When Katelyn Bosch VerMerris stepped into her role as the inaugural director of the Zeeland Historical Society, the challenges were daunting. With a $50,000 budget deficit and a collection overflowing in less-than-ideal conditions, the future seemed uncertain.
But today, thanks to a transformative capacity-building program, the Zeeland Historical Society is not only stabilizing its finances but also envisioning a brighter future, including a potential capital campaign to expand and better preserve its collection.
"We've been working really hard to grow our revenue to accommodate our operational costs since moving from all-volunteer to adding two full-time staff members," Bosch VerMerris says. "One of our biggest challenges is our collection. They're stored in the basement of our two historic museums, spaces that are rapidly outgrowing their capacity and certainly not ideal for preservation."
Rather than being overwhelmed, Bosch VerMerris and her team have embraced the capacity-building program’s potential, allowing them to dream bigger. That’s what capacity building is about – strengthening an organization so it can better meet its objective and fulfill its mission.
"The idea of a capital campaign was a distant dream when I started," Bosch VerMerris says. "But now, after going through this process, we’re realizing it’s not only possible, it’s necessary. We’re thinking about how to create ideal conditions for our collections and space for future growth. It’s probably a long way off, but you have to dream before you can achieve it."
‘All the difference’
The Zeeland Historical Society is just one of a dozen arts and cultural organizations along the Lakeshore that have been revitalized by a comprehensive
capacity-building program led by the DeVos Institute of Arts Management. Over the past 2 ½ years, this initiative has empowered these institutions to reassess their strategies, strengthen operations, and deepen their impact.
The
Holland Area Arts Council, a beneficiary of the program, has found the support transformative.
"I'm profoundly thankful that the process came into our organization,” says Lori Gramer, the council’s executive director, “and we will continue to use it regularly to reevaluate and respond to the needs of our community.”
Similarly, Johnny Rodriguez, president and CEO of
Latin Americans United for Progress (LAUP), describes the program as a game-changer. LAUP has expanded its reach beyond cultural events to include health initiatives like the Salserines, a group that teaches salsa dancing to improve the health of older Hispanics.
"Having access to these resources and this plan made all the difference in where we are today," Rodriguez says. "We've tripled our impact and are on pace to impact 50,000 people this year, a 400% growth in our operating budget."
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Courtesy DeVos Institute of Arts ManagementPeople chat during a recent gathering for the DeVos Institute of Arts Management.
Rodriguez credits the program for helping LAUP grow its team and build confidence in its strategic direction.
“None of this would have been possible without the environmental analysis and capacity-building support we received," he says.
Meanwhile,
Evergreen Commons, under the leadership of the Jill Ver Steeg, is preparing to celebrate its 40th anniversary with an ambitious initiative that aims to revolutionize perceptions of aging.
"Evergreen Commons was a perfect fit for this program," Ver Steeg says. "The timing was spot on. It provided a strategic framework that allowed us to pause, evaluate our programming, and plan for a sustainable future."
The program also fostered collaboration among local arts and culture organizations, which Ver Steeg views as a major benefit.
"Being in a room with other arts and culture organizations allowed us to collectively look at ourselves as incredible assets for the Holland community and to imagine what we could do better together," she says.
Ver Steeg says the process already has strengthened two relationships —one with the Holland Symphony and its Music Moves Us festival, and another collaboration with Park Theatre, which provided music and entertainment for Evergreen Commons’ gala last year.
Michelle Stempien, the new executive director of the
Holland Museum, is leading a project called the Living Archive that reflects the museum's commitment to preserving the past while embracing the future.
"Our mission is preserving our past and imagining our future, and this project really embraces all of those things,” says Stempien. “As a museum, we are here for the entire community, and that includes the diversity that is Holland today."
Stempien acknowledges that while the museum’s collection is beginning to reflect the city’s diversity, there is still much work to be done.
"This Living Archive Project is our initiative to bring objects into the collection—artifacts, artwork, recordings, photographs, journals—from individuals and organizations in the community who are currently not well represented in the museum," Stempien explains. "We want to build those relationships, and this project will help us get there."
At
CultureWorks, Executive Director Emily Christensen is looking to build on a successful collaboration to sustain and expand the organization’s programming for diverse students.
"A couple of years ago, we co-wrote a grant with Hope College’s Department of Art & Art History department through the Mellon Foundation to create and launch a visiting artist series, but we don’t have funding to continue it," says Christensen. "So we are looking ahead at how we can fund that in an ongoing way, launch an artist-in-residence program, and bring in a career speaker series."
Christensen emphasizes the importance of leadership and role models for CultureWorks’ students.
"We really need to bring in leadership for our diverse group of students who can point the way, a path, a pathway forward for them," Christensen says.
The
Saugatuck-Douglas History Center (SDHC), which has deep roots in Michigan's "Art Coast," has also embraced the capacity-building program’s potential. Eric Gollannek, the center’s executive director, says the program has helped the center plan for the future.
"Through the planning process, it really became clear that there's something special about Saugatuck, Douglas, and the entire Lakeshore," Gollannek says. "This region has a deep history as a creative community—a place where people from a wide network come to be creative and experience the arts. That's true today, and it was true over 100 years ago."
