NAI Blog

It’s an old saying. It’s a reminder that the choir may not need the sermon as much as others. Interpreters can easily end up being the friendly entertainment for the “choir.” They are the easy audience to attract.

In 1980 I moved to Pueblo, Colorado, to run a one-year old nature center. It had been started by the local Audubon chapter. We lived initially on federal revenue sharing grants. President Reagan took office two months after I arrived and he and the Congress quickly eliminated the federal revenue sharing program. I learned that I had three months to find funding to support our staff of two or watch the center die.

I had been a state park interpreter before this job as a nonprofit director. Preaching to the choir was common in state parks. I started by doing just that at the nature center. It was easy to do. I would advertise a 6 AM bird hike on Saturday and three Audubon members would show up. They didn’t need me to take them birdwatching but we all enjoyed these social outings. I finished each one with some concern that no revenue resulted and it was the same three or four people each week. This was a free program. We needed money, more members and to have some impact on those not already very interested in nature.

We discussed our options and decided we needed a fee-based program that introduced new people to birding. We came up with “Breakfast with the Birds.” We asked local markets for donated bakery goods and juices. We started the program at 8 AM, not 6 AM. Those new to birding would not want to get up at the crack of dawn. We charged $5 for this introduction to birding, continental breakfast and fun in the outdoors with new folks, not the “choir.”

We would have thirty to fifty show up and would make a good profit for this struggling but growing nature center. Some would also join us as members. We taught participants about birding and birdfeeding at home. We sold birdfeeders and bird seed mixtures at our gift shop. These were our first customers for those products. We met people who would not have considered a 6 AM birdwalk, but were interested in birds. Our choir didn’t show up. They were out birding long before these events began.

When I think of the challenge of building a membership at a nature center, I know there will be a natural audience who is already interested – our “choir.” It’s great to do some programming for them but not be totally focused there. Building constituents often means thinking about “potential markets.” Who might join us and be interested if we design for them? Tens of millions of people feed birds at home so they are a potential audience for any new nature program.

Cultural programs are similar. You can plan programming for the history buff and they are out there. Most organizations need a broader audience to support their efforts. If you plan for the potential audiences at a historic house, they might be those interested in geneaology or antiques.

We still need the “choir,” those already interested in our natural and cultural history programs and sites. They make great volunteers, serve on the Board, and will bring their friends. But we build stronger constituencies by thinking about who is not coming, but has some interest in our mission. They will respond to a softer approach and may one day be part of the choir.

-Tim Merriman