Design: Jenny Lederer www.jennylederer.com

Throughout 2017, 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.

This week, we will talk about the letters U and V: 

• Understanding the legal side of 501C3 status

• Volunteers

• Vision statement

• The verbs of arts administration

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Let's unpack, consider, and reflect upon each one of these terms and phrases. Even before reading further, you might want to take the list of ideas here and simply journal for your organization. What do these words mean to you at your organization?

U is for…Understanding the legal side of 501C3 status

Here are some links to short articles, which offer the key details about donations, tax exemption, and governance. 

What are the advantages/disadvantages of becoming a nonprofit organization?

501c3 Frequently Asked Questions

Could Your Nonprofit Lose Its Tax-Exempt Status?

And, this book is helpful to keep on your shelf:

Nonprofit Kit For Dummies – by Stan Hutton and Frances N. Phillips

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V is for Volunteers

Volunteerism….the give and the take. Support. Generosity of spirit.

In the arts, it sometimes feels like we are at the two ends of the spectrum with volunteers: you are either an organization with a steady stream of volunteers to support the organization, or you are an organization with few volunteers, who heavily relies on a small paid staff to do almost everything.

Take 5 minutes to jot down for a moment the role of volunteers at your site. (For some, a work-study program helps the paid staff, and in exchange, people can take classes or attend performances.)

For many, the Board of Directors are the people offering the most volunteer hours each year. (A HUGE thank you to them for their roles and donation of time!)

Other volunteer opportunities include:

• Ushering at shows
• Fundraising/gala committee
• Staffing the fundraiser
• Sending out the donation letter mailing
• Sitting on a panel to review applications (artist in residence or grants)
• Going around town to distribute flyers, posters, and postcards
• Youth performances: ushering, backstage assistance

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V is for Vision Statement

Mission, vision. Big, dreamy ideas. Here are two beautiful examples of mission and vision statements paired together:

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign:

VISION

Dance at Illinois will be a national epicenter for the development of dance artists/leaders.

MISSION

The mission of Dance at Illinois is to promote and expand the role of dance in contemporary culture. Utilizing a range of experimental and canonic approaches, we generate choreographic, pedagogical, performative, and scholarly research that shapes educational and public programming. We explore the dynamic intersections between research and teaching in academic, professional, and community settings. We forge imaginative, innovative, and sustainable lives as artists and educators through the transformational processes of dance.  

Destiny Arts:

We envision a world where young people are creative, powerful, and peaceful.

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V is for the Verbs of Arts Administration

Here's a valuable 15 minute reflection activity. 

First list out all of your "buckets" or programs/projects/initiatives at your organization (ex. youth program, adult program, performances, artist in residence). To the left of each of these programs, could you list the best verb to describe how you are working with each program right now? What is the focus? For example, is it to streamline, promote, or revamp? I hope that articulating these different actions will be informative and eye-opening.

Text by Jill Randall of Life as a Modern Dancer Blog; graphic design by Jenny Lederer

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