Governance

A Decision Is Not Always The Same Thing As Resolution

Thursday, December 5th, 2019Thursday, December 5th, 2019 by Drew McManus

The beleaguered Grand Teton Music Festival (GTMF) continues to dodge PR blows related to an executive leadership decision to dismiss three musicians. It turns out, the organization scheduled an emergency session of the full board that took place on Tuesday, 12/3/2019. While the musician dismissals were a primary focus, the more pressing issue the full board needed to face was the accusation by GTMF Music Director, Donald Runnicles, that the organization’s …

A Matter Of Governance At The Grand Teton Music Festival

Monday, December 2nd, 2019Monday, December 2nd, 2019 by Drew McManus

Shortly before the Thanksgiving holiday, a public relations disaster started brewing at the Grand Teton Music Festival (GTMF). In a nutshell, the festival’s President and CEO, Andrew Palmer Todd, decided to fire a trio of long-time musicians for non-artistic reasons. The decision has been met with an enormous amount of dissatisfaction from festival musicians, patrons, and donors. That discontent quickly snowballed into a host of local, national, and international news outlets …

What Are Your Favorite Robert’s Rules Resources?

Monday, October 21st, 2019Tuesday, October 22nd, 2019 by Drew McManus

I recently joined a board of directors and have been tasked with updating the organization’s Robert’s Rules of Order guideline. My plan is move from the existing text-heavy document (that no one reads or follows) to something that utilizes a user-friendly visual approach. It’s been at least seven years since I’ve taken a deep dive into Robert’s Rules resources. As such, I’m curious to know which resources are your favorites. Take …

I’ll Take The Job Description Turducken On Rye To-Go Please

Tuesday, September 3rd, 2019Wednesday, September 4th, 2019 by Drew McManus

It’s no secret nonprofit performing arts admins are overworked and underpaid. Fortunately, the issue is starting to get more attention but that hasn’t done much to curtail what I’ve noticed as a growing trend of stuffing an increasing amount of duties and responsibilities into single positions. Traditionally, you’ll find something resembling the following three-tiered structure at most arts orgs: Director = Mid to late career, $$$ pay, runs a department, determines …

Define That: Total Fiscal Transparency

Monday, August 12th, 2019Tuesday, August 13th, 2019 by Drew McManus

There’s a fascinating article by Charles T. Downey in the 8/12/19 edition of Washington Classical Review that examines the ongoing Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) lockout. Downey suggests that in order for the organization to maintain artistic integrity while addressing existing economic conditions, the BSO’s executive leadership must “establish total financial transparency.” That’s a superb suggestion and one that has certainly assisted with not only resolving pending labor disputes (Metropolitan Opera Orchestra) …

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