Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-553-E-Arts Commission-Women's Voices Chorus -2023-24 Arts GrantsGRASSROOTS ARTS PROGRAM / ARTIST PROJECT GRANT 2023-24  Grantee Name  Authorizing Official  Project Title     Award   Grant Category   ☐ Artist Project Grant Program Funding Source   Date   End Date   OCAC Report Due  ☐Grassroots Arts Program ☐North Carolina Arts Council  ☐ Orange County July 1, 2023 June 30, 2024 Monday, July 15, 2024 Stipulations   ☐Grantee must spend $  on the hiring of multicultural artists specified in  the grant application. ☐Grantee must properly credit the Orange County Arts Commission using the proper logo on all publicity materials for the funded program. Recipients of operations‐related grants must include the OCAC logo with link to www.artsorange.org on grantee’s website.  Download logos on the OCAC website at https://artsorange.org/grants/grantee‐resources ☐Grantee must properly credit the Orange County Arts Commission and the N.C. Arts Council using the proper logos and N.C. Arts Council credit line on all publicity materials for funded program. Recipients of operations‐related grants must include the OCAC logo with link to www.artsorange.org and N.C. Arts Council logo, credit line, and link to www.ncarts.org on grantee’s website. Download logos and view proper credit line language on the OCAC website at https://artsorange.org/grants/grantee‐resources ☒The Grant Recipient must enter all events, exhibits, and performances (virtual or in‐ person) open to the public and related to this grant award on the Orange County Arts Commission website at www.artsorange.org/events. In addition, the Grant Recipient must add a link to www.artsorange.org  (Orange County Arts Commission logo preferred) to their main webpage. Staff Contact  Katie Murray, Director  (919)245‐2335 | kmurray@orangecountync.gov Women's Voices Chorus Janet Huebner President, Women's Voices Chorus Operations Expenses for Women's Voices Chorus $3,600.00 4 4 4 DocuSign Envelope ID: 56ECA0F1-08AA-4A90-B1A0-B9B7C934B889 1 Revised August 2022 ORANGE COUNTY ARTS COMMISSION 2023-24 GRANT AGREEMENT THIS AGREEMENT, entered into this 29 day of September, 2023, by and between Orange County ("County"), by and through the Orange County Arts Commission ("Arts Commission") and ("Grant Recipient"). WHEREAS, the Arts Commission is a countywide arts agency that ensures the growth of local arts experiences by providing funding and support for diverse high quality programs and projects. WHEREAS, the Arts Commission administers the annual Grants Program to provide economic opportunities to Orange County artists and non-profit organizations coordinating arts projects benefiting the citizens of Orange County. WHEREAS, the annual Arts Grants Program is supported by Arts Commission with funds from the Grassroots Arts Program of the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, a state agency. WHEREAS, the Grant Recipient was selected by the Arts Commission to receive the annual Arts Grant through the procedures duly adopted by the Arts Commission; and WHEREAS, both parties wish to promote and maintain the integrity and clarity of the Grant Recipient's ideas and statements and delineate the Grant Recipient’s obligations to the County; NOW, THEREFORE, the County and the Grant Recipient, for the consideration and under the conditions hereinafter set forth, agree as follows: 1.Approved Grant Project. Grant funds are provided under this Agreement for the project (“Project”) described in the Grant Recipient’s Grant Application, attached hereto and incorporated herein as Exhibit A. 2.Grant Award. Grant funds in an amount not to exceed ($ ) have been awarded by the Arts Commission to the Grant Recipient for the approved Project. The Recipient shall be required to match funds at least dollar-for-dollar with cash from the Grant Recipient’s funds not derived from either Orange County appropriations or the North Carolina Arts Council, as outlined in the attached Exhibit A. 3.Contingency. This grant is contingent on North Carolina Arts Council Grassroots Program funding to the Arts Commission. Final decisions on Grassroots Program funds to the North Carolina Arts Council are subject to approval by the North Carolina General Assembly. 