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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-569-E-Arts Commission-VoicesChapelHill aka voices the Chapel hill chorus-2023-24-Ars GrantGRASSROOTS 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 VoicesChapelHill (aka Voices - the Chapel Hill Chorus) Emily Shuman President Salary Support for Artistic Director, Accompanist, and/or Local Musicians hired for concerts $6,400.00 4 4 4 DocuSign Envelope ID: A1431915-7C4E-420D-8962-502090AC2D53 1 Revised August 2022 ORANGE COUNTY ARTS COMMISSION 2023-24 GRANT AGREEMENT THIS AGREEMENT, entered into this 29 day of September, 2023, by and between Orange County ("County"), by and through the Orange County Arts Commission ("Arts Commission") and ("Grant Recipient"). WHEREAS, the Arts Commission is a countywide arts agency that ensures the growth of local arts experiences by providing funding and support for diverse high quality programs and projects. WHEREAS, the Arts Commission administers the annual Grants Program to provide economic opportunities to Orange County artists and non-profit organizations coordinating arts projects benefiting the citizens of Orange County. WHEREAS, the annual Arts Grants Program is supported by Arts Commission with funds from the Grassroots Arts Program of the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, a state agency. WHEREAS, the Grant Recipient was selected by the Arts Commission to receive the annual Arts Grant through the procedures duly adopted by the Arts Commission; and WHEREAS, both parties wish to promote and maintain the integrity and clarity of the Grant Recipient's ideas and statements and delineate the Grant Recipient’s obligations to the County; NOW, THEREFORE, the County and the Grant Recipient, for the consideration and under the conditions hereinafter set forth, agree as follows: 1.Approved Grant Project. Grant funds are provided under this Agreement for the project (“Project”) described in the Grant Recipient’s Grant Application, attached hereto and incorporated herein as Exhibit A. 2.Grant Award. Grant funds in an amount not to exceed ($ ) 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 VoicesChapelHill (aka Voices - the Chapel Hill Chorus) six thousand four hundred dollars $6,400.00 DocuSign Envelope ID: A1431915-7C4E-420D-8962-502090AC2D53 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 $6,400.00 DocuSign Envelope ID: A1431915-7C4E-420D-8962-502090AC2D53 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: A1431915-7C4E-420D-8962-502090AC2D53 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: A1431915-7C4E-420D-8962-502090AC2D53 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 Emily Shuman President DocuSign Envelope ID: A1431915-7C4E-420D-8962-502090AC2D53 10/5/2023 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:_ VoicesChapelHill (aka Voices - the Chapel Hill Chorus) Emily Shuman 7705108500 P.O. Box 3011 Chapel Hill 27515 $6,400.00 51428 DocuSign Envelope ID: A1431915-7C4E-420D-8962-502090AC2D53 10/5/2023 10/9/2023 10/9/2023 10/9/2023 Orange County Arts Commission Powered by Submittable Title Voi cesChapel Hi l l (aka Voi ces - the Chapel Hi l l Chorus) by Mel Huey in 2023-24 Grassroots Arts Program Grant Application P.O. Box 3011 Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27515 US-0-NC United States 919-619-9307 grants@voiceschapelhill.org 06/14/2023 id. 40754181 Original Submission 06/14/2023 APPLICANT INFORMATION Please tell us about your organization. Organization Name VoicesChapelHill (aka Voices - the Chapel Hill Chorus) Mailing Address of Organization P.O. Box 3011 Chapel Hill, NC 27515 How did you hear about our grant program? Other Did you or a representative of your orgnanization attend one of our grants training sessions? Yes Nature of Organization Arts Organization Organization Description VOICES is one of the Triangle’s largest choral organizations, with a tradition stretching back 42 years. Our mission is to foster, sustain, and share the art and joy of choral music, and to enrich the community through the excellent performance of music from diverse cultures and historical periods. VOICES has an all-volunteer member-elected Board of Directors that currently has nine directors, all of whom sing with VOICES. W e have two paid staff positions. Dr. Stephen Futrell, DMA and Associate Professor of Music at Elon University, joined as Artistic Director in 2018. DocuSign Envelope ID: A1431915-7C4E-420D-8962-502090AC2D53 (He is also an ex-officio member of the Board.) For this past year, our accompanist was Joy Rust, but we are in the process of hiring a replacement. W ithin our VOICES organization, Voices is our large symphonic chorus of auditioned singers, with about 90 singers in the past two concerts. Cantari is a smaller, mainly a cappella ensemble of strong singers drawn from the main Voices chorus. Currently, we have about 20 singers in Cantari. W e produce two major concerts a year, in winter and in the spring. Currently, our concerts include both the full Voices chorus and a separate set for the Cantari singers. W e may hold separate concerts for Cantari in the future, possibly this coming year, depending on financial resources. Over the past