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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-594-E-County Mgr-VoicesChapelHill-2025-2026 Arts Grants GRASSROOTS ARTS PROGRAM / ARTIST PROJECT GRANT 2025-26 Grantee Name Authorizing Official Name Email Project Title Award $ Grant Category ☐Grassroots Arts Program ☐Artist Project Grant Program Funding Source ☐North Carolina Arts Council ☐Orange County Grant project period July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026 As Authorizing Official, I acknowledge the following terms and understand if they are not met, I jeopardize future funding opportunities from the Orange County Arts Commission. I understand a Compliance Score is issued for future grants based on my adherence to the following terms: OCAC Report Due July 10, 2026 Multicultural Spending Grantee must spend $ on the hiring of multicultural artists as specified in the grant application. Crediting and logo usage All grantees 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. If funding source is listed as N.C. Arts Council above, grantee must also properly credit the N.C. Arts Council using the proper logos and N.C. Arts Council credit line on all publicity materials for funded program. Download logos on the OCAC website at https://artsorange.org/grants/grantee-resources. Calendar Listing Grantee 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. X mel.huey@voiceschapelhill.org VoicesChapelHill X Mel Huey 3,750.00 Support for Accompanist Costs Docusign Envelope ID: 07544190-1278-4B7D-88D0-425195859546 1 Revised August 2025 ORANGE COUNTY ARTS COMMISSION 2025-26 GRANT AGREEMENT THIS AGREEMENT, entered into this 5 day of September, 2025, 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 three thousand seven hundred fifty dollars 3,750.00 Docusign Envelope ID: 07544190-1278-4B7D-88D0-425195859546 2 Revised August 2025 A. Implementation. The Project implementation shall take place between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026. 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 10, 2026. 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 3,750.00 Docusign Envelope ID: 07544190-1278-4B7D-88D0-425195859546 3 Revised August 2025 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. X Docusign Envelope ID: 07544190-1278-4B7D-88D0-425195859546 4 Revised August 2025 (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: 07544190-1278-4B7D-88D0-425195859546 5 Revised August 2025 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 Travis Myren, County Manager Date Mel Huey Vice President and President-Elect Docusign Envelope ID: 07544190-1278-4B7D-88D0-425195859546 9/17/2025 9/26/2025 ORANGE COUNTY—INTERNAL USE ONLY Revised 01/24 1 Finance Information Vendor Name: Vendor Contact Person: Phone: Address: City: State: NC Zip: Department: County Manager’s Office/Arts Commission Amount: Purpose: 2025-2026 Arts Grants Budget Code(s): 37290050-630000 Vendor # Vendor Status with NCSOS: Vendor is a BOCC consultant: Yes No Contract Details Contract Type: X New Amendment (Original Contract: ) (Most Recent Amendment ) Effective Date End Date Notice Date (Notice Purpose ) Award Approved by Board (Agenda Date: ); Made or Administered by Signature Authority - BOCC Express Delegation (Agenda Date: ) - Policy 9.4: Under $5,000; Service Under $90,000; Construction Under $250,000 - Budget Policy Section XV (Capital Improvement Project: ) Bidding Informal Bidding ($30k-$90k); Formal RFP ($90k+); Other (<$30k); Exception (# ) Department Affirmation This agreement is approved as to technical form and content and I as Department Director affirmatively state work on this pro ject has not been initiated prior to execution of the agreement. This agreement is approved as to technical form and content . Services related to this agreement have already begun or been completed. Description of the nature of the emergency condition that was addressed: Department Director’s Signature Date: 51428 Mel Huey (919) 619-9307 $3,750.00 27515 Chapel Hill VoicesChapelHill PO Box 3011 Docusign Envelope ID: 07544190-1278-4B7D-88D0-425195859546 9/17/2025 ORANGE COUNTY—INTERNAL USE ONLY Revised 01/24 2 Information Technologies This agreement has been reviewed and is approved as to information technology content and specifications: Office of the Chief Information Officer Date: Inapplicable because no hardware/software purchases or related services 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 All DocuSign contracts must be copied to the Clerk upon completion: occlerkdocs@orangecountync.gov The following signature block is for hard copies only and is not required for DocuSign contracts: Received for record retention: Office of the Clerk to the Board Date: Docusign Envelope ID: 07544190-1278-4B7D-88D0-425195859546 9/19/2025 9/22/2025 9/25/2025 Orange County Arts Commission Powered by Submittable Title Voi cesChapel Hi l l by Mel Huey in 2025-26 Grassroots Arts Project Application P.O. Box 