Michael Ibrahim, CFRE

Lecturer

Michael W. Ibrahim (he/him/his) is the Chief Program and Impact Officer at Third Sector New England (TSNE). As a member of the executive leadership team, Michael oversees and develops TSNE’s national program areas, conducts research for the social sector, and designs strategy that advances TSNE’s overall programmatic impact. Michael publishes works and presents nationally on organizational development, change management, philanthropy, learning & evaluation, and DEIA strategies with the goal of driving social and cultural impact.

Prior to joining TSNE, Michael was Cultural Investment Portfolio Manager at the Massachusetts Cultural Council. In addition to tens of millions in direct unrestricted grantmaking, Michael led the Council’s Advisory Services and Capacity Building Initiatives, providing consulting services, technical assistance, financial health inventorying, capacity mapping, evaluation, and cohort development strategies. Michael launched several capacity building programs at the Mass Cultural Council, including the Capacity Accelerator Network, Capacity Measurement Tool, Small Shop Network, Cultural Data Financial Management Series, the Safe Harbors Program, the Recover, Rebuild, and Renew Series, and produced the Council’s arts leadership podcast, Creative Minds Out Loud, among other initiatives.

He is passionate about community-based arts organizations, having served as a Development Director for over a decade at the All Newton Music school, various management roles at Barrington Stage Company, Stoneham Theatre, Lexington Philharmonic, and is the current Chair of the Hudson Cultural Council and Board member of the Berkshire Art Center. In addition to his work at Boston University, Michael is on the faculty of the University of Kentucky’s graduate arts administration program and is a former faculty member of Emerson College’s arts administration program.

Michael holds a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Education Leadership Management from Northeastern University, a M.S. in Arts Administration from Boston University, a Graduate Certificate in Fundraising Management from Boston University, and a B.A. in Arts Administration from the University of Kentucky.

“In arts administration, and nonprofit fundraising in particular, we have the honor of matching those who have the financial resources to spark change with the individuals that create change. Arts Administration at BU prepares students with the necessary capacities today to guide this framework for generations to come.”

ArtWorks Spotlight Q&A

As a part-time/adjunct faculty member, you straddle the professional and the academic worlds. What do you consider to be the unique value this brings to the classroom?
I’m fortunate, like many of my colleagues in the Arts Administration program, to have one foot in academia and another in practice. I think that’s indicative of the arts administration field. Having faculty who can balance both of those worlds is critical for students looking to have the most well-rounded education possible. As a faculty member, being able to bring challenges and opportunities I see daily in practice into the classroom keeps our conversations rich and relevant.

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What course do you teach at MET?
I’ve been teaching Raising Funds and Grant Writing for Nonprofit Organizations (MET AR 550) for almost 15 years.

Please highlight a particular project within this course that most interests your students? What “real-life” exercises do you bring to class?
Writing a grant proposal, of course! But as my current and former students can attest, that’s just one of the many outputs of the class. The class is focused on supporting students who work with a nonprofit organization to bring them through all the steps needed to get to that point. That includes beefing up their communication skills, adding to their financial management literacy, being able to identify a good mission statement, understand change theory, become an expert prospect researcher, and design sustainable outcomes, among other critical items. A few students register for AR 550 thinking they will simply learn how to fill out a grant application, but when they leave, they often realize they’ve taken a bootcamp in nonprofit consulting, accounting, leadership, planning, evaluation, and storytelling.

What is the biggest difference you’ve seen between arts and culture philanthropy today and 15 years ago, and what advice would you give to aspiring fundraising professionals in the Arts Administration program today?
I started as a development director before iPhones, text donations, and YouTube. In fact, for one year’s annual fund drive, we had the idea to ditch the traditional letter and create an appeal DVD and mail it to our donor list. We spent hours creating an iMovie masterpiece, then the cutting edge of technology. How 2005! Now, with all the technology tools available to fundraisers and the increased competition that comes along with it, aspiring arts administrators should remember that relationships remain the center of our work. With all the data analytics, coding, and multi-channel communication, don’t forget that there is a human (not an ATM) on the other side of your mission.

Please tell us about your work with the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Based on your conversations with arts and culture organizations across the state, how optimistic is the sector about a strong recovery?

For seven years, I had the tremendous privilege of serving the residents of Massachusetts at the Mass Cultural Council. I was program manager for the Council’s cultural investment portfolio, an arm of the agency that works with nonprofit organizations through operating and project grants, as well as a host of advisory services. In a typical year, I would conduct about 50 site visits, lead workshops on a variety of nonprofit management topics, manage a portfolio of grantee relationships, participate in panels for new applicants, and support the agency in cross-sector work.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, our team spoke with 300 cultural nonprofits about how they were responding to COVID-19 and their future plans. These conversations formed our “recover, rebuild, and renew” series to help create a post-COVID operating environment for cultural nonprofits and creative workers. In my conversations, I know organizations are balancing multiple crises with racial justice and new business models being top of the list. Many organizations have taken the time without traditional programming to focus on internal work: anti-racist action plans, board handbooks and orientation policies, ethics guidance, strategic planning, new forms of audience engagement/programming and more.

Some organizations, such as those that deliver critical services or have the ability to hold programs outdoors, have been busier than ever. Others, however, such as large presenting institutions, still have many challenges ahead; their business model mostly relies on earned revenue and an 80–90% full house. They were the first to close and will be some of the last to reopen. It’s hard to give one unifying statement about “the sector” because the sector is made up of so many different organizations, disciplines, cultures, values, and access to capital, but I’d say all are committed and ready to return to delivering the art forms we love and so desperately need now, more than ever.

Based on your knowledge of the MA cultural sector, what are some common traits of highly resilient arts organizations?

In some organizations, the pandemic has brought forward existing challenges and vulnerabilities. For example, organizations whose boards had limited financial literacy had a hard time making data-driven decisions in the middle of a crisis. Organizations with existing debt levels found the lack of positive cash flow an insurmountable challenge. Organizations that didn’t have strong donor-community mission connections found the contributed revenue wasn’t there for an emergency fundraising appeal.

But it’s not all about balance sheets and diversifying revenue sources (although financial capital is certainly part of the puzzle). Looking ahead to a post-COVID operating environment, I believe resilient organizations will need to create a culture of learning (which includes evaluation), be unafraid of partnerships and alliances that bridge not only their own discipline but intersectional disciplines and be thoughtful about the use of technology to better serve the mission.

Then there are the people, the human capital of the organization. Organizations should commit to communicating regularly and openly with staff, celebrate wellness, advocate for a work-life balance, and be intentional about creating clear career paths for existing and emerging leaders of color. This includes examining and challenging internal structures and board practices and moving past solidarity and into action.

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Do you have anything else you would like to share with our community?
This is a critical time to be an arts administrator. Cultural disruption over the last year due to COVID-19 has led to innovations at a speed not seen before. We are using data and technology in new ways, creating hybrid working environments, redefining programming and more. But yet, systemic racism persists. We cannot build back the house the way it was before; the house was always broken. To accomplish systemic change, our field needs leaders of color now. Our field needs your voice. Our field needs your leadership. And our field needs to be ready for you.