several years Voices and Cantari have mastered a remarkably diverse and challenging repertoire. W e relish opportunities to learn music from diverse eras and genres, to collaborate with artists from many different cultural traditions, and to support local composers. For our May 2022 concert, celebrating our 40th anniversary, Voices performed an original work, Having Seen Afar Off, that we commissioned from local composer Todd Coleman. Our December 2022 concert featured W inter (from the Forgottens) by Greensboro composer Dan Locklair. Our winter concerts always incorporate diverse repertoire that honors a wide variety of cultural and religious winter traditions. W hile plans are not yet final, we expect similarly engaging, intriguing repertoire selections for next winter and spring. VOICES hires local guest musicians, whether as soloists or supporting performers, for nearly all its concerts. W e also have a strong history of collaborating with other performing groups, particularly local student and youth choirs such as Raleigh BoyChoir, Sisters’ Voices Girls Choir and Chapel Hill HS Chamber Choir. In years when Voices is not touring, we offer the non-auditioned Summer Voices program, featuring repertoire that is intentionally more relaxed and that appeals to a broad audience. Summer Voices is open to any singer who wishes to experience the joy of choral singing, regardless of experience level. Summer 2023’s program, entitled Not “Just” for Kids, with a concert on July 14th, features fun music from Disney, Schoolhouse Rock, W illy W onka and other selections, intended to attract families to our audience. Approximately 80% of VOICES’ membership lives in Orange County. In age we range from the twenties to the eighties with a skew (over 50%) toward our older members. DocuSign Envelope ID: A1431915-7C4E-420D-8962-502090AC2D53 W e typically have about 10% students and 4-5% people of color. 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. Five of our Board members, including our Artistic Director, have recently taken advantage of OCAC’s DEI training series. Our President and our Director for Membership have also previously received DEI training through their workplaces. W e will certainly take back the ideas we have discussed in our OCAC training for strategic planning at our annual Board retreat this summer. In keeping with VOICES’ values of diversity and community inclusion, at our July 2022 Board retreat, the VOICES Board committed to assess our policies and procedures and make them as welcoming as possible. The Board reviewed feedback from member surveys and research that several Board members conducted on making choirs - historically Eurocentric and gendered spaces - more inclusive and welcoming for all people. Since fall 2022, we have offered preferred pronoun stickers for singers to apply to their name tags. Sections are referred to as “tenors and basses” or “sopranos and altos” rather than “men” or “women” so that singers are addressed by their voice part and not by gender. The concert dress policy has recently been updated to allow singers to choose non-gendered concert black attire that aligns with their own gender expression and physical comfort. In addition to these new measures, VOICES is committed to ensuring accessibility for people with disabilities. Our concert venues are accessible. Our newest Board member has mobility limitations and is leading our efforts to assess and improve in this area, including better communication in the FAQs on our website. One of the most valuable tools that VOICES has to enrich the community is through our repertoire selections. Exposing singers and audience members to music from a variety of cultural backgrounds and musical styles invites a deeper appreciation for the rich diversity found in the world of choral music. Studying and performing pieces by lesser-known composers from marginalized backgrounds recognizes and elevates these artists as important musical contributors. W e frequently feature artists from underrepresented communities in our concerts to participate in concerts as featured artists, in part to demonstrate to our audience our commitment to diversity and inclusion. Recent guest artists include W est African percussionist Bashir Shakur at the December 2022 concert and African-American soloist Khydijah W iley at the Summer Voices 2022 concert. Two underrepresented and under-resourced populations that VOICES is DocuSign Envelope ID: A1431915-7C4E-420D-8962-502090AC2D53 well-equipped to serve are seniors and youth. Our membership and audience consist in large part of individuals aged 55-70+, and providing cultural enrichment for seniors is an important way that we provide value to the arts community. W e also have a rich history of joint concerts with local youth choirs, allowing us to share meaningful choral music experiences with young singers in the Triangle. W e’ve also reached out to local Chapel Hill-Carrboro high schools to invite students to come participate in our Summer Voices concert coming up this July. VOICES offers a scholarship program for persons of limited means to become chorus members without paying dues; approximately one-third of our current members contribute to our Sponsor-a-Singer fund. W e also offer reduced dues for all students. 