3011 Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27515 United States 919-619-9307 grants@voiceschapelhill.org 06/29/2025 id. 50940494 Original Submission 06/29/2025 Score n/a APPLICANT INFORMATION Please tell us about your organization. Organization Name VoicesChapelHill DBA Voices, The Chapel Hill Chorus Is the Applicant Organization serving as a fiscal agent for an unincorporated group? No Mailing Address of Organization PO Box 3011 Chapel Hill NC 27515 US 35.927727 -79.0310344 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 Docusign Envelope ID: 07544190-1278-4B7D-88D0-425195859546 Organization Description VOICES, founded in 1981, is one of the Triangle’s largest and most well- established choral organizations. Our mission is to foster, sustain, and share the art and joy of choral music, and to enrich the community through excellent performance of music from diverse cultures and historical periods. W e are a “community chorus” in the best sense: an inclusive, supportive circle of vocal music enthusiasts striving each year to improve our musicianship and provide valuable live performances to our local audience. VOICES has an all-volunteer member-elected Board of Directors, all of whom sing with VOICES. Our Artistic Director is Dr. Stephen Futrell, DMA, who joined VOICES in 2018. Our accompanist is Shoko Abe, DMA. W ithin our VOICES organization, Voices is our large symphonic chorus of 130+ auditioned singers. Cantari is a smaller ensemble of strong singers drawn from the main Voices chorus. Currently, we have about 30 singers in Cantari. In age we range from twenties to eighties with a skew towards our older members. W e typically have about 6-9% students and about 7% people of color. W e produce two major concerts a year, in December and May. Our concerts include both the full Voices chorus and a separate set or pieces featuring Cantari alone. W e relish opportunities to learn music from different eras and genres, to collaborate with artists from varied cultural traditions, and to support local musicians and composers. For nearly all of our concerts, VOICES hires local musicians. W e feature professional singers to lead us as soloists. W e also hire supporting instrumentalists based on the particular desired emphasis or orchestration for a composition, such as supplemental percussion (winter 2022), string quartet (spring 2023) and small orchestra (spring 2024). Over the past several years Voices and Cantari have mastered a remarkably diverse and challenging repertoire. Selections for the upcoming year’s concerts are under discussion currently. Our winter concerts always incorporate celebratory repertoire and generally honor a wide variety of winter traditions. For our December 2024 concert, we performed Daniel Pinkham’s renowned Christmas Cantata, a suite of W inter Songs based on the poetry of Sara Teasdale, and Ballad of the Brown King by Harlem Renaissance composer Margaret Bonds from text by Langston Hughes, among other selections. At our spring concert, we usually pursue a theme or topic of interest that frames our musical selections or we present a beloved choral work often from classical repertoire. At our May 2025 concert, we performed “Shadow and Light,” a cantata of sixteen movements by composer Joan Szymko, which explores the lives of those touched by Alzheimer’s disease at different stages in its progression and from multiple perspectives. At least every other year, we offer the non-auditioned Summer Voices program, featuring repertoire that is intentionally more relaxed and accessible. Summer Voices is open to any singer who wishes to experience the joy of choral singing, regardless of experience level. This summer, Summer Voices is presenting “Mix Tapes,” featuring classic hits from Abba, The Carpenters, Stevie W onder, Bob Dylan and others, and Motown and Beatles medleys. Docusign Envelope ID: 07544190-1278-4B7D-88D0-425195859546 How many Orange County residents does the organization serve? About 640 to date in FY24-25. (Based on 165 unique individual singers, 60% Orange County residents, and about 900 total audience, assuming the same OC percentage.) Please explain how your organization ensures diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in its programs and operations. In keeping with VOICES’ values of diversity and community inclusion, 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. W e also updated our concert dress policy to be gender non-specific and allow singers to choose concert black attire that helps them feel comfortable on stage. 