Todd Dellinger, co-founder and Executive Director of the Lakeway-based nonprofit arts and cultural institution, TexARTS, was part of an Austin-based panel to encourage patrons and donors to artistic endeavors.

The recently-formed “I Live Here I Give Here” institution hosted a panel discussion July 24 on the topic of Austin’s culture of creativity.
The meeting, held in front of a crowd of 70 arts patrons and donors at the Mexic-Arte Museum on Congress Street, examined issues facing institutions providing services in support of and helping to foster the Austin region’s culture of creativity.
“We’re only now really able to begin to catch up with the fundraising that is so vital to our long-term success and stability,” Dellinger said “In order for TexARTS to stay a vital contributor to the arts and culture of Austin and, more immediately, Lakeway and surrounding communities, we must now garner the support of individuals and businesses who recognize the great asset which we are creating for the community, its young people and its future.”
Dellinger was joined by directors of Austin’s Theater Action Project, Mexic-Arte Museum, Tapestry Dance and Austin Circle of Theaters for the lively discussion that occurred over lunch as part of a monthly series of panels focusing on a variety of nonprofit issues and bringing experts together with others in the field of focus as well as donors and potential other supporters and board members.
The discussion centered primarily on the challenges which these arts and cultural leaders face in this time of economic uncertainty and how each institution approaches their various situations.
Dellinger was able to report that TexARTS, unlike others represented on the panel, has demonstrated remarkable growth and expansion over the past year — mainly due to its having taken on new studios and developing a professional theater at 2300 Lohman’s Spur in Lakeway.
However, he cautioned that no arts agency can ever be certain of its economic future, noting that, while TexARTS’ business model has allowed for a much smaller percentage of contributed-to-earned income to maintain stability and grow in comparison with other larger, top-heavier institutions, it is nonetheless more vulnerable since it has not yet been able to focus on fundraising to build cash reserves that could lessen the impact of downturns in enrollment and/or attendance. Having really just begun anew with the advent of its new space despite having been founded in late 2005, TexARTS has been quite fortunate that it’s fiscally-responsible approach has kept it from falling the way so many other nonprofits have nation-wide.
The mission of the panel’s hosting institution, “I Live Here, I Give Here,” is to help educate potential donors and the broader community of the important role which philanthropic involvement in our region’s charitable, cultural and educational institutions’ plays in their ability to maintain and grow.
To learn more about how you can support TexARTS’ educational, artistic, scholarship and other programs, visit www.Tex-ARTS.org.