Engage
Capacity-building programs for arts and cultural organizations
Sign up for updatesArts and cultural organizations energize the communities they serve, sparking creativity, connection, and cultural richness. Yet, they often face significant challenges—leadership transitions, fluctuating funding, and operational constraints—that can limit their reach, impact, and sustainability.
With a suite of capacity-building workshops, M-AAA’s Engage program provides customized capacity-building and technical assistance to help arts and cultural organizations adapt, innovate, and increase their resilience.
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Carris Adams, M-AAA’s director of organizational services (center) with speakers and Essentials participants in Lubbock, Texas, in May 2024.
Who Engage Is For
Participants during the Omaha Engage Essentials
Engage provides capacity building, peer-to-peer mentoring, and technical assistance to leaders of nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in M-AAA’s six-state region of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Texas, and beyond.
Engage programs are customizable based on capacity, needs, and funding.
What Engage Provides
A discussion during an Engage Essentials workshop in Omaha, Nebraska.
Using a combination of workshops, consultations, and peer-to-peer learning opportunities, these programs empower participating organizations to govern more effectively, to be more fiscally astute, to ensure long-term sustainability, and to address community needs.
Engage strengthens nonprofits through a variety of capacity-building practices, including:
- Strengthen management practices to ensure effective leadership succession, organizational resilience, and the sustainable delivery of programs and services.
- Support organizations in (re)defining and clarifying their mission, vision, values, and identity.
- Enhance understanding and strategies for fostering effective cross-sector partnerships and defining shared responsibilities.
- Build organizational capacity by focusing on areas such as volunteer recruitment and retention, centering artists, sustaining community engagement and outreach, and embedding access and inclusion as core principles that shape their public commitments.
- Spark curiosity and innovation to inspire programs that resonate with audience priorities.
- Develop an interconnected cross-sector network to amplify community engagement and impact.
- Equip arts and cultural leaders with the tools and confidence to confront challenges while staying true to their mission and values.
Engage Programs
Click on the titles below to learn more about our suite of capacity-building programs. Engage programs are customizable based on capacity, needs, and funding.
Essentials (In-Person or Virtual)
Essentials (In-Person or Virtual)
Essentials is an introductory workshop focused on a specific professional development topic. This highly customized program addresses the needs and existing challenges of cultural organizations and art leaders.
After the workshops, M-AAA staff and program partners will invite arts and culture organizations to participate in an arts ecosystem conversation to discuss the needs and resources M-AAA can provide through a future Engage program.
Register for Essentials Lincoln, Nebraska
March 27 – Free, in-person
Diversifying Your Revenue Streams with Becky Boesen
Register for Essentials Lincoln, Nebraska
March 28 – Free, in-person
Strengthening Your Community Engagement with Caleb Fjone
Duration: Half day/Customizable
Engage Flex (In-Person or Virtual)
Engage Flex (In-Person or Virtual)
For rural and regional organizations, Engage FLEX is a flexible, in-depth program focusing on community-specific challenges. The modules are selected based on community needs, with themes covering governance, strategic planning, and fundraising. The program includes workshops with topic experts. Essentials is a prerequisite for an Engage FLEX.
Duration: 4 months to a year, customizable
Engage Express (In-Person or Virtual)
Engage Express (In-Person or Virtual)
Geared toward organizations with limited time for professional development, Engage Express offers an intensive version of the Engage Classic program. It includes large group sessions, individualized coaching, and consultations on financial and HR matters.
The program spans three cycles of three months each, focusing on Governance, Finance, and Engagement. The program’s output includes workshops, cohesive action plan, one-on-one with topic experts, and year-long cohort and network building.
Duration: 12 months
Engage Classic (In-Person)
Engage Classic (In-Person)
Engage Classic is an in-depth, community-centered organizational development program. It works with small to midsize arts and cultural organizations to strengthen internal practices and improve community impact. The program is organized in three phases:
- Data Collection & Needs Assessment
- Learning Cycles: Cohort sessions and individualized consultations with topic-based experts focusing on Governance, Finance, Accessibility, and Engagement.
- Evaluation & Final Report
Participants receive individualized coaching, attend workshops on current trends, and develop strong peer networks to solve problems and share resources. The first year focuses on trust-building and theory, while the second year is more hands-on, with opportunities for additional funding. Engage Classic strengthens participating arts organizations and arts leaders, amplifying an arts ecosystem that supports the wider community.
Duration: 24 months
Examples of Past Engage Programs
Examples of Past Engage Programs
1. Engage Houston | For 10 years, Engage Houston worked with more than 70 organizations throughout the city of Houston, providing extensive coaching and peer learning that built organizational capacity, arts leadership, and a more resilient arts ecosystem.
- Read the report, Connections Multiply, that shows the impact of that work.
- Watch the video, Connections Multiply.
2. ARt Connect, Northwest Arkansas | M-AAA, in partnership with the Creative Arkansas Community Hub and Exchange (CACHE), launched Engage in Northwest Arkansas to help deepen the impact of the region’s arts organizations and support their organizational development.
- Learn more about the program on CACHE’s website.
Latest Engage News
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Protecting and Inspiring the Cultural Heritage of the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta
Find Out MoreThe Arkansas-Mississippi Delta has long been a cradle of artistic and cultural expression, shaped by its history, people, and landscapes. The Delta region encompasses multiple states around the Mississippi River, including portions of Mid-America Arts Alliance’s region of Arkansas and…
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Show Your “Why”: How an Annual Report Can Amplify Your Organization’s Impact and Values
Find Out MoreAn annual report can be more than a summary of the year’s accomplishments or a pie chart of financial data. Annual reports—or “impact reports,” as M-AAA prefers to call ours—are a powerful tool for showcasing your organization’s mission and values…
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M-AAA’s New Program Helps Build Capacity for Arts Organizations
Find Out MoreIn West Texas, Lubbock Cultural Arts Foundation Director Stacy Keith knew arts leaders in her community wanted to do more. Situated in the arid plains, Lubbock’s art scene is fairly isolated—yet booming. Music festivals, performing arts events, First Fridays, museums,…
Header photography: ARt Connect Final Convening in July 2022. Photography by Cynthia Tran.