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. VOICES is committed to hiring artists from diverse backgrounds whenever possible. For example, our W inter 2024 concert featured Black soloists Detra Davis, Lauren Harris and Gerald R. Knight alongside our regular accompanist and concert pianist Dr. Shoko Abe, who was born and trained in Japan. VOICES is also committed to acknowledging various forms of economic disparity within our community and seeking to reduce financial barriers that may prevent both singers and audience members from engaging with us. Since May 2024, we have offered sliding scale ticket pricing for all performances. Our “Pay W hat You Can” program allows ticket purchasers to select the price that is right for them, ranging from $5.00 to our standard $20.00 ticket price. To date, about 10%+ of our audience has taken advantage of this option. W e believe this is helping us increase our community impact in terms of audience size overall but also by broadening audience composition. W e expect to continue this practice at all our concerts. In addition to supporting our audience through our “Pay W hat You Can” program, we also offer partial and full membership scholarships and a reduced student rate for singers wishing to join the chorus. W e never want financial barriers to stand in the way of anyone’s ability to join us. Our membership and audience consist in large part of seniors. Based on our most recent voluntary anonymous survey for W inter 2024, the chorus was about 40% age 65 or older (projected based on responses from approximately 55% of members). W e believe that singing together is a particularly beneficial opportunity for the older adults in our membership; and that providing cultural enrichment for seniors in our audience is an important way that we contribute to the local community. Docusign Envelope ID: 07544190-1278-4B7D-88D0-425195859546 During FY25-26, 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 581450444 Organization W ebsite https://www.voiceschapelhill.org Authorizing Official's Name Mel Huey Authorizing Official's Title Vice President and President-Elect [will be succeeding as President as of 8/1/25] Authorizing Official's Phone 919-619-9307 Authorizing Official's Email mel.huey@voiceschapelhill.org Applicant Race W hite Financial Overview FinancialOv erv iew_Submittable.xlsx Organizational Financial Statements Voices_Income-Expense_8-1-23_to_7-31-24_For_OCAC.pdf Voices_Income-Expense_Est._8-1-24_to_7-31-25_For_OCAC.pdf Voices_Income-Expense_Budget_Draft_8-1-25_to_7-31-26_For_OCAC.pdf VoicesChapelHill_Balance_Sheet_5-31-25.pdf VOICES_FY23-24_Form_990EZ_Tax_Return.pdf Docusign Envelope ID: 07544190-1278-4B7D-88D0-425195859546 Deficit/Surplus Until recently, the last several years of financial results for VOICES were greatly affected by COVID and fluctuated substantially year to year based on factors that were hard to predict. In budgeting, we did not really know when our membership numbers and audience counts would recover, or what public support and private donations we would have to sustain ourselves in difficult times. Happily, our membership rose substantially in FY23-24, driving higher membership dues and also, indirectly, ticket sales. Our financial results that year were very positive. This allowed us to rebuild our cash reserves to reasonable levels. In the current fiscal year 24-25, we continue to have strong membership counts and expect to run a small surplus at our year end of 7/31/25, further bolstering reserves. W e believe we are now in a better position to spend more in support of our artistic and community impact goals in the coming year. W hile we can use reserves if necessary, we hope to earn more particularly from our new sponsorship program, as well as fundraising and donations. If the current or next year budget represents a 30% change (or greater) from the year prior, please explain why. N/A 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 Support for Accompanist Costs Grant Amount Requested $5,000 Is the person in charge of this program or project different from the Authorizing Official? No W hat are you requesting funding for? Operational expense (arts organizations ONLY) Docusign Envelope ID: 07544190-1278-4B7D-88D0-425195859546 Request Summary A grant from OCAC would greatly assist VOICES with its expenses for soloists and supporting musicians for our upcoming 2025-26 concerts. Because we are still planning our concert selections, decisions about the best soloists available, and the specific instrumentation for supporting musicians, have not yet been made. To provide clarity, we will apply any OCAC grant funding we receive specifically to our fees for Dr. Shoko Abe, our piano accompanist. Her duties include acting as our regular accompanist at weekly rehearsals throughout our concert year (W inter, Spring and Summer Voices when applicable); running sectional rehearsals as needed; filling in for Dr. Futrell as director at rehearsals in his absence; and performing with us at our concerts. As such, she is essential to our work and our success. W e are thrilled to be working with Dr. Abe again this coming year; she brings exquisite interpretation and sensitive musicianship to all her performances. Dr. Abe’s total annual compensation for this significant commitment is $12,500. VOICES will cover the remainder of Dr. Abe’s fees out of VOICES’s