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- A Memo to the Membership from Executive Director Andrea Snyder
- Sound Financial Planning - FREE Webinar for Dance/USA members
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A Memo to the Membership from Executive Director Andrea Snyder
It’s September 3! Where did the summer go? Okay, everyone, take a very deep breath…
A much longer letter is in development. However, I wanted to make sure you are aware of a few immediate, important things.
DISTANCE LEARNING, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY
As of this month, Dance/USA begins the multi-organization phase of a year-long, professional development, distance learning relationship with the Nonprofit Finance Fund through a generous grant from the MetLife Foundation to the NFF. This opportunity will offer multiple avenues for strengthening skills in financial management during times of stress, such as what we are all now experiencing.
The first approach will be through a series of webinars offered to members of Dance/USA, TCG and the League of American Orchestras. The webinars will be available for regular downloads; they are not interactive. Connected to each will be interactive conference calls, where questions and answers will be exchanged. A full schedule of webinars and conference calls will be posted on our website in the very near future. There will be a URL available and dedicated entirely to this initiative. At that address, the webinars will be available (as they are released) to be watched at any time. NFF will also have, within a few days of the “live” calls, an audio file of the full Conference Calls. However, in order to ask questions during the conference calls, participants must register in advance and log in at the designated time.
Please be most aware of the following:
The first webinar, entitled Sound Financial Planning, will be offered for instant download the week of September 7. Specific instruction on how to view this webinar will be sent to members via email upon availability. For information on this webinar: http://danceusa.org/professionaldevelopmentopportunities.
On September 17th, from 1-2pm (EDT), please join your dance, theatre, and orchestra colleagues for a conference call hosted by NFF entitled Revenue Realities in a Challenging Time. To participate, Dance/USA members must register in advance by using the following link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/449909914
The best operating systems to access this conference call are:
- PC-based attendees: Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista
- Macintosh®-based attendees: Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer
Members are also encouraged to submit questions in advance by September 11th to emily.guthman@nffusa.org. Please enter “MetLife Conference Call” in your email subject. NFF will try to answer as many questions as possible during the allotted timeframe of this call.
NFF will also create four newsletters related to information shared and questions asked from both the webinars and conference calls. Dance/USA will make these newsletters available to our members as they become available.
CROSSING PATHS
For those attending the Western Arts Alliance and/or Performing Arts Exchange, I hope to cross your path and spend some time with you. I will present a brief state of the field report at WAA this Thursday morning and will linger at the booking conference to listen and learn. At the end of the month, there will be a roundtable discussion about dance presenting on Saturday morning, Sept. 26. Your perspective is welcomed.
All best as we begin the fall season.
Andrea Snyder
Executive Director
Dance/USA
Sound Financial Planning - FREE Webinar for Dance/USA members
Join us the week of September 7, 2009 for Sound Financial Planning, the first in a series of webinars and conference calls.
Available through the Nonprofit Finance Fund, this free, timely, and practical webinar will provide tips and tools to lead your organization during challenging times and beyond. Using real world examples, NFF will offer guidance to enhance staff’s understanding of the interplay between financial risk, revenue reliability and fixed costs. We will also discuss how this information can be used to inform planning and decision-making organization-wide.
Webinar download instructions will arrive in your inbox the week of September 7, 2009. There is no set time for the webinar as you will be able to download at your leisure.
The Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) and MetLife Foundation have launched a new initiative to strengthen the nation’s leading arts and culture organizations. Through a $380,000 grant from MetLife Foundation, NFF will provide members nationwide of Dance/USA, Theatre Communications Group, League of American Orchestras, with financial tools and training to address the financial challenges precipitated by the current recession.
In our continuing effort to keep our membership informed, we'll be providing summary reports in the next several newsletters from Dance/USA departments and branch offices which highlight activities that have taken place from November 2008 to June 2009.
read all about our recent research
ARTISTS FROM ABROAD – THE VISA WEBINAR: THE BASICS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Date: Wednesday, September 23
Time: 12 – 1:30 pm Eastern
Learn to navigate the rules and requirements of the U.S. artist visa process from Jonathan Ginsburg, immigration attorney and author of the visa section of www.artistsfromabroad.org. Understanding the visa petition process can help you save time and money. This webinar will cover the basic procedures for successfully completing the visa petition process and consular interview requirements. Your questions are welcome in advance and will help shape the content and focus of the presentation. The fee is $125.
To apply for the Visa Webinar, click here.
DISCLOSURE WEBSITE FOR ARRA GRANT RECIPIENTS ANNOUNCED
The Obama Administration launched a new website on Aug. 17 for recipients of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding to report their progress. Organizations receiving funding from the ARRA will be required to register on the site and provide periodic reports on how they are using their funds. The first report is due on Oct.15. Although the data collected on FederalReporting.gov is private, the new site is part of the ongoing transparency efforts in the Obama administration. Recipients have until Oct. 1 to register on the website. According to the site, they must meet certain pre-requisites and may need to allow two or more business days for their registration to take effect. The site recommends that recipients start the process as early as possible. For more information, please visit www.federalreporting.gov or www.recovery.gov.
PERFORMING ARTS ALLIANCE (PAA) SUBMITS COMMENTS TO THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Dance/USA, as a founding member of the Performing Arts Alliance, tracks arts education policy closely. On July 24, the US Department of Education (DOE) released guidelines for the Race to the Top Fund, a competitive education grant program. Regrettably, the Race to the Top guidelines emphasize STEM (science, technology, engineering, math), reading and standardized tests. Such guidelines could result in a narrowing of school curriculum to further remove the arts. You can read the PAA letter to the DOE here.
UPDATE, HEALTH CARE REFORM
While Congress has been on August recess, Dance/USA has been working to gather valuable information and analysis on the health care reform proposals. Although Dance/USA has not yet taken a position on the broader health care proposals we will continue to share resources as they become available.
· Independent Sector has created a side-by-side comparison of the health care reform proposals. You can view this comparison chart here: http://independentsector.org/programs/gr/HealthCareReformBillsSidebySideAnalysis.pdf
· Kaiser Permanente has created an online comparison tool of the different proposals as well: http://www.kff.org/healthreform/sidebyside.cfm
· Dance/USA signed on to the legislative proposals to support arts in health care and therapeutic settings. You can read the one-page statement here http://www.danceusa.org/uploads/spin/ArtsinHealthcareReqSenate.pdf.
ARTS AND NATIONAL SERVICE WEBSITES
Since June, Dance/USA has been encouraging members to post stories related to volunteerism and the arts on Serve.Gov. Americans for the Arts has now created an additional website dedicated to the arts and national service. If your organization is involved with volunteerism or is partnering with national service programs, we encourage you to post your stories online! http://serve.gov and http://serve.artsusa.org
