Looking for guidance on all sorts of management and funding issues?

If you have not discovered the Qm2 website (and I don't mean the luxury liner) you should take a look at Qm2.org. Qm2 is a group of consultants who don't share an office, but share a mission to help nonprofit organizations, particularly museums and cultural groups, build successful futures by implementing powerful concepts of learning, leadership, management, and design.

Although they each operate their own businesses, the Qm2 consultants share values and their talents are complementary. The Web site includes articles, PowerPoint presentations, videos and other relevant information on subjects like leadership, boards, fundraising, planning, development, and audience engagement. Some of the articles are designed to make us think about what we do and why we do it; others are step-by-step guides to designing and implementing programs and policies.

In addition to consulting and writing, the Qm2 group runs Executive Roundtables throughout the country. Roundtables are groups of 10-12 museum directors from a wide variety of museums who meet three times a year with one or more of the Qm2 consultants.

This year I joined one of the roundtables run by John and Anita Durel and, even though I am new to the group, it has been both great fun and incredibly helpful. The meeting agendas are set to meet our specific needs.

Part of each meeting is devoted to John and/or Anita giving presentations--written material and coaching on critical issues facing our museums. But the core of the roundtable experience is working with the other participants who are a supportive yet tough peer group who give perspective, present additional options from their own experiences, and support each other.

The roundtable follows ground rules:

• Open and honest interaction
• Mutual respect
• Absolute confidentiality

The absolute confidentiality rule makes it impossible for me to share the experiences of my fellows, but I am more than willing to share my own with Heritage Resource Center readers.

My biggest concerns right now are fundraising and development and Anita's materials on fundraising have been invaluable. She has helped me see the larger picture of a development program and given me the steps to go forward. I found these two articles particularly helpful:

• Getting Started with a Case for Support
• Developing a Case for Support
  

Over the coming months, I will report back on my Qm2 experiences on the HRC Web site to give updates.  But don't wait to check out the Qm2 site! I guarantee that there is something there for everyone.

By Cathy Fields