Holding its annual membership meeting in the Independence Seaport Museum, it was perhaps only natural that the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance’s 2013 get-together had a maritime overtone to its general theme of Leadership in Action.

Over 500 participants heard a series of presentations discussing a “perfect storm” of challenges for nonprofits seeking support from government funders, charitable philanthropies and individual donors. Organizations seeking state funding are facing stiff “headwinds” blowing out of state legislatures. And they face ongoing obstacles in “navigating” shifting changes in the political, cultural and funding landscapes. Great cities need a vibrant arts and culture sector, but legislators at all levels often do not make this a priority.

These challenges confront an arts sector needing reliable, recurrent sources of public funding for program support. The Annual Meeting participants were urged to collaborate in a common cause. The objective is to build a case that encourages legislators to recognize the arts as community cultural assets that are critical to a community’s quality of life.

Legislators need to see support for the arts not as frivolous, but rather as an investment that drives economic reinvestment and makes a community a place where people want to live, work and be.

Your Part-Time Controller was a key sponsor of the Annual Meeting. YPTC President and Founder Eric Fraint, CPA, serves on the organization’s Board of Directors as well as GPCA’s Treasurer.

Fraint’s presentation to the audience featured a surprise visit from the “Charity Watchdog,” an outrageous red hound sporting enormous binoculars. Charity Watchdog represents several national organizations whose metrics-based evaluations of nonprofit organizations’ performance, and donors’ reliance on these findings, have often been controversial.

Your Part-Time Controller is inaugurating its Executive Briefing Series in October, 2013 with three informative programs in Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and New York. The programs will explore the question, “The charity watchdogs are watching you: Are you watching them?”

The charity watchdog’s visit is featured in a YouTube video. And there’s a gallery of photos on our Facebook page. Enjoy the fun and plan to attend one of the three Executive Briefing Series to learn more about what you can do to better present and protect your organization.