4.Responsibilities of the Grant Recipient Women's Voices Chorus three thousand six hundred dollars $3,600.00 DocuSign Envelope ID: 56ECA0F1-08AA-4A90-B1A0-B9B7C934B889 2 Revised August 2022 A.Implementation. The Project implementation shall take place between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024. The Project shall be implemented in the manner described in Exhibit A. Time is of the essence in the implementation of the Project. B.Modifications to project. Grant Recipient shall present major changes to the original proposal, including but not limited to changes in design, implementation schedule and increase in Project budget by more than 10%, in writing to the Arts Commission for approval. Arts Commission shall approve or disapprove Grant Recipient’s request for modifications within seven (7) days of receipt thereof. Consent to project modifications shall not be unreasonably withheld. Arts Commission’s decisions shall be in writing. In the event the Arts Commission fails to approve or disapprove the requested modifications within the time stated herein, the modifications shall be deemed approved. C.Non–assignment. The grant cannot be assigned or transferred to a different project or artist without prior written approval of the Arts Commission. D.Records. Grant Recipient must maintain records and other evidence pertaining to costs incurred and revenues acquired during the Project implementation. Grant Recipient shall maintain financial records pertaining to the Project for three (3) years from the date of this Agreement, in case of audit. E.Use of Funds. Grant Recipient shall not use the grant funds to repay outstanding taxes or other debts of any nature. The grants shall be utilized solely for the purpose described in the attached Exhibit A. F.Final Report. Grant Recipient shall submit to the Arts Commission a Final Report on July 15, 2024. The Final Report shall be in the format required by the North Carolina Arts Council. Failure to submit the Final Report or late submission of the Final Report, for any reason, shall be grounds for denial and/or cancellation of grant funds for the Project and future grant proposals. 5.Responsibilities of the Arts Commission A.Payment. The Arts Commission shall release the grant funds in the amount of $ to the Grant Recipient. 6.Publicity A.Acknowledgement. Credit must be given to the Orange County Arts Commission and/or the North Carolina Arts Council using the proper logo(s) and credit line in brochures, news releases, programs, and all other printed and online publications. Copies of such printed materials must accompany the evaluation report. Official Orange County Arts Commission and North Carolina Arts Council logos may be downloaded at www.artsorange.org/grantee-resources and may not be altered in any way. When no printed information is used, verbal $3,600.00 DocuSign Envelope ID: 56ECA0F1-08AA-4A90-B1A0-B9B7C934B889 3 Revised August 2022 credit shall be given. In addition, all print and promotional material must include the following credit line and logo(s) (check all that apply): i.County Funds Only. Orange County Arts Commission logo required. Credit line required for audio projects: “This program is supported by the Orange County Arts Commission.” ii.North Carolina Arts Council Funding. The Orange County Arts Commission and the North Carolina Arts Council logos are required. Credit line: “This program is supported by the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.” B.The Grant Recipient must enter all events, exhibits, and performances open to the public and related to this grant award on the Orange County Arts Commission website at www.artsorange.org/events. In addition, the Grant Recipient must add a link to www.artsorange.org (Orange County Arts Commission logo preferred) to their main webpage. 7.Indemnity. The Grant Recipient agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the County, the Arts Commission and the North Carolina Arts Council and their officers and employees from any and all claims or actual injury, damage or loss to a person, or real or personal property that results from or is in any way connected to the use of the grant funds. 8.Independent Contractor. The Grant Recipient is an independent contractor and not an employee, agent or other representative of the County and/or the Arts Commission. Nothing contained in this Agreement shall be construed to create the relationship of principal and agent, or employer and employee, between Grant Recipient and Arts Commission or Orange County Government. Grant Recipient understands and agrees that he/she is not authorized to incur any expenses or any liability whatsoever on behalf of the County or the Arts Commission and has no authority, expressed or implied, to obligate or make representations on behalf of the County or the Arts Commission. In addition, Grant Recipient agrees to maintain his or her own worker's compensation insurance for himself/herself and his or her employees for the duration of the art work's installation. 9.Termination A.In the event of any of the circumstances set forth below (hereinafter referred to as “default”), the Arts Commission may immediately terminate this Agreement: (i)Any fraudulent representation in any verification required to obtain payment under this Agreement or other dishonesty on a material matter relating to the performance of services under this Agreement. (ii)Nonperformance, incomplete service or performance, or failure to satisfactorily perform any part of the Project or to comply with any provision of this Agreement, as determined by the Arts Commission in its sole discretion. 