July 8, 2020

Board Members: Jay Steele (Chair), Steve Allhoff, Dallas Carter, Michael Hirsch, Kim Kay, Jennifer Maggio, Jennifer Petersen, Steve Sammonds, Jordan Selburn

Ex Officio: Sara Dean, Doug Hughes, Michael Johnson, Dan Singletary

Contents

Agenda

  • Officer and functional director items requiring discussion
  • Committee updates requiring discussion
  • SBMT ticketing platform
  • Financial status
  • Implementing our anti-racism commitment across our processes
  • Board election process for member-elected and board-nominated slots
  • Executive Director update

Summary of Actions

  • ACTION: Dan Singletary will continue evaluating ticketing systems, and set up a meeting for the Board as he gets more comparison info.
  • ACTION: Jen Maggio will look at what we would use proposed loan money for, how much we should request, or what we do if we don’t use it and want to pay early (is there a prepayment penalty?) and report back to the Board.
  • ACTION: Barbara Heninger to set up ElectionBuddy system, and work with Board to send to membership and complete the election (see “Board Elections” section for detail of actions)
  • ACTION: Jen Maggio will look at tax code for wording about inclusion on Boards and use it as our model for an inclusiveness policy
  • ACTION: Jordan Selburn will hold a meeting with ED, fund-raising committee, perhaps other SBMT members willing to help with grant writing, to give them information. Possibly Sunday July 12.

Ticketing Platform Update

(Dan Singletary)

We have 65 recurring donors signed up. The recurring donations should have started end of June but Vendini’s system did