Sometimes a wonderful program happens. We swear that our lives have been changed. Time marches on, and it’s forgotten or relegated to a file of “Interesting Things We Did Back When.”
But in Colorado, the Arts Extension Service’s Peer Advising Network (PAN) in 2023 is very much a going concern.
During the 1990s I worked at the Colorado Council on the Arts and thought: The Peer Advising Network could be a way to extend our impact. And, let’s face it, by this time many of our constituents “in the trenches” knew way more than our staff did about the rapidly professionalizing field of arts administration.
AES staffer Craig Dreeszen, PAN’s brainchild, said: “Handpick the 12 best arts administrators in the state. Invite them to a weekend retreat to learn more.” They were from communities large and small; from grassroots to international groups. While their primary skill sets varied, all shared a generosity about “giving back.” Craig spent a weekend training us in facilitation skills, and every year for the 12 years of the program, we continued gathering annually to share experiences, learn about an emerging idea or skill, and pass on the basic training to the newcomers on our team.
Over those dozen years advisors assisted scores of different groups, facilitating retreats, helping retool older nonprofits, teaching community engagement, and coaching capital campaigns. Evaluations were stellar; only two advising gigs scored less than a perfect 20 points. The advisors all exclaimed how much professional development they had gained in the process. And, by year two, they were presenting the PAN trainings, not I.
But advisors’ loyalty was at the PAN’s heart, as well as their delight in one another. When one advisor was diagnosed with cancer, three others vied to take over her gig and donated their stipends to her medical fund. The advisors enjoyed the annual trainings so much that they added an overnight in order to hang out socially. In my memory, I see street-smart Chicano playwright-activist Tony Garcia and multi-million-dollar fundraiser Judy Hancock bantering over cocktails and swapping development ideas.
The PAN idea rippled. The Colorado Tourism Office requested that I write up the program so that they could replicate it. They named their program CHAMP.
It rippled again. I’d moved to the Community Foundation of the Gunnison Valley (CFGV), and we replicated the PAN there. We called it STEP–Sustainable, Tough, Efficient, Purposeful–what we wanted all nonprofits to be. And advisors donate their time. But its hallmarks are the same: a 10-second application with, often, same-day matching of applicant to advisor. A hand-picked group of great people. An annual training day with sessions that they offer. In 2023, 31 groups requested 35 STEP sessions. Over 300 consulting hours had been donated as of December 2023 and the evaluations are outstanding.
Best of all? The next ripple. I’ve retired now, but the program lives on. The roster is expanded to include people with new skill sets as the nonprofit world evolves. And STEP includes personal coaching as well. For example, a resident from South America skilled in international finance is coaching our new City Council member, an indigenous woman from Mexico, on finance and leadership skills. Here’s how the Community Foundation presents the STEP program and its roster. Each issue of CFGV’s bi-weekly “News You Can Use” spotlights an advisor. Current STEP director, Scott Krieger, says: "Utilizing the STEP Program to provide tailored and individualized support to local nonprofits has proven to be one of the most impactful capacity-building resources offered by CFGV.”
Thank you, Craig and AES. The PAN program was truly a gift that keeps on giving.
Maryo Gard Ewell has been described as “America’s community arts tradition keeper.” Her deep insights and impacts come from decades of work as an arts administrator and community arts developer in Connecticut, Illinois, and Colorado as well as her deep research and chronicling of this field history and evolution. Maryo retired in 2023 from the Community Foundation of Gunnison Valley (Colorado) and prior to that from Colorado Creative Industries.
See also this video exchange between a STEP peer advisor and advisee about the impact of the program on both; plus Craig Dreeszen’s “Peer Advising Network: Tapping & Building Practitioner-Advisors” for more on the inception of the program at AES.
To learn more about the Arts Extension Service’s history, visit the 50th Anniversary page for more articles as well as the AES History page.