4 DocuSign Envelope ID: 56ECA0F1-08AA-4A90-B1A0-B9B7C934B889 4 Revised August 2022 (iii)Failure to adhere to the terms of applicable county, state or federal laws, regulations, or stated public policy. B.In the event of default by the Grant Recipient, the Arts Commission has the discretion to elect to terminate this Agreement, in whole or in part and/or require the Grant Recipient to repay the grant funds within seven (7) from written notice of default or allow the grant recipient the opportunity to cure the default. This clause shall not be interpreted to limit the County’s or the Arts Commission’s remedies in law or in equity. 10.Miscellaneous. A.Entire Agreement. This Agreement and the attachments contain the final and entire understanding of the parties with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement. All modifications and amendments to this Agreement shall be in writing. This Agreement shall be binding upon the parties, their heirs, successors and assigns. B.Governing Law. Governing Law and Priority: Both parties agree that this Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of North Carolina and Orange County. Grant Recipient shall at all times remain in compliance with all applicable local, state, and federal laws, rules, and regulations including but not limited to all state and federal anti-discrimination laws, policies, rules, and regulations and the Orange County Non-Discrimination Policy and Orange County Living Wage Policy (each policy is incorporated herein by reference and may be viewed at http://www.orangecountync.gov/departments/purchasing_division/contracts.php.). Any violation of this requirement is a breach of this Agreement and Arts Commission may immediately terminate this Agreement without further obligation on the part of the Arts Commission. This paragraph is not intended to limit and does not limit the definition of breach to discrimination. By executing this Agreement the Grant Recipient certifies that they has not been identified, and has not utilized the services of any agent or subcontractor identified, on the list created by the State Treasurer pursuant to G.S. 147-86.58. By executing this Agreement the Grant Recipient certifies that they has not been identified, and has not utilized the services of any agent or subcontractor identified, on the list created by the State Treasurer pursuant to G.S. 147-86.81. By executing this Agreement Grant Recipient affirms they are and shall remain in compliance with Article 2 of Chapter 64 of the North Carolina General Statutes. In determining the basic services to be provided, should any documents be referenced in or attached to this Agreement, the terms herein shall have priority in any conflict between the terms of referenced documents and the terms of this Agreement. C.Dispute Resolution: Neither party may initiate binding arbitration. Any disputes shall be resolved by nonbinding mediation. If such mediation fails either party may initiate litigation to resolve the dispute. Should either party initiate litigation to settle any dispute involving the terms of this Agreement such litigation shall be DocuSign Envelope ID: 56ECA0F1-08AA-4A90-B1A0-B9B7C934B889 5 Revised August 2022 initiated in the General Court of Justice of North Carolina seated in Orange County, North Carolina. D.Signatures. This Agreement together with any amendments or modifications may be executed electronically. All electronic signatures affixed hereto evidence the intent of the Parties to comply with Article 11A and Article 40 of North Carolina General Statute Chapter 66. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Orange County and the Grant Recipient have signed this Grant Agreement, effective on the last date this Agreement is signed by both parties as indicated by the dates set forth under signatures below. For and on behalf of the Grant Recipient Date For and on behalf of Orange County Government Bonnie Hammersley, County Manager Date Janet Huebner President, Women's Voices Chorus DocuSign Envelope ID: 56ECA0F1-08AA-4A90-B1A0-B9B7C934B889 10/6/2023 10/9/2023 6 Revised August 2022 ORANGE COUNTY—DEPARTMENT USE ONLY Department Party/Vendor Name: Party/Vendor Contact Person: Contact Phone: Party/Vendor Address: City State: NC Zip: Department: COUNTYMGR/Arts Commission Amount: Purpose: 2023-24 Arts Grants Budget Code(s): 37290050-630000 Vendor # (N/A if new vendor) Vendor is a BOCC consultant? Yes No Contract Type: (Check one) New Renewal Amendment Effective No Date 9-29-2023 Approved by Board Yes Agenda Date: This agreement is approved as to technical form and content: Department Director’s Signature Date: Information Technologies (Applicable only to hardware/software purchases or related services) This agreement has been reviewed and is approved as to information technology content and specifications: Office of the Chief Information Officer Date: Risk Management