Abstract
This chapter examines the governance of nonprofit arts organizations from a unique behavioral perspective, considering who really governs, the conditions under which outside actors may coalesce as coalitions that may supersede, contravene, or enhance full-board governance, and how these actors acquire and exercise power and influence in the process. We focus specifically on the emergence of dominant coalitions and, especially, how founders and their colleagues can coalesce and mobilize such coalitions to exercise power and influence that can compete with or even dominate some or all the work of the arts organization's official governance system. Power and influence are discussed from the perspective of Cohen and Bradford's exchange-based influence model to illustrate how founders may acquire and exercise influence and power, even in the absence of authority, to impact the governance and strategic decisions of arts nonprofit organizations.