseeking.

Developing your art without reflection is like trying to develop art without the tools of planning, envisioning the future, and strategy.

Goal statements and plans can be used when funders interview you about your future vision.

BOARD PET PEEVES

Artists who expect a grant but who do not have a clue about their future direction, focus, or plan.

Work, planning, and art that is done in a vacuum that does not relate to the artist’s experience, skill, development, or the community.