Operating Support Grant
Operating Support Grant
Operating support improves Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community's capacity for financial and data gathering, and for collaboration.
Tara Makinen: executive director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, musician; Moira Villiard: visual artist, cultural programming coordinator at American Indian Community Housing Organization; Amber Burns: choreographer, dancer, actor, middle school art teacher; Margaret Holmes: visual artist, poet, and former Children’s Theatre employee; Tammy Mattonen: visual artists, co-founder of Crescendo Youth Orchestra; Kayla Aubid: Native American craft artist, writer, employee at MacRostie Art Center; Ariana Daniel: mixed media artist, arts instructor; Kathy Neff: musician, Director, Fine Arts Academy at the University of Minnesota Duluth; Ron Piercy: jeweler, gallery owner; Emily Swanson: arts administrator at Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community; Christina Nohre: writer and arts advocate.
Tara Makinen: executive director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, musician; Margaret Holmes: visual artist, poet, and former Children’s Theatre employee; Kayla Aubid: Native American craft artist, writer, employee at MacRostie Art Center; Ariana Daniel: mixed media artist, arts instructor; Kathy Neff: musician, director, Fine Arts Academy at the University of Minnesota Duluth; Ron Piercy: jeweler, gallery owner.
Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, Drew Digby (218) 722-0952
ACHF Arts Access ACHF Arts Education ACHF Cultural Heritage
The goals of the Operating Support Project are to improve our financial and data collection systems and our capacity for collaborating with organizations with compatible missions. Strengthening Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community's organizational management is a critical step toward sustainability and timely as we begin our second year of operation. The Operating Support Project desired outcomes are: 1) accurate and efficient financial and data reporting, resulting in an informed and engaged Board and a positive relationship with our donors, funders, and fiscal sponsor Encore Performing Arts; 2) measurable progress toward securing our own IRS designation as a 501(c)(3); 3) a balanced budget with increasing charitable support, sponsorships, and earned income; 4) an increasing number of satisfied audience members, artists, learners, advisors, donors, funders; 5) a reputation for artistic quality, innovation, effective management and governance; 6) new collaborations with organizations with compatible missions. We will evaluate the effectiveness of the Operating Support Project by measuring outcomes with the following methods: 1) the Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community (OACC) Board's satisfaction with the accuracy and timeliness of methods for budgeting, accounting and financial reporting - measured by Board resolution; 2) Encore Performing Arts Center's willingness to renew the fiscal agency agreement with OACC - measured by renewal of the agreement; 3) the OACC Board's approval of a plan and timeline to seek its own IRS designation - measured by Board acceptance of the plan; 4) the OACC Board's adoption of fundraising policies and a two-year financial plan with an optimal balance of earned income, in-kind support, and charitable contributions from individuals and families, foundations, government entities, and corporate sponsors - measured by Board acceptance of the policies and financial plan; 5) compliance with funder/donor data collection reporting requirements - measured by acceptance of reported data by funders and donors; 6) willingness of current partners to continue their partnership with OACC and new opportunities to partner with OACC identified - measured by collaboration renewals and new collaboration agreements. Progress on these outcome measures will be discussed at quarterly meetings of the OACC Board of Directors and will be included in the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council final report.
The ARAC Operating Support grant provided critical investment that provided stability and allowed OACC to realize its mission. Several important steps were taken in governance, management and artisticprograms. These include: 1)Formalized relationship between Oldenburg House and Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community with Board-approved Operating Agreement 2) Added two new Board Committees: Fund Development and GovernanceNominating; will add Program Committee as well 3) Recruited four new Board members - Jeremy Gardner - FDLTCC Ojibwemowining Arts Studio Coordinator, Dylan Kelly - UMN Extension, Carlton County 4H Coordinator, Nevada Littlewolf - Political Director, Women Winning, Lissa Maki - UMD College of Education and Human Services Professionals Communications Director. Total Board = thirteen 4) Developed New Board Member Orientation process 5) Hired accountant - Lori Jameson, Jameson Accounting Servicr 6) Hired WIPFLI nonprofit accountant to drive effort to secure IRS 501(c)(3) status - Michael Peterson 7)Joined Handshake for internships with UWS, UMD, CSS and LSC 8) Expanded current programs and added Creative Community Development program 9) Engaged Improve Group to advise on design OACC evaluation (logic model, theory of change, outcome measurement) and on strategic planning 10) Engaged Northern Bedrock Historic Preservation Corp to advise on appropriate steps to take to assure accessibility for individuals with disabilities while maintaining historic preservation status.
Other,local or private