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? Yes Organization's EIN 581450444.0 Organization W ebsite https://www.voiceschapelhill.org Authorizing Official's Name Emily Shuman Authorizing Official's Title President Authorizing Official's Phone 7705108500 Authorizing Official's Email emily@voiceschapelhill.org Applicant Race W hite Financial Overview FinancialOv erv iew_Submittable.xlsx Organizational Financial Statements Income_Statement_21-22.pdf DocuSign Envelope ID: A1431915-7C4E-420D-8962-502090AC2D53 Operating_Budget_22-23.pdf Operating_Budget_23-24.pdf VOICES_990_FY_21-22.pdf Deficit/Surplus VOICES is grateful to have had only a minor deficit of $899 for its most recently completed fiscal year ending on July 31, 2022. COVID, of course, greatly affected both concert income and income from membership from early 2020 onwards. In addition, expenses were particularly high for us in spring 2022. VOICES paid Dr. Coleman $10,000 for our 40th anniversary commissioned piece, paid approximately $5,000 extra to rent premium concert space (UNC's Memorial Hall), hired extra supporting musicians and also increased advertising to promote the concert. To address this challenge, the Board made a concerted effort to seek additional grant income and individual donations and we were largely successful in these efforts. Our expenses in this current FY22-23, and projected for FY23-24, are more typical of the usual “run rate” for VOICES. W e expect the final yearend numbers for this fiscal year to be a small surplus. In the current fiscal year, once again we have benefited from significant grant income as we continue to rebuild our membership levels after COVID. Ticket sales have well exceeded our conservative budget. W e also had two successful fundraisers this year. However, we have had significantly less individual contributions than budget because our most generous donor has left the community. Concert hall rental rates have also risen. If we do have a surplus, we will apply it to replenish our operating funds. W e will continue to work to rebuild both our membership and audiences and develop new strategies and sponsorships to enhance private funding for VOICES. There are also ways to manage our expenses to some degree, based on the choice of performance space and the number of supporting musicians that we can hire for our performances, to continue our long record of prudent financial management. 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 Title of Grant Request Salary Support for Artistic Director, Accompanist, and/or Local Musicians hired for concerts DocuSign Envelope ID: A1431915-7C4E-420D-8962-502090AC2D53 Grant Amount Requested $8,000 Is the person in charge of this program or project different from the Authorizing Official? Yes Project Director Name Mel Huey Project Director Title Director, Grants Project Director Street Address 1140 Pinehurst Drive Chapel Hill, NC 27517 Project Director Phone 9196199307 Project Director Email grants@voiceschapelhill.org W hat are you requesting funding for? Operational expense (arts organizations ONLY) DocuSign Envelope ID: A1431915-7C4E-420D-8962-502090AC2D53 Request Summary VOICES requests $8,000 to support the salary of our Artistic Director, Dr. Stephen Futrell, and/or to pay for our accompanist and/or guest musicians at our winter 2023 and spring 2024 concerts. If our request is granted, grant funds will be matched one for one with money from VOICES' operating funds. Dr. Futrell is the creative force behind VOICES and has expanded our repertoire widely, introducing works from many cultures around the world. An educator as well as artist, he often introduces vocal techniques and music theory concepts during practice that nurture and enhance the choir's skillset, developing stronger musicians over time. Our accompanist attends weekly rehearsals as well as usually being part of our performances and is compensated appropriately for this significant commitment. VOICES almost always hires local guest musicians to perform with us at each of our major performances, and sometimes Summer Voices as well. The ensembles and/or soloists vary at each performance, ranging from single instrumentalists or vocalists to small ensembles to chamber orchestras. At this point, we have not determined who will be performing with VOICES during the upcoming year. During this past year, we had a guest vocalist with Summer Voices, a guest rhythm section (bass and drumset) plus African percussionist for our winter concert, and Triangle String Quartet played with us at our spring concert. W e expect similar groupings in the upcoming year, except that we have not planned to have a guest musician for Summer Voices this year. Organizational Goals VOICES' goals are to provide an opportunity for members of our community to experience the joy of choral singing in a welcoming organization that strives for excellence; and to maximize our community impact with thoughtful and beautifully organized and performed concerts for our audience. In FY 23-24, similar to this and last year, the most important strategy for VOICES is to grow membership and increase our audience, particularly from underrepresented