This agreement is approved for sufficiency of insurance standards, specifications, and requirements: Office of the Risk Management Officer Date: Financial Services This instrument has been pre-audited in the manner required by the Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act: Office of the Chief Financial Officer Date: Legal Services This agreement is approved as to legal form and sufficiency: Office of the County Attorney Date: Clerk to the Board Received for record retention: All Docusign contracts must be copied to Laura Jensen upon completion @ljensen@orangecountync.gov The following signature block is for hard copies only and is not required for Docusign contracts: Office of the Clerk to the Board _Date:_ Women's Voices Chorus Janet Huebner 919-906-4599 P.O. Box 2854 Chapel Hill 27515 $3,600.00 51563 DocuSign Envelope ID: 56ECA0F1-08AA-4A90-B1A0-B9B7C934B889 10/5/2023 10/9/2023 10/9/2023 10/9/2023 Orange County Arts Commission Powered by Submittable Title Women's Voi ces Chorus by Kay Johnson in 2023-24 Grassroots Arts Program Grant Application 101 Wild Oak Lane Carrboro, North Carolina 27510 United States 919-636-0539 pres@womensvoiceschorus.org 06/15/2023 id. 40764710 Original Submission 06/15/2023 APPLICANT INFORMATION Please tell us about your organization. Organization Name W omen's Voices Chorus Mailing Address of Organization P.O. Box 2854, Chapel Hill NC 27515 How did you hear about our grant program? OCAC Enews Did you or a representative of your orgnanization attend one of our grants training sessions? Yes Nature of Organization Arts Organization DocuSign Envelope ID: 56ECA0F1-08AA-4A90-B1A0-B9B7C934B889 Organization Description W omen’s Voices Chorus (W VC) is an auditioned, community-based chorus of 60 sopranos and altos singing contemporary, classical, sacred (diverse faiths), and secular choral music. Our mission is to provide a welcoming place in the Triangle for women to share the joy of singing together, promote choral works by and for women, and strive to achieve the highest standards of musical excellence. W VC programs offer audiences the unique opportunity to experience new or rarely performed music, outside the mainstream of music written for male/female voices, foregrounding artists from diverse backgrounds. Our repertoire features songs from American and global traditions, in more than 30 languages, including indigenous peoples’ languages from the Americas, Oceania, and the African continent. W VC is led by a Board of Directors made up of chorus member volunteers and our Artistic Director. The Board is 90% white, and staff (Artistic Director, Pianist, and parttime Operations Manager) are all white and female. Mary Lycan founded W VC in 1993, the first adult women’s chorus in the Triangle. To address a paucity of good repertoire for women’s choruses, and a more dire lack of work by women composers, Mary amassed a database of a thousand pieces by women/for women, and in 1995 started Treble Clef Music Press. Treble Clef (now owned by Subito Music Publishing) is a go-to source of choral works for women, which other publishing companies now emulate. Current Artistic Director, Laura Sam, continues this tradition of leadership. During COVID, she pivoted W VC to free virtual concerts, including singers and audience members from around the world, and hosting composers, lyricists, and vocal experts who enriched our Zoom rehearsals. Laura learned the video/audio technology to create professional-level recordings, sharing her expertise with choral directors from North Carolina and nationally, holding free workshops and individual sessions with directors of community, church, and school choruses, who in turn provided connection and artistic fulfillment during the most challenging time in choral music history. Laura was honored as the North Carolina Music Educators High School Choral Director of the Year in 2007, and in 2018 was inducted into the North Carolina Music Educators Association High School Choral Section Hall of Fame. Since 1994 W VC has held 96 performances, 65 of them in Orange County. Ticketed W inter and Spring concerts average about 400 attendees per concert (pre-COVID). 240 attended our 2023 concert held at the University United Methodist Church in Chapel Hill. Our audience is of all ages, slight majority female, drawing mostly Orange County residents; 45% of members live in Orange County. W e broaden our Orange County impact by performing for local elder communities, worship services, and arts events, and performing jointly, including with local school choirs. W e regularly hold benefit concerts for local non-profits; beneficiaries have included the Compass Center for W omen and Families; UNC Lineberger Cancer Center; CASTLE (Center for Acquisition of Spoken Language Through Listening Enrichment); Arts for Life; Interfaith Council Community House; Kids Summer Meals Program of the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina; and