President

Folk Project Calendar Key Dates - December, 2016

- 12/01/16 - Pay Workers Comp. Insurance Premium

- 12/04/16 - Recruit Producer for the Summer Songs Membership night

- 12/15/16 - Issue Grant Data Requirements from Venue Chairs

- 12/15/16 - Newsletter Deadline

General Review 01/01/15 - 12/31/16

Financial

- We began fiscal year 2015 with approximately $20,000.00 less cash on hand than we had beginning fiscal year 2013. This shortfall was due in part to investments made in education and outreach (NERFA) and unexpected expenses in several other areas of our operations. While this financial canary in our Folk Project coal mine served the useful purpose of changing our fiscal habits, it was not in any way the result of any one persons actions, or any one particular event, but more the result of much broader long term cultural trends that needed attention.

- We’ve instituted some redundant financial monitors that help us anticipate and meet financial commitments on time and on budget, and we’ve now enjoyed two years of solid finances, with all bills paid on time.

- We’ve had multiple Quick Books online training seminars, which were designed to make it easier for all Board members to become part of a healthy, ongoing financial monitoring system as our organization moves forward.

Insurance

- For some time there’s been internal disagreement on our insurance footprint. We’ve conducted an exhaustive review of our insurance coverage, questioning both the individual components and the overall cost. We’ve deepened our understanding of what does and does not need our attention, and we’ve put in place ongoing efforts that will put us in even better position to protect our Directors, our members, and the organization as a whole.

- After another exhaustive review, begun in 2014, we’ve clarified exactly what our full insurance costs are, and matched them where appropriate to the profit centers (outward facing venues) that incur them. This has helped us better evaluate and understand our operations from a purely monetary perspective. Going thru this evaluative process also strengthened our awareness and commitment to other equally valid success metrics, such as event attendance, volunteer retention, etc.

The Art of the Balance: The interplay between Board Oversight and Venue Chair Autonomy

- In yet another committee effort, we took a long look at this crucial interplay between the genuine need for Venue chairs to have a sense of agency - a sense of power and freedom - in the daily workings of their respective venues, balanced against the legitimate need of Board oversight and inclusion. We recognized that the balance between these two forces can and should be cooperative rather than oppositional, and that this process can’t be subject to hard and fast rules, but rather requires ongoing dialogue between venue chairs and Board members alike as individual situations arise.

There are certainly other events/efforts/changes that tell important parts of our recent Folk Project success story that are not listed here. Rather than an exhaustive review, I’ve mentioned here the issues I was most involved in and familiar with. If you have something else to share, please let me and the Board hear your perspective.

Conclusion

- By listing these several successes and improvements, I have no intention or desire to claim ownership or responsibility for them. Our organization has a history of natural expansion and contraction, and I am more grateful than responsible to be leaving my Folk Project position at a peak rather than a valley. I also think the impetus towards more rigorous Board involvement with daily operations was already in place when I came thru the Prez door in January 2015. The fact that this growth happened while my hands were on the steering wheel only makes me more respectful and grateful towards all the other less visible hands that actually made these things happen. We have a very resourceful Board of Directors, who had the collective experience and ability to respond to all these issues, and who’ve put in countless hours these past years to make the Folk Project the success it is today.

Thanks to you all for giving me both the challenge and rewards of being your President.

Barrett Wilson