general operating funds, providing more than the required one-for-one match of grant funding. Docusign Envelope ID: 07544190-1278-4B7D-88D0-425195859546 Organizational Goals VOICES' goals are to provide an opportunity for members of our community to experience the joy of choral singing in an inclusive organization that strives for excellence; and to maximize our community impact with thoughtful and beautifully organized and performed concerts that are accessible and affordable for a wide audience. W e have substantially rebuilt our membership since COVID times to very healthy levels, which is a tribute to the artistry of both Dr. Futrell and Dr. Abe. This provides an important base for expanding our community presence because we depend on members to spread the word about our concerts to their personal networks. Our “Pay W hat You Can” initiative continues to make our concerts more accessible to a wider range of patrons and, we believe, has broadened our audience. W e also use repertoire selection to advance our goals, in different ways. Sometimes, we offer familiar, well-loved selections to attract people who are new to us, both as audience members and singers. Classical choral music through the ages is also an educational foundation to many of our concerts, often featured in surprising ways to contrast with modern pieces. In some programs we also attempt to present selections that address larger themes and concerns of our community. For example, our May 2025 concert, “Shadow and Light,” presented a compassionate, honest exploration of how Alzheimer’s affects individuals and their families over the course of its progression. It was difficult material for many of us, singers and audience members alike; yet it attempted to bring perspective to, and a deeper understanding of, a set of profound life challenges. To enrich this concert experience, VOICES partnered with R Place, a wonderful volunteer-based respite program based on the therapeutic benefits of social engagement and the importance of inclusion for people affected by dementia and their care partners. W e appreciated their reaching out to their community to spread the word about our concert and providing an information table at the event to educate our audience and singers. W e promoted the good work of R Place to our members and supporters and offered a convenient means for interested parties to donate to them. In addition, we made a small donation of our own from ticket sales. Hiring professional musicians as soloists and supporting musicians is critical to our ability to provide the best musical experience at the highest quality we can for our audience, thus advancing our organization’s goals. This organizational grant would assist us greatly in having adequate funding to hire more artists based on what is best artistically, without having to compromise for financial considerations, so we can support our local musicians and bring our performances most fully to life. Docusign Envelope ID: 07544190-1278-4B7D-88D0-425195859546 How will you evaluate whether or not your goals have been met? W e monitor closely our membership growth and 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 from the number of views to our website and likes and comments on Instagram and Facebook, and from the immediate reaction of the audience at the concert as well as feedback heard by our chorus members. W e encourage press reviews of our performances from sites like Triangle Sings to evaluate the impact and quality of our music. Our Artistic Director also routinely reviews live recordings of our performances. W e seek 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. W e also send members every season a voluntary anonymous questionnaire about their personal demographic information in order to assess how well we are appealing to members of underresourced and underrepresented groups. W e usually get about 50% response to these surveys, so our ability to draw conclusions about membership is not complete, but it is helpful. W e have also requested similar information from audience members via surveys by QR link in our ticketing portal and in our programs but participation has been very limited. Docusign Envelope ID: 07544190-1278-4B7D-88D0-425195859546 How do you promote and publicize the work of your organization? Our own VOICES members are our best publicity. W e encourage our members before every concert to get the word out into their own circles and hopefully beyond through personal contact, email and social media. W e provide suggested language and graphics in various sizes and formats to members to use for this purpose. W e also reach out to a larger VOICES community made up of past members and people who sign up for our “Friends” email list. For concerts where we partner with other organizations in the community, such as our Spring 2025 concert partnership with R Place (discussed above), we and our partners both benefit from each party's publicizing and promoting the concert and partnership to its own network of stakeholders and supporters, to reach a broader audience. VOICES also reaches concert attendees by advertising that targets the general public, especially those who may have an interest in classical music, choral music and the arts. W e are active on Facebook, where we promote VOICES events and other local music events and share audience relevant arts-related content. Last year, we launched an Instagram to engage our younger demographic. On our Instagram, choir members interact with videos and posts sharing snippets of what we do and repost information about Voices with their own networks. 