Today, many of our institutes are struggling to make ends meet. In addition, APsaA institutes and societies exist in a negative or uninformed community environment. How did we get here and what can we do about it? In a search for possible solutions, I spoke to representatives from five institutes—in St. Louis, Cleveland, San Francisco, Chicago, and Michigan. Each institute was remarkable for its long existing or renewed sense of hope and motivation among its members and for its existing or developing fiscal stability.
What are these institutes doing right and what can we learn from them? I found that they have several characteristics in common.
First, while each institute or psychoanalytic center varies widely in structure, its members have struggled to design an efficient organization that conforms to the institute's history and needs. All have a fiscally responsible lay board. And all but one have professional development directors.
While the structure and makeup of the boards of directors vary, they are all fiscally responsible for the work of their institutes. The boards, with the exception of Cleveland, are self-recruiting. Prominent and expert community business leaders work together with a varying percentage of analysts to provide each institute not only with financial health but also with a challenge to make psychoanalysis relevant to the community.
Eric Nuetzel of the St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute offered this advice about how to begin: “Identify people who have an interest in psychoanalysis, and ask their help in extending into the community.” Analysts who have grown up in the community may be helpful by contacting their friends. In many communities, friends such as these have been around for so long they seem obvious, so much so that no one has thought to request their guidance.
Once organized, board members need help in establishing relationships between each other and the membership. A 30-minute presentation of some aspect of the work of the institute at board meetings and at social events, such as an annual dinner or party, can help accomplish this goal. Arranging for relationship building opportunities reduces fears about potential power struggles and increases the sense that everyone has a stake in the health and welfare of the institute.
In order to carry out the work of the board, an institute needs professionally trained personnel. Some institutes with little or no funds for a professional development director have focused their initial energy on finding a donor who will underwrite the cost, while others start off with part-time help or share the expense with a nearby institute.
Many institutes are struggling with an attitude of long-standing discouragement born of frustration. As Drew Clemens from the Cleveland Psychoanalytic Center said, “Cynicism combined with passivity is a deadly combination.” For all five institutes, the work of the board and development staff has been inspiring. Discouragement yields to enthusiasm and momentum is tangible even in those situations in which a board and staff are relatively new. But development personnel cannot be expected to produce results overnight.
Andra Lichtenstein, a board member of the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Foundation, pointed out, “It takes time to build an infrastructure for fundraising. Sometimes the culture of an organization needs to be changed so that people understand about giving.”
Brochures and newsletters and a donor recognition program have to be developed. Members need to learn how to ask for money directly. It takes about three years to get going. The first year is spent getting ready, the next in establishing the organization's internal giving pattern and commitment to community service, making it possible to then reach out to foundations and arrange for planned giving. As members of psychoanalytic societies and institutes, we often give money to non-profits, but we tend to think of our own institutions as providing member services rather than as an organization that serves the community as well.
The good news about community service is that it represents a mutually beneficial strategic partnership. Opportunities for candidate training in community schools and clinics as well as developing and sharing mailing lists and publicity with community arts organizations are all part of an optimally functioning plan for community service.
Chicago and St. Louis both have long-standing low fee clinics and well developed arrangements with schools for kids in trouble. These programs provide opportunities for training experience for candidates or psychotherapy students. They also build relationships and offer learning through in-service training by the institute faculty.
Martin Laub, director of development and public affairs at the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis, said, “Fundraising isn't called fundraising anymore. It's given way to development. We're developing programs that provide benefits to the community and developing relationships with potential donors to support those programs.” And relationships build trust and loyalty.
Harold Kulish of the Michigan Psychoanalytic Foundation, in reference to direct solicitation told me that it is best to talk about the community service aspects of the institute, for instance, a low fee clinic or programs for children. He said, “If you try to explain what psychoanalysis is or what it does, you hit a dead end. You get caught up in questions about the difference between a social worker and a psychiatrist…. The best thing to say is, ‘This
is what we do [for the community].’ not ‘This is who we are.’…Some people care little about psychoanalysis, but they believe in supporting service to the community.”
The methods for development are many. They range from annual and endowment appeals to targeted direct mail or personal contact through conferences, benefits, and lectures. San Francisco has developed a program they call “Theater on the Couch,” in which analysts speak at the close of performances at the local repertory theater. This program will be extended to a film house as well. The theater directors were so thrilled with the first panel presentation, they have made it a part of their fall presentations and included it in all their publicity.
In Michigan they have found several techniques that work to create a successful benefit, showing a larger than usual profit. They put on a lighthearted show that is fun, because people like to walk out feeling good. Any intellectual comedian with some name recognition who can joke about psychoanalysis is a consistent draw. For a good show, the foundation can charge a significant amount of money, taking in much more than is necessary to cover the cost of the entertainer. A local comedy club has been a good source for finding the right act and presents an opportunity for the members of the benefit subcommittee to attend a performance, so they know what they are getting.
Cocktails before the performance and dessert afterwards turn out to be enough. Dinners are not popular and are too expensive, thus reducing profits. A warm-up musical group playing during the cocktail hour, such as the symphony youth group, helps improve relaxation and receptivity. One rule is, never include a half-hour introduction from the president or chairman of the board because it interferes with the ambiance. Dessert and coffee after the performance allow the audience to enjoy the afterglow and make contact with friends. If all goes well, an annual benefit can become a prestigious and valued community event.
As analysts, we believe in what we do. Psychoanalysis is valuable to individuals as well as to communities. But our ability to provide psychoanalytic care has diminished because we have lost touch with our constituencies. It is time to face reality and recognize that psychoanalysis needs vibrant and expanding community support in order to survive.