ACSO webinars are 60-to-90-minute online workshops or presentations delivered by thought leaders and experts covering an array of orchestra and performing arts management topics, like fundraising, audience development, DEI, governance, and more!
Many webinars are recorded for on-demand viewing for members, and webinars are FREE for ACSO Members and $30 for Not-Yet-Members, unless otherwise indicated.
Eliciting Optimal Value from Your Board Members
Wednesday, March 26, 2025 | 12:00-1:30pm PT
Presenter: Susan Howlett, Consultant & Author
Susan Howlett is back by popular demand! Hers was one of the highest rated sessions at the 2024 ACSO Annual Conference and she has agreed to reprise it for us as a webinar. Don't miss your second chance to learn from one of the best.
It seems harder to find good leaders these days – people who will agree to sit on committees or boards and actually do the work that needs to be done.
This interactive webinar will help you get more out of the people you’ve already got – as governors, ambassadors, and fundraisers – and find more people who are willing to say yes!
About the Presenter:
Susan Howlett has consulted with thousands of nonprofits across the continent over the last 35 years, including dozens of symphonies. She's spoken often at League conferences and written articles for their magazine. Author of two award-winning books (Getting Funded and Boards on Fire), she was faculty at the University of Washington for 30 years. She's known for offering practical solutions to thorny problems, delivered with humor, stories, and chocolate.
Two-Part Webinar (April 30 & May 7)
Boards and Belonging: Building and Sustaining Healthy Orchestra Boards Through a Lens of Inclusion
Presenter: Jessica Schmidt, Principal Consultant, Orchestrate Inclusion
The two, 90-minute sequential sessions of this webinar series will focus on orchestra board member recruitment and retention through a lens of EDIB (equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging).
Participants must register for each webinar separately and are not required to attend both sessions, but participation in both is encouraged since concepts from both sessions will build upon each other. Webinars will not be recorded with the intent of honoring the unique conversation and participation of each session.
Part 1: Wednesday, April 30, 2025 | 11:30-1:00 PM PT
Session #1 will begin by identifying the many “why’s” behind the importance of building a board of individuals who represent a range of lived experiences and identities (including but not limited to: race, disability, age, gender identity and socio-economic situation). Participants will consider the essential nature of authentic relationship-building in the process of candidate cultivation, also examining techniques for making the board member identification and recruitment process one that is inclusive and focused on the experience of the candidate.
Topics will include:
- Broadening invitation: sharing word of board openings in a meaningful way
- Use of a board rubric
- Best practices in recruitment through a lens of EDIB (board job description creation, interview processes, etc.)
Part 2: Wednesday, May 7, 2025 | 11:30-1:00 PM PT
Session #2 will focus on creating and sustaining an organizational culture that is truly ready to welcome and engage individuals from a wide range of lived experiences, centering those who have experienced historic and current marginalization based on identity. What are essential elements of creating a board culture that allows all board members not just to be present, but to contribute fully and deepen their involvement over time?
Topics will include:
- Psychological safety and dominant culture
- Hidden points of exclusion
- Measuring board culture
