For the next few months, we will be using the alphabet as a novel way to unpack the many concepts of arts administration. Please join in. Thank you to the following arts administrators for adding ideas to the project:
- Ashley Thorndike-Youssef, Now Next Dance
- Fernando Maneca, BAX | Brooklyn Arts Exchange
- Hillary Kooistra, Abraham.In.Motion
- Kathryn Humphreys, Hubbard Street Chicago
- Katie Kruger, Shawl-Anderson Dance Center
- Liz Hitchcock Lisle, Shotgun Players
- Phyllis Haskell Tims, University of Utah (retired)
- Rebecca A. Ferrell, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
- Sarah Crowell, Destiny Arts Center
- Tammy Cheney, Lines Ballet
Arts administration relates to work at dance centers, arts councils, arts education programs, companies, and college programs. Please read on to explore the many and varied topics within arts administration. While not every topic applies to every setting, we hope that you will still find one or two ideas in the post that are useful and applicable to your particular setting. Please feel free to add ideas and links in the comments section below.
The Letter B:
- Balancing
- Board of Directors
- Board meetings
- boardsource.org
- Booking
- Bookkeeping
- Books related to arts administration
- Brown bag lunch series for arts administrators
- Budgets
- Burnout
- Business plan
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Let's unpack, consider, and reflect upon each one of these words. Even before reading further, you might want to take the list of 11 ideas here and simply journal for your organization. What do these words and phrases mean to you at your site?
Balancing
Balancing is one of those essential skills in the life of an artist. In particular, as an administrator you will most likely be handling, managing, and juggling a huge range of tasks and areas. The recurring questions include:
-How do you prioritize?
-If you made a pie chart of your work, how would you divide up your time?
-Is there anything you can delegate right now?
-How do you balance growth/maintaining and new/established programs?
-How do you find a work/personal life balance? Business and artmaking?
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors is the governing body for non-profits. Boards vary widely in terms of size and relationship to the employees and the everyday workings of an organization.
When working for a non-profit, a board of directors takes on the responsibility of meeting several times a year to oversee the organization and ensure that it is fulfilling its mission, goals, and financial responsibilities.
A common misconception relates to the fact that the board is usually comprised of volunteers, except for maybe one or two employees of the non-profit (such as the executive director). When you think of volunteerism, you might imagine a laid-back situation of people offering some help. While a board might indeed be laid-back and easygoing, the truth of the matter is that a board is an incredibly powerful group of volunteers.
Non-profits are required to organize a board of directors, have a few meetings a year, and maintain board minutes that anyone is able to access. (Remember, non-profit organizations receive their special 501(c)3 status because they are deemed organizations that serve the community.)
Based on your position and role in a non-profit, and the size of the organization, you may never meet the board or attend meetings. Even if this is the case, it is wise and valuable to have at least some basic knowledge of the board, such as:
- How many people are on the board, and who are they? Boards might be comprised primarily of artists, or more formal organizations and non-profits large in size and budget might have community members and a variety of people in careers such as finance and law.
- How often does the board meet? If appropriate, would it be possible for you to attend one board meeting to gain a sense of this aspect of the non-profit?
- Can you read some of the minutes from past meetings?
- How is fundraising being handled right now in the organization? Are the board members key players in this?
- If appropriate, can you personally invite board members to future events you direct? (For example, if you are the Director of Education for a non-profit, consider inviting board members to the upcoming performance at the elementary school your teaching artists have been working in for the past 6 months.) Ideally, start to build a relationship and repoire with the members of the board.
- Consider reading some of the free articles on boardsource.org, in the series simply called "Board Basics 101."
In most non-profit dance organizations – for dance companies, dance centers, and education organizations – the board is an incredible group of volunteers passionate about dance and the mission of your organization. But, always remain aware that the board is fiscally responsible for the organization, and they might ultimately be the ones voting to cut a program or let go of an employee when financial trouble strikes. This of course is the most extreme of cases, but it always good to keep this detail in the back of your mind. The Executive Director might be your boss, but the Executive Director also reports to the board and ultimately can be hired/fired by the board. Thus, this seemingly benign group of volunteers actually holds an incredible amount of power.
Check out this 2017 article in the Washington Post about boards of directors:
Overall, knowing a little about the board of directors at your non-profit can provide important perspective in terms of leadership and vision at your job. When the time comes, I highly recommend serving on a board as well to learn more and to keep supporting the arts in your community. (My own time on the boards of Dancers' Group and the California Dance Education Association were great learning experiences and rewarding volunteer opportunities.)
Last, let us not forget that the board is serving the organization (and you, one of its employees) out of the kindness of their hearts and as a service to the community. Whenever you can, a simple thank you or note of appreciation can go a long way. The board members are oftentimes the behind-the-scenes people holding up the non-profit.
*To read the full prior blog post on Boards of Directors, click here.
Board meetings
Boards might meet once a quarter, or as often as once a month. Frequently the Executive Director and Artistic Director are the employees in attendance.
If appropriate, could one additional employee join in each month, and you rotate through the staff over the course of a year? Occasional opportunities like this will give employees facetime with the Board and provide learning opportunities for staff and board members alike.
If you cannot attend a meeting, ask your ED or AD if you can provide information for her to share at the board meeting, such as a one-page document explaining the growth of your afterschool programming, for example.
boardsource.org
Over the years, the website Boardsource has been my quick go-to source when Board-related questions and topics arise. Spend thirty minutes browsing its topics and articles.
To get started, check out this article called "Recommended Governance Practices."