the Augustine Literacy Project. DocuSign Envelope ID: 56ECA0F1-08AA-4A90-B1A0-B9B7C934B889 Has your organization undergone any Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) training? If so, please explain. If not, please explain any barriers that have prevented you from receiving this training. Yes; eight W VC members attended the OCAC DEI Training program. W e also have a DEIA Committee that advises the Board, and about every 5 years we conduct strategic planning which addresses DEI. The issue of diversity, equity and inclusion is not new to W VC. The chorus was founded expressly to lift up voices of those who have long gone unheard. W e sing all kinds of music – classical, religious, secular, popular, ancient, and brand-new – but in all, we seek out works by women, who make up only 5-7% of composers of classical works performed (many sources, including Donne-uk.org. "Equality and Diversity in Global Repertoire" (2022), a disparity resulting from historic de jure and contemporary de facto discrimination. Addressing the gender-disparity in music is imperative to us: many W VC concerts contain only women composers; many are only living women composers. W VC also recognizes other gaps in the repertoire, performing works by a range of Black, Indigenous, trans, and other minoritized composers and lyricists. W e hold joint concerts with local groups made up of people of diverse racial, ethnic, and language identities, and our membership is diverse in age (high school to 80s), sexual orientation, religion, socio- economic position, neuro-diversity, and physical ability. However, like most adult community choirs in Orange County, our membership is primarily W hite. Through strategic planning in 2019-20, we formed a DEIA Committee, separate from the Board of Directors, to examine this and advise the Board regarding Chorus activities and operations, with the aim to create an environment where all singers, including singers who do not identify as W hite, feel truly welcome. The Committee has built a resource library and is working on developing tactics and metrics for increasing ethnic and cultural diversity in the chorus. Informed by the OCAC training led by Aisha Adams, we have hired an expert on microaggressions in the chorus context to meet with the committee this summer, and plan a DEI session (with pre- and post-survey evaluation) for the full chorus at our fall retreat. In 2023-24, the Committee will advise on issues related to true inclusion, expand our mailing list to reach a more diverse audience, outreach to Orange County in spaces outside of typical concert venues, and develop specific goals for diversifying W VC audience, membership, and leadership. One goal already established is to hire underrepresented guest artist musicians (detailed below). Meanwhile, we continue our record of performing work by diverse artists. Plans for 2024-25 include a new commission by a woman or non-white composer, and a concert focused on works that depict women’s courage and compassion in the face of adversity, “from Joan of Arc to Malala.” This concert will reprise a work commissioned in 2019, “Gaaggee Zaag’aa” (“Only Time to Love,”) sung in Odawa, a dialect of the Anishinaabek Native Canadian/American people. Lyricist Chantal Sellers’ grandmother survived a residential school, where many Native students were robbed of their language and much of their culture. The piece depicts a woman overcoming anger and fear with loving connection with her foremothers. DocuSign Envelope ID: 56ECA0F1-08AA-4A90-B1A0-B9B7C934B889 During FY22-23, will your organization receive operational support funding from the North Carolina Arts Council or the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources? No Organization's EIN 561938811.0 Organization W ebsite www.womensvoiceschorus.org Authorizing Official's Name Janet Huebner Authorizing Official's Title President, W omen's Voices Chorus Authorizing Official's Phone 919-906-4599 Authorizing Official's Email contact@womensvoiceschorus.org Applicant Race W hite Financial Overview FinancialOv erv iew_Submittable.xlsx Organizational Financial Statements W VC_-_Finance_Report_-_June_2023.pdf W VC_FY23ProjectedSummary.pdf W VC_FY24ProposedBudgetSummary.pdf W VC_FY22_2021_Form990Package.pdf Deficit/Surplus Surplus funds are carried over to the next year to cover any projected deficits or applied to scholarship and inreach funds (includes short-term financial help to members in need due to unemployment, illness, or other emergencies). Are you an entity of UNC-Chapel Hill or another unit of state government? No PROJECT/PROGRAM INFORMATION Tell us about your project or program DocuSign Envelope ID: 56ECA0F1-08AA-4A90-B1A0-B9B7C934B889 Title of Grant Request Operations Expenses for W omen's Voices Chorus Grant Amount Requested $6,000.00 Is the person in charge of this program or project different from the Authorizing Official? Yes Project