and/or under-resourced populations, with accessibility for all. The benefit from a larger membership is not just the education and enrichment of more singers (which is substantial and important), but that it leads to larger audiences and greater community impact as well. Membership in Voices and Cantari collectively had historically, pre-COVID, averaged about 120-150 total singers. Of course, that dropped precipitously when COVID hit, but we held on as an DocuSign Envelope ID: A1431915-7C4E-420D-8962-502090AC2D53 organization by producing videos with remote performances by our singers to keep our presence and spirit alive. Since returning to the stage in late 2021, we have been steadily rebuilding our membership. Voices had 94 singers for its December 2022 concert and 82 for our May 2023 concert, compared to 88 in December 2021 and 75 in May 2022. (W e usually have more singers in winter and fewer in spring). Of the 65 persons who have pre-registered for 2023 Summer Voices, 17 are new to the chorus. W e hope a good number of these new singers will continue with us in fall. W e look at community impact thus through size of membership and audiences, but also through presenting meaningful content that enriches our musicians and audiences. Our programming attempts to promote both goals. W e try to offer familiar, well-loved selections that attract people who are new to us, both as audience members and singers. But we also attempt to stretch beyond the familiar both musically and with stimulating and worthwhile themes for our programs. A good example of the latter is the programming at our most recent concert in May 2023, “Hands of Love.” This concert featured music that examines the mutual human duties of sustenance and support, particularly in the context of displaced persons and refugees. For this concert, VOICES partnered with the Refugee Support Center in Carrboro, NC, which supports the needs of about 1,000 refugees living primarily in Orange County. RSC presented a speaker and information at our concert and VOICES donated 5% of ticket sales from this concert to RSC. This grant will directly fund our Artistic Director who is responsible for the program selections for VOICES. Programming is key to growth and impact for VOICES, thus enabling us to pursue our mission and goals. DocuSign Envelope ID: A1431915-7C4E-420D-8962-502090AC2D53 How will you evaluate whether or not your goals have been met? W e monitor closely our membership growth/retention and the size of our audience. Positive trends in these metrics will accurately reflect how enthusiastic both groups are. W e will gather further information on audience appreciation and education by noting the number of views and written feedback on YouTube and Facebook, and from the immediate reaction of the audience at the concert as well as feedback heard by our chorus members. Our Artistic Director also routinely reviews live recordings of our performances. The five video recordings posted by VOICES two years ago during the worst of the pandemic each received between 600 and 1,600 views each, which we viewed as a remarkable success in delivering to the public the joy of choral music within restrictive conditions. To improve retention, we attempt to maximize open communication between chorus members and the Board, particularly our President and our Membership chair, to obtain valuable feedback about what members love, what concerns them and how we can improve. W e have several member surveys each season, including one that asks members after a concert to rate their experience during that season. In our President’s weekly email to members, she always invites members’ responses to help us gauge interest and address issues. Board members wear special name tags in rehearsal so that people can ask them questions or discuss points directly. The VOICES website is a regularly utilized resource hub for members and includes a frequently updated FAQ page, practice recordings, pronunciation guides for non-English languages, the member handbook, and other helpful tools. How well we meet our goal of including under-resourced and underrepresented populations in the chorus can, in part, be measured by reviewing the chorus roster. W e generally ask our volunteers helping at the front door of our concerts to take informal note of the composition of the audience. This method, of course, only gives an approximation. Formal audience surveys unfortunately are often not completed but we will explore how to improve our audience measurements at this year’s Board retreat in July. DocuSign Envelope ID: A1431915-7C4E-420D-8962-502090AC2D53 How do you promote and publicize the work of your organization? As ever our own VOICES members are our best publicity. Friends and family of the chorus are the mainstay of our audience. W e encourage our members before every concert and audition to get the word out into their own circles and hopefully beyond. W e also have a larger VOICES community made up of past members and people who sign up on our website to be on our “Friends” list. Emails to this list regularly go out to announce concerts or other VOICES news. W e have over 1,400 people on our “Friends” list, which is about 100 people more than we