Booking
Hillary Kooistra, Company Manager of Abraham.in.Motion, shared these ideas on the topic of booking*:
Booking is one of the most important processes for a performing dance company. There is no reason to raise money, advertise, create an audience base, etc. if there are no shows where audiences can see your work! There are many ways to book tours and performances, and the process can be a long one. Many companies, ourselves included, work with a booking agent, who reaches out to presenters, negotiates contracts, and generally speaks on the company's behalf to arrange performances. They attend conferences, such as APAP and Tanzmesse (an international presenters' conference in Düsseldorf, Germany) to meet new presenters and speak with familiar faces. Many companies will perform in showcases during these conferences. For smaller companies just starting out, they are a great way to be seen and put on presenters' radars, but are rarely an immediate ticket in. After the showcase comes the real brunt: the introductions, the follow-up, the negotiations. Even if the presenter likes the company's work, he/she still needs to consider how it will fit into their overall season. The process can sometimes go on for years, but cultivating relationships with presenters is quite crucial!
Dance Magazine wrote an article about booking (specifically through APAP) in their January edition. It's definitely worth a read, especially with this topic in mind!
*All words in italics are Hillary's words here.
Bookkeeping
Depending on the size of your organization, finances are managed in-house with a regular employee or through the use of a bookkeeper on contract. Quickbooks – whether on your computer or used online – still remains the main option for arts organizations.
Do some research in your area for accounting firms that specialize in non-profit finances. You might consider working with several other non-profits to collectively share a bookkeeper; you might all decide to have the bookkeeper onsite for 1 work day a week, or decide on a set number of hours per month, such as 10 hours a month.
If you are a fiscally sponsored project of a larger non-profit, it is important to find out their bookkeeping practices and how fast you can get financial information when you need it for grantwriting and budgeting purposes.
Small organizations might even consider a simple Income/Expense spreadsheet online using Google Docs/Google Sheets to allow several people at a time easy access of the information.
Books related to arts administration
My top book suggestion still remains to be Michael M. Kaiser's book The Cycle: A Practical Approach to Managing Arts Organizations.
And second, while not a great title, the Nonprofit Kit for Dummies by Stan Hutton and Frances N. Phillips is worthwhile to keep on your organization's bookshelf.
Brown bag lunch series for arts administrators
Many years ago, I participated in a monthly brown bag lunch series in San Francisco. It's a simple idea but a great one. We are thinking about re-starting it again in the Berkeley/Oakland area.
A monthly lunch opportunity can be a great way to get organizations together to share stories, ask questions, and learn from each other. The brown bag series might be comprised of all of the heads of the local arts organizations. I also suggest considering making the brown bag series geared to the non-ED positions at your organization – the Company Manager, Managing Director, Education Program Assistant, etc. I say this because EDs and ADs have more opportunities for professional development and collegiality locally and nationally. I think bringing together key staff will provide a unique and much-needed forum for arts administrators.
Budgets
Budgets provide a frame, goal, and story for the organization. Here is some information I shared in a prior blog post about budgets…."budgets 101."
Okay, you have landed a job as an arts administrator. One of the most important details to understand early on is related to money.
Organization size: Arts organizations can so greatly vary in terms of budget size. Are you working a few hours a week for a dance festival, with an annual budget of $20,000? Are you working for a ballet company with an operating budget of over $5 million? Or, are you at an arts education organization with a budget around $1 million?
Income: Arts organizations vary in programming, and thus income. Income can come from class tuition, ticket sales, grants, and donations. Looking over the budgets of your organization, what are the various income sources? For example, your arts organization might receive 90% of its income from grants and donations; only 10% of the income comes from schools paying for classes and workshops.
Expenses: When you first begin in arts administration, some of the expenses might be completely unfamiliar to you – liability insurance, mortgages, workers comp, and more. If possible, sit down with your employer and find out what these expenses are. Most likely, your employer will appreciate your effort to learn, ask questions, and gather context.
Gaining a sense of the budget, and the scale of your organization, will provide a solid foundation as you begin your job. Whether with a very modest budget or a budget of millions, lots of wonderful and meaningful work is happening in arts organizations throughout the United States. On a personal level, understanding budgets can give you perspective on pay scales and how you can grow within an organization.
Ah, burnout….the enemy and fear of many an administrator. We go, go, go and are frequently and truly doing the work of two people.
Considering the terms "exertion" and "recuperation" from Laban Movement Analysis, how can you find the ebbs and flows in your work life?
Some simple but wonderful ideas to prevent burnout for you and your staff include:
- You might not always be able to offer a pay increase each year, but at least try hard to offer more vacation days. (And please try for the pay increases too!)
- Find the money to support going to a yearly conference like Dance/USA or NDEO.
- Make site visits to other orgs and break out of your own work bubble.
- If your organization has dance classes on site, can each staff member take one or two "on the clock" each week?
Business plan
A business plan is an elusive document for many. It is usually a hefty document of 20-40 pages written when someone starts an organization or wants to build a dance center, for example. If you ever have the opportunity to read someone's business plan, please do so, and kindly ask if you can hold onto a copy as well. (In all of my years, I only got to see one plan, and I have held onto that one copy for the past 15 years as a reference.)
A business plan serves multiple roles as an idea grows. You share this document with potential funders, local government officials, and potential board members.
Key ideas in a business plan include:
- A general overview of what and why
- Mission and vision
- Key staff members
- Needs assessment for your area
- Comparable organizations locally and nationally
- Any statistics/data you can share about number of students, ticket sales, etc.
- Pro Forma – looking at income and expenses over the next 3-5 years
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Related posts:
The Arts Administrator's Alphabet: The Letter A
2016 in Review: The Blog Series "Becoming an Arts Administrator"
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Life as a Modern Dancer 
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