Director Name Laura Justus Sam Project Director Title Artistic Director, W omen's Voices Chorus Project Director Street Address 2754 Meadow Oaks Drive, Haw River, North Carolina 27258 Project Director Phone 336-263-7754 Project Director Email director@womensvoiceschorus.org W hat are you requesting funding for? Operational expense (arts organizations ONLY) DocuSign Envelope ID: 56ECA0F1-08AA-4A90-B1A0-B9B7C934B889 Request Summary In this proposal we respectfully request funds for operations related to each part of the W VC tripartite mission. The specific areas of the operating budget include the following: Music: - W e request funds for salary support for Director, Accompanist and Guest Artists for 2023-24, with the goal of bringing our artistic staff’s salaries up to par and hiring underrepresented musicians for at least ¼ of the available guest artist positions; - For the purchase of sheet music for the 2023-24 concert season; - To seed a new commission of music by a woman or BIPOC composer/lyricist, to be performed in the 2025 concert, which will focus on women’s strength in adversity “from Joan of Arc to Malala.” - To purchase evidence-based tools for individual artistic development, specifically a set of tuning forks for the chorus and an expert vocal clinic in fall, 2023. Logistics/Production: - For the cost of space for our rehearsals and performances, to keep membership fees from rising (facilitating a more economically diverse membership) and to allow us to utilize facilities that are more accessible in terms of parking and ADA compliance, and broadly welcoming; - For the cost of recording our concerts, which works both to share our work with those who cannot attend in person and as a teaching tool for the chorus. Public Relations - To support the (rising) costs of our web presence, to ensure that residents who cannot attend our concert can enjoy a free alternative. DocuSign Envelope ID: 56ECA0F1-08AA-4A90-B1A0-B9B7C934B889 Organizational Goals The mission of W VC is to provide a welcoming place in the Triangle for women to share the joy of singing together, promote choral works by and for women, and strive to achieve the highest standards of musical excellence. This proposal addresses two mission-based goals identified in our 2020 strategic planning process: to improve as artists, and to achieve diversity in membership, audience, and musical expression. Improve as Artists: Funds requested will help us meet this goal by supporting our Artistic Director and Piano Accompanist. Director Laura Sam’s stature in the field and work on behalf of W VC are outstanding. She is the reason W VC continued to fulfill our mission throughout the pandemic (producing three virtual concerts including 9 pieces and the 5-movement “Snow Angel”), and she tirelessly shared expertise to create virtual choirs during the pandemic so that many other choirs could continue, as well. She is a leader in NC choral music, as NC ACDA Repertoire and Resources Chair, and Director of Governor’s School East, and networks nationally with choral directors and composers, bringing home best practices for musical growth, innovative programming, and contacts for commissions of music by women/for women. Funding from Orange County would help us support her salary and that of our Accompanist, Deborah Hollis, whose pay we would like to raise to $100/hour over the next three years. W e also request funding for our annual professional vocal coaching clinic in 2024 and the purchase of tuning forks for the chorus so that each member can improve on pitch. Increase Diversity W e also aim to bolster membership and audience diversity. One strategy is to broaden our choices for where to hold concerts. Currently, we rehearse and perform in downtown Chapel Hill churches, the least expensive area options. Our members vary in physical ability, and our audience ranges in age, most recently from childhood to 99 years old. In-town churches have very little parking, and although they are ADA compliant their facilities are not as accessible as a more modern building. Our DEIA committee also noted that the churches we use may be less welcoming to non-white, non- Christian singers or audience members. Currently accessibility is the top priority, and any space used must meet concert criteria (acoustics, piano, ample space, etc.), but funding may allow us to address both of these issues. As mentioned above, we are planning a concert focused on music acknowledging and celebrating women’s courage in the face of struggle. That concert will include work by composer Michael Bussewitz-Quarm (a trans woman) and Chantal Sellers (an Indigenous woman), commissioned in 2019, among other pieces from diverse perspectives, and we aim also to commission work by an(other) underrepresented artist for that concert. W e request funds to seed that commission fund, also for sheet music in 2023-24, and our web presence, which allows us to share our