had last year. VOICES also tries to reach concert attendees and potential new choir members by advertising that targets the general public, especially the public that we can identify as having an interest in music and the arts. W e have an active Facebook page that has 440 “likes” and 453 “followers” - again an increase over last year. W e keep this fresh with posts of VOICES events, other local music events, and music memes. W e regularly post both concerts and auditions on Triangle Sings - a regional vocal and choral music website for the Triangle and Triad areas of North Carolina - and also pay them to promote our events to their own mailing list and on their own social media. W e add our concerts to a dozen local web event calendars (e.g. Town of Chapel Hill, Indyweek, W RAL, W CPE, etc.), the local newspapers for Orange and Chatham counties, and have had interviews of our Artistic Director and/or ads on up to three local radio stations. W e also reach out to retirement communities such as Fearrington Village and Carolina Meadows. Our graphic designer designs advertising materials for each concert and takes great pride in the beautiful and striking materials produced. These images go up with all our web event listings but we also print posters that are put up throughout Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, Pittsboro, and Durham. Please describe efforts by your organization to generate revenue. VOICES generates revenue from member dues, donations, grants, ticket sales, program advertisement sales, fundraisers, sponsorships, endowments, and miscellaneous efforts such as selling VOICES merchandise. VOICES' members are the foundation of most of our revenue because of the dues they pay, donations they give, concert program ads they sell, and the fundraisers they support and promote. W e fully recognize that the organization is dependent upon our membership in multiple ways. W e keep people involved and enthusiastic through season opening and closing parties and by keeping practices fun and musically educational. W e also develop touring DocuSign Envelope ID: A1431915-7C4E-420D-8962-502090AC2D53 opportunities (international as well as domestic) for members to travel and perform together, which are based on member interest and funded directly by the singers. W e’re proposing a possible trip to perform at Carnegie Hall for the summer of 2024, but are still gauging interest and commitments. The COVID years were revenue-challenging as ticket and program advertisements sales disappeared, and the size of the chorus decreased. Fortunately, donations from individuals (within and without the chorus) were on an upward trend. In this period, the Board, recognizing the challenges ahead, also stepped up efforts to obtain grants. W e are still rebuilding but are coming through the COVID upheaval in good financial shape primarily due to donation and grant income and are grateful for it. VOICES' fundraisers have met mainly with success. Every holiday season, members sell pecans and pecan candies sourced from a small NC business. This fundraiser generated approximately $5,000 net profit for us this past December 2022. W e also have a spring or summer fundraiser which has taken many forms in past years. In summer 2019, we received $5,000 in a GoFundMe campaign. In spring 2022, we sold specialized coffee and coffee products and generated a relatively small profit. This spring 2023, we did a cash prize raffle and earned $3,520. W e plan to continue to sell pecans in the Fall and try new fundraisers in spring. Ticket sales historically generated over $20,000 annually for VOICES although in our first fiscal year back to live performances, FY 21-22, we have seen that number drop to about $12,000. W e expect our audiences will return as we rebuild. W e also received over $4,000 from advertisements sold in our concert programs in FY 21-22, well more than offsetting the costs of the program production and printing. VOICES is the beneficiary of two small endowments. The Joel J. and Eleanor Cely Carter endowment is intended to showcase new composers and support commissions of new choral works and totals about $46,000. In 2018 an endowment was raised in honor of Sue Klausmeyer who was retiring after 18 years as VOICES’ Artistic Director. This fund supports instrumentalists, organists, soloists and other enrichment needs for the Chorus and currently totals about $23,000. Resumes of artists/administrators Stephen_Futrell_resume_2023.pdf Shuman_Emily_resume_June_2023.pdf DocuSign Envelope ID: A1431915-7C4E-420D-8962-502090AC2D53 Board of Directors List VOICES_Board_of_DIrectors_June_2023.docx IRS Tax Exemption 1996_04_22_CHCC_IRS_nonprofit_status.pdf W ork Samples VOICES_YouTube_Channel.pdf Voices_Spring_2023_Program_print.pdf Voices_W inter_2022_Program_Print.pdf Video Sample: External Link 1 https://youtu.be/hPJe30UX2tY Video Sample: External Link 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=jwlpnhienjE&list=PLN2d6vDKIBKed3Cd7ejUNrYW dbF7uTNP9&index=9 Video Sample: External Link 3 https://youtu.be/jwlpnhienjE Letters of support (optional) Letter_of_Support_Refugee_Support_Center.pdf Chapel_Hill_Proclamation.pdf DocuSign Envelope ID: A1431915-7C4E-420D-8962-502090AC2D53