We never noticed before, but David Letterman is a dead ringer for Henry Walters, co-founder of the local museum that bears his name. Maybe it’s that Old Testament beard. And Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh bears a striking resemblance to a woman with a flower in her hair captured in Diego Rivera’s 1955 watercolor, “Ín the Market of Papantia.”

And John Waters? That one was almost too easy. Apparently, the artwork the filmmaker most closely resembles hangs in the National Portrait Gallery. It’s a painting the artist Joseph Sheppard created of — wait for it — John Waters.

I have not waded into either of the debates that are raging across the art museum world at the moment. So far, I’ve avoided commenting on the deaccessions planned by the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Mass., which has been tied up in the court system for months, and the LaSalle University Art Museum in Philadelphia, which has enraged the art world. And I’ve not said anything about the Met’s new admissions policy either.

The explanation–two cliches. First, it’s deju vu all over again. Second, quoting Shakespeare, “It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing.”

Neither explanation means that I agree with the decisions of these museums–though I have more nuanced views than some critics. But the question, really, is what can be done. In at least two cases, not much. So is outrage the right response? Each case is distinct.

Each year, The Nonprofit Institute at the University of San Diego showcases what strong nonprofit governance looks like through the USD Kaleidoscope Award for Good Governance. The purpose of the award is to recognize, celebrate and promote good governance across the San Diego region's nonprofit sector. This year’s Kaleidoscope awards, presented at opening reception for the 14th Annual Nonprofit Governance Symposium on January 25th, go to the boards of North County Lifeline and the San Diego Museum of Man.
The name for the award – Kaleidoscope – reflects the idea that nonprofit governance is both intricate and multifaceted, best viewed through three lenses: fiduciary, strategic and generative. Dr. Emily Young, Executive Director of The Nonprofit Institute, states that, “good boards are dedicated volunteers who understand which lens to apply at any given time, to provide leadership that enhances an organization’s ability to fulfill its mission.”
North County Lifeline and the San Diego Museum of Man will share their stories of how good board governance has propelled their organizations to higher performance and impact in fulfilling their missions.
In the case of North County Lifeline, Board Chair Mary Urelius-Daum noted: “We are now in a much better position to secure resources and enact effective programs to build self-reliance among youth, individuals and families through problem solving, skill-building and accessible community-based services.”  
With the San Diego Museum of Man, Board Chair George Ramirez commented: “The San Diego Museum of Man has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past several years, largely by putting governance at the front and center of our efforts, rather than as an afterthought. This has led to key institutional initiatives such as World Peace Starts at Home and Decolonization, which are not only radically redefining our day-to-day work, but also enabling us to more effectively deliver on our mission.“
The Kaleidoscope award is part of the larger Annual Nonprofit Governance Symposium, a three-day event from January 25-57 at the University of San Diego, dedicated to highlighting current best practices, lessons learned from the field, and trends in effective nonprofit and philanthropic board leadership, as well as board recruitment and retention. This year, the Symposium’s overarching theme is People, Place and Performance: The Triple Bottom Line for Nonprofit Governance. 
For more information regarding the Kaleidoscope Award and the Annual Governance Symposium, please visit here. The Nonprofit Institute staff team and researchers are available to respond to additional inquiries and provide consulting support as requested. 

Eleven years ago, when Baltimore’s two largest art museums joined a nationwide trend by announcing that they would drop admission fees, the news was applauded in newspapers from New York to Detroit to Jackson, Miss. The policy was credited with inspiring Free Fall Baltimore, a monthlong slate of free arts activities. The museums’ directors predicted the move would jump-start attendance and make their audiences more diverse.

“There was a pent-up desire,” Doreen Bolger, then director of the Baltimore Museum of Art, said, “and free membership has unleashed it.”

There was just one problem: That pent-up desire didn’t last. After initial surges in attendance, museums in Baltimore and nationwide that went free soon resumed losing visitors at alarming rates.
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A decade later, museum officials are still scrambling to devise ways to reverse the slide.

When former Walters Art Museum director Gary Vikan remembers the late 1990s, he gets a little wistful.
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It was a time when as many as 600,000 people crowded through the doors of the city’s two largest art museums each year. Local celebrities would hit him up for tickets. Airline employees checking him in for his flight recognized his name.

“Sometimes on Sundays, the galleries would get so full you could barely move,” Vikan said. “It was fun while it lasted.”

Twenty years later, the scene in Baltimore and nationwide is very different.