music for free into the community. In all cases, W VC will match or exceed the amount being requested from the Orange County Arts Commission. DocuSign Envelope ID: 56ECA0F1-08AA-4A90-B1A0-B9B7C934B889 How will you evaluate whether or not your goals have been met? Our Artistic Director assesses group and individual member progress toward choral music learning, intonation, vocal range, harmonic blending, and other elements of choral excellence. She monitors progress by recording and reviewing rehearsals each week and sending detailed notes, sharing recordings with chorus members to illustrate her assessment. Members gauge their own progress (a self-assessment survey) and confer with their section leaders; section leaders communicate member questions and challenges to the Director and identify when a member may need individual attention. An end-of-year member survey assesses the Director and her use of various teaching tools. W e’ll know this goal is met based on positive Artistic Director and self-assessments of musical excellence, and specific positive mentions of musicality in published reviews. The DEIA Committee meets monthly and reports to the Board, identifying and helping implement adjustments that might help the group welcome a wider array of audience members and singers. The DEIA Committee informed this proposal in its assessment of our practice and performance spaces, and metrics for success at accessibility and inclusivity will include positive survey feedback as to parking, ease of entry, and other barriers to inclusion in our concerts. In terms of diversity in musical expression, we will have met this goal if we hire at least 1 out of 4 BIPOC or otherwise underrepresented guest artists, if we hire an underrepresented composer or lyricist for our commission, and in general if we continue or increase our performance of repertoire that is more than half by women and/or underrepresented artists. Beyond self- and Director-assessment, the chorus keeps detailed records of concert attendance, cost, and earnings, number of online views, number of members/auditions, and other data that points to musical excellence. The Treasurer will report on contributions and ticket sales to the Board. Indicators of success include growth in the audience and positive online feedback, more funds raised from non-members, and higher number of auditions. The W VC Board and Artistic Director review these details regularly to evaluate how to most effectively reach community members. In addition to our own analysis, our concerts are regularly reviewed by local reviewers. DocuSign Envelope ID: 56ECA0F1-08AA-4A90-B1A0-B9B7C934B889 How do you promote and publicize the work of your organization? W omen’s Voices Chorus has a long history of high-quality performances. The almost 30 years of innovative, themed concerts has created a loyal audience of our family and friends, and each year we attract a broader audience beyond this core group. Our DEIA Committee is adding to our mailing list so that in 2023-24 we reach and include a broader array of potential auditioners and audience members. W e use printed postcards and regular email newsletters, our website (womensvoiceschorus.org), Facebook page, and paid advertising with Triangle Sings, CVNC.org, and local radio stations to communicate with the public. Our new PR Committee Chair on the Board is planning to expand of our use of social media, eNews, and other media to promote concerts and the organization, and in the pursuit of ethnic and cultural diversity (among auditioners and audience), to add new outlets (e.g., Hola Carolina and JMPro media) to the list. To increase the hard-copy mailing list while keeping costs low, we will engage members to mail postcards to new recipients. For materials and programs, choral members with professional expertise create visual representation of our concerts’ themes. Our concerts are highly attended (pre-COVID, they were often sold out), and reviews, which praise our “otherworldly,” “pure” and “youthful” sound, and Laura Sam’s dedication to supporting living (women) composers (CVNC reviews, 2021-23), also invariably mention how moved and delighted the audience seems, as well. One of the ways W VC has built our audience over the years has been by holding joint concerts. Various collaborators in W VC concerts have included Chapel Hill/Carrboro school choirs; Meredith College Chorale; Bennett College Choir; Capitol City Girls Chorale; Cardinal Singers; St. Mary’s School Chorale; Carolina Harmony; Durham School of the Arts; NCCU Vocal Jazz Ensemble; UNC Charlotteans; UNC W omen’s Glee Club, and others. In-person joint concerts were put on hold during the pandemic; we plan to resume the tradition in the next year. Our DEIA Committee is creating a broad list of new collaborators to approach about joint events. At least one piece in 2024 will include a local school choir. Finally, as mentioned above, Laura Sam and