TACA Arts Insider with Jennifer Altabef
What drives your commitment to supporting organizations across such a wide spectrum, and how do you see the arts intersecting with other areas of nonprofit impact?
I tend to support organizations that I believe serve a critical need in our community, but obviously, I cannot support as many as I would like to. I will always support education, particularly higher education, because I believe it can be life-changing and impact future generations. I received significant scholarship support for my education, and I can never fully pay back what those scholarships gave to me, but I want to do as much as I can.
I also believe very strongly in the need for quality journalism in a democracy. Public broadcasting, to me, comes the closest to meeting the highest standards of journalism. I am involved with KERA and NPR, and support journalism education. And, of course, public broadcasting has significantly more quality arts content than other media.
I believe everyone, at every age, and in every circumstance, should be able to experience and create art. I think that the arts reflect what it is to be human, and we all need to keep discovering that in order to understand other viewpoints and experiences. It is important to support basic human needs like food and shelter, and I would never argue with that, but I think art is also important to the human soul. Art should be easy to find and enjoy everywhere people go, and we need to remove as many barriers to experiencing art as we can. That is my dream.
What is a surprising or unexpected way the arts have shown up in your life — a hidden talent, a memorable performance, or an art form you are deeply passionate about?
Most people in my family growing up were very accomplished musically and in visual arts, except me. I was the youngest child, and I was intimidated by my parents and sisters, and felt I could never sing or play an instrument or paint as well as they could. I was probably right. But this should not have stopped me from enjoying those art forms.
I leaned more toward theater and dance, where I didn’t feel like I had to measure up to my family, and I loved both art forms. I knew I would probably never be a professional actor or dancer, but that didn’t take away from the joy and freedom I felt when I put my all into a performance.
This all came back to me when, last summer, for the first time in 50 years, I was onstage in Dallas Theater Center’s The Little Mermaid as Sea Creature #28, a purple stingray. We rehearsed for five weeks and performed for four weeks, so it took the whole summer. And it was so, so hard, but I didn’t care because it was amazing to get to work with actors I know well from my years on the board at DTC and also people I had never met. I made a lot of new friends, and I accomplished my personal goal of not falling off the stage!
What advice would you give to someone looking to engage in civic or philanthropic work? How can they make a meaningful impact in their community?
This one is easy: only work with organizations or causes that you really, truly care about. If you’re only halfway in, you won’t do as good of a job as you could. Nonprofit and civic work will take as much time as you have to give, and you will only willingly give all you can if you are passionate about the cause.
That said, don’t assume civic or philanthropic work will be easy. Some of the toughest problems I have faced in the nonprofit sector were just as hard as any legal problem I ever had.
If you are looking for your first opportunity, think about what your ideal involvement would be, then find people at that organization who will meet with you — just contact them and ask for a 30-minute call or meeting. If you are not right for the opportunity you want, ask what you need to do to be qualified. People will help you, I promise. And please know it is not all about money; nonprofits need people with time and skills as well.
Jennifer Altabef is a dedicated civic leader with a deep commitment to the arts. A valued member of TACA’s board of directors, she was honored with the Silver Cup Award in 2022. She is also a recipient of Southern Methodist University’s Distinguished Alumni Award and, alongside her husband, received Texas Appleseed’s Good Apple Award, which recognizes individuals or couples making a meaningful impact on Texas through philanthropy, community service, and leadership.
In addition to her work with TACA, Altabef currently serves on the boards of the NPR Foundation, AT&T Performing Arts Center, and KERA. She also currently serves as chair of SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts Executive Board and the Dallas Theater Center Board of Trustees.