The SDHC has built an art collection of over 500 historical artworks, all created by artists living or working at the Lakeshore. It plans to collaborate with its neighboring institutions, including the Ox-Bow School of Art and Artists' Residency, the oldest operating art colony in the United States. However, Gollannek acknowledges that the plan faces challenges in realizing its full potential.
"The vision is for the History Center to be the place to experience the history of art on the Art Coast of Michigan," Gollannek says. "The capacity-building initiative has helped us think about how we can share our collection through existing and new collaborations with institutions, organizations, and businesses. We really need help to grow the capacity of the organization beyond our staff of one full-time executive director, some amazing volunteers, and other people who help out."
At the
Michigan Maritime Museum in South Haven, executive director Patti Montgomery Reinert says the program coincided with a major capital campaign, leading to significant strides in planning and execution.
"We had a big vision with a lot of success, but honestly, we were flying by the seat of our pants on a lot of it. Being able to go through this process made a tremendous difference for us," Reinert says.
The museum has developed a strong business plan, which Reinert credits with helping it navigate the complexities of balancing the capital campaign with daily operations. The museum’s progress has been accompanied by growth in staff and revenue.
Reinert is particularly proud of the museum's recent fundraising achievements.
"We held our first fundraising gala, which was on our to-do list, and we’re celebrating our 50th year with a net of over $120,000 from that one event," she says.
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Courtesy DeVos Institute of Arts Management Dick DeVos speaks during a DeVos Institute of Arts Management event that brought together nonprofit leaders from along the Lakeshore.
Dick, Betsy DeVos drive initiative
At the heart of this capacity-building initiative are Dick and Betsy DeVos. The couple has long supported arts organizations, but bringing this program to their own community holds special significance for them.
"The fact that we are in Holland and in West Michigan was not accidental; it was very intentional," Dick DeVos. "We did a program similar to this one 12 years ago in Grand Rapids, and we wanted to do something that was in the community we cared about."
Betsy DeVos traces their involvement back to her time on the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, where she worked closely with Michael Kaiser, the center's former president and the institute’s founder and chairman.
"He was growing this notion of a capacity-building arts management program within the Kennedy Center. When he retired as president and struck out on his own, Dick and I thought this was such an important effort to support that we wanted to continue to do so in a meaningful and major way," says Betsy DeVos.
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Courtesy DeVos Institute of Arts Management Betsy DeVos speaks during a DeVos Institute of Arts Management event that brought together nonprofit leaders from along the Lakeshore.
Brett Egan, president of the DeVos Institute of Arts Management, has been at the forefront of this initiative, working with the participating organizations to help them navigate their unique challenges and seize new opportunities.
"This group has to work so much harder for smaller sources of revenue and find many more sources of revenue from individuals, small businesses, and their peers," Egan says. "We’ve focused on building the administrative structures needed to manage those relationships, and we’re seeing that investment pay off."
Joining arts and tourism
Egan sees significant opportunities for arts and culture in West Michigan, particularly in how they intersect with tourism.
"Over 2 million people come into the Lakeshore region each year,” Egan says. “If we could get just 1/10 of 1% of those people and convert them into ticket buyers for places like the Michigan Maritime Museum or visitors to the historical society – just 2,000 people – that would make a big difference."
Egan acknowledges that bridging the gap between arts and culture and tourism sectors can be challenging.
"We convened a roundtable to think about what the partnership between arts and culture and tourism might look like in its next phase," Egan says. "This is always a tough discussion, but we have to keep trying.”
Three such roundtables produced several ideas about how arts and culture can work with tourism for the benefit of both sectors.
One key idea is to extend the tourism season with additional major events during the "shoulder seasons" — the weeks just before Memorial Day and just after Labor Day.
"In partnership with tourism, could we find two more weekends, one in May and one in September, around which to build a major tourism push?" Egan suggests. "This would help arts and culture organizations and local businesses alike."
Another suggestion is the creation of a shared programming calendar.
"This would allow arts organizations to know what others are planning and provide marketable material for tourism and convention bureaus," Egan says.
Egan underscores the economic impact of arts and culture in Michigan, saying the sector generates $15 billion in economic activity annually and supports 122,000 jobs. Arts and culture tourists, he adds, tend to spend more and stay longer when they visit West Michigan.
"So arts and culture is good for the economy, but it's also good for us as humans," Egan says.
Strategy for the future
Looking ahead, Dick DeVos hints at the possibility of revisiting the Grand Rapids community with a refreshed capacity-building program.
"We're considering circling back and doing a similar program, a refresh if you will, in the Grand Rapids community here in the next couple of years," he says. "These arts and cultural organizations are such an important part of the fabric of our communities, especially the ones we care most about."
Dick DeVos says the impact of the capacity-building program is visible in the growth and evolution of the institutions that have adopted it. From the Zeeland Historical Society’s bold new vision to Evergreen Commons’ strategic advancements, the capacity-building program is not only helping these organizations dream big but also giving them the tools to make those dreams a reality.
"It's clear that capacity has expanded in different ways in all of these organizations, and the community is going to be the beneficiary, for sure," he says. "It's going to make it a better place."