W VC dove into the “virtual concert” world during the pandemic, learning the technical aspects of voice blending (with 78 members submitting individual recordings, she had a lot to blend!), adding graphics and interspersing spoken word interludes by individual members. Beyond creating W VC concerts, she reached out to colleagues at UNC Charlotte and Meredith College and created a virtual concert and webinar, bringing together young women singers from those institutions to share the joy of singing together. The chorus this year is about 40% new members (0-2 years), and several members say they joined because of participating in or viewing the virtual productions. DocuSign Envelope ID: 56ECA0F1-08AA-4A90-B1A0-B9B7C934B889 Please describe efforts by your organization to generate revenue. W omen’s Voices Chorus is a mature organization, with the stable leadership, consistent staff and board oversight, long term membership, and loyal fan base which have allowed us for 30 years to cover our annual operations expenses, currently about $50,000, through membership dues, cash donations, sustaining donors, ticket sales, program ad sales, fundraising events, and occasional grants. Choir membership dues are currently $150 per year. W VC dues have not been raised since 2008, reflecting the desire to welcome members of all economic situations; at the same time, many members are generous donors, which has essentially instituted a broad sliding scale. In light of recent years’ shortfalls in membership and concert income, the board is currently considering raising tuition to $175, and reiterating to auditioners and members the availability of (confidential) funds for anyone who needs them. The current Fund Development chair on the W VC Board has a 20-year grant-writing career at UNC, has worked hard to increase individual fundraising and is working to increase the percentage raised from non- members. Individuals’ donations to W VC have averaged $23,340 per year over the past three years. In FY23 we have received about $25K from individual donors. A large portion of the donations come from our 27 sustaining donors (both members and non-members), who donated over $12,000 in FY23. Of the rest, most comes from our annual fall solicitation letter to our mailing list (with a 3-year average of $5700; $7300 in FY23) plus gifts from new donors. In a typical year, we also generate on average $14,000 from concert ticket and program ad sales. These numbers (of course) went down during the pandemic (as did member dues income and number of sustaining donors). Concert income is rebounding, although not back up to historic levels. In FY23, we expect about $12,000 in concert revenue. W e wish to continue providing concert video recordings for free. Traditionally, W VC has not kept all income to itself. Although we have no formal grantmaking activity we regularly hold benefit concerts for local non- profits. Beneficiaries over the years have included the Compass Center for W omen and Families; UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center; CASTLE, the Center for Acquisition of Spoken Language Through Listening Enrichment; Arts for Life; Arthritis Foundation; Interfaith Council Community House; Kids Summer Meals Program of the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina; and the Augustine Literacy Project. These events are very important to members, as are "run-out" concerts to local elder- care homes and other venues with audiences who may not be able to attend our concerts in person. The DEIA Committee has discussed broadening the range of organizations with whom to partner in this way. One organization mentioned has been Arise Collective (formerly the Interfaith Prison Ministry for W omen), an organization that provides comprehensive wraparound support for formerly incarcerated women. Arise Collective is led by a former W VC member, and we would like to consider a fundraising concert for or with the women in the program. This would not generate revenue but could expand our regional impact. DocuSign Envelope ID: 56ECA0F1-08AA-4A90-B1A0-B9B7C934B889 Resumes of artists/administrators W VC_-_Artistic_Director_C.V._-_June_2023.pdf W VC_-_Operations_Manager_C.V._-_June_2023.pdf W VC_-_Hollis_CV_June_2023.pdf Board of Directors List W VC_Board_of_Directors_-_June_2023.pdf IRS Tax Exemption W VC_501c320form20small.pdf W ork Samples W VC_Program_Through_the_Storm_May2022.pdf W VC_19S_program_rev 3_2019-04-16a_1.pdf Video Sample: External Link 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8XewCIJFz8 Video Sample: External Link 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=lXZpCcYnDes&ab_channel=MarkManring Video Sample: External Link 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=gW fNYlEX2go&ab_channel=W omen%27sVoicesChorus Letters of support (optional) W VC_-_2022-23_Season-Notes_from_the_Audience.pdf DocuSign Envelope ID: 56ECA0F1-08AA-4A90-B1A0-B9B7C934B889