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 pay them to promote our events on their own mailing list and social media. W e add our concerts to about 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 for past concerts 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 creates advertising materials for each concert that appear with all our web event listings but we also print posters to put up throughout Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, Pittsboro, and Durham. Docusign Envelope ID: 07544190-1278-4B7D-88D0-425195859546 Please describe efforts by your organization to generate revenue. VOICES generates revenue from member dues, donations, ticket sales, corporate sponsorships, fundraisers, endowments, and miscellaneous efforts such as selling VOICES merchandise, as well as grants. VOICES' members are the foundation of most of our revenue because of the dues they pay, donations they give, corporate sponsorship introductions they make, and the fundraisers they support and promote. W e recognize that the organization is dependent upon our membership in multiple ways. Membership fees are particularly important to cover our annual costs. These have risen as our membership rebounded post-COVID and we estimate a total of about $31,000 by the end of our current fiscal year. Ticket sales substantially offset our direct concert expenses, although we usually lose money or just break even on events. Ticket sales too have rebounded since COVID but vary depending on the concert’s program, weather, other competing events, and similar considerations. For the current fiscal year, we expect to end with about $17,000 in ticket sales (net of tax). This year, we launched a new corporate sponsorship program that is intended to replace our previous practice of selling ads in our concert programs. An annual sponsorship at varying price levels includes benefits such as advertisements in the programs for our two major concerts, logo presence on our website throughout the year, free tickets, and, at some levels, promotion through our social media network and live acknowledgement at concerts. Selling small individual print ads in programs every season was labor intensive for our volunteer Board and our members and, we believe, did not provide as good exposure and public appreciation for participating companies as we can provide through the sponsorship and its benefits. W e will still sell these ads but will not focus on them. In our first year, we have raised about $3,000 in sponsorship revenues and we hope to renew these relationships and build new ones over time. VOICES' fundraisers help us raise additional revenue. Every holiday season, members sell pecans and pecan candies sourced from a small NC business. This fundraiser generated approximately $2,000 net profit for us in winter 2024. W e also usually have one or more other fundraisers which have taken many forms in past years. In recent years, we’ve had cash prize raffles. In spring 2024, this raised about $2,500. W e did a small fundraiser with a local restaurant for a revenue sharing day last autumn which netted about $350. W e plan to continue to sell pecans next fall and try new fundraisers mainly in spring. 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 currently totals about $57,500. 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_Bio.pdf Shoko_Abe_Bio.pdf Docusign Envelope ID: 07544190-1278-4B7D-88D0-425195859546 Mel_Huey_Brief_Bio.pdf Board of Directors List VOICES_Board_of_DIrectors_August_2025.pdf IRS Tax Exemption Tax_Exemption_Letter_VoicesChapelHill.pdf W ork Samples Voices_Performance_Samples.pdf Title of work Notes to Video Performance Samples Artist's name Year created Medium (if applicable) Video Sample: External Link 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S- k9u2ABLmw&list=PLN2d6vDKIBKci2QNtfVJS6gB26_zwH4h4&index=5 Video Sample: External Link 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=IW Px4k43GKA&list=RDIW Px4k43GKA&start_radio=1 Video Sample: External Link 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=mdE28EVDeLk&list=PLN2d6vDKIBKci2QNtfVJS6gB26_zwH4h4&index=1 Letters of support (optional) R_Place_Letter_of_Supprt_6-24-25.pdf Logo and tagline usage checked Unallowable Expenses checked Docusign Envelope ID: 07544190-1278-4B7D-88D0-425195859546