A major metropolitan area would make NSN more accessible and would offer wider artistic and nonprofit collaboration, as well as a wider base of foundations and major companies who could support us. In a large city, NSN can increase its visibility by making connections with other organizations and by attracting larger media coverage. 

a) We'll be considering major cities, perhaps in the Midwest. Our ideal city will be a transportation hub, with easy and relatively inexpensive transportation options to and from as well as within the city, since it could potentially be the site of the National Storytelling Conference, quarterly Board Meetings, and other events. We'll evaluate real estate rental prices, and conference accommodations, too.
 
b) We'll also consider the kinds of non-profits in the area, the availability of a Foundation Center and the training and resources it can offer,  the other arts organizations in the area that offer opportunities for  collaboration, and the strength of the local storytelling community. We are vitally interested in joining consortiums of nonprofit leaders and agencies dedicated to supporting nonprofits and the staff who work there, as well as establishing direct connections to philanthropic donors or institutions that might be willing to support NSN.
 
c) Bids for accounting software, for third party web service platforms, for printing and mailings, etc., will be solicited from a much wider  base in an urban area, providing more options and competitive pricing.
 
d) Although we hope in the long run to keep a “heart-line,” a small staff presence, in Jonesborough to facilitate collaborations with the International Storytelling Center, it is not efficient for two national/international storytelling organizations to be based in the same place.  The independent identities of NSN and ISC are unclear even to NSN members and to Jonesborough residents.  We believe that storytelling will be better served if its national organizations are more widely distributed.  When you water a garden, you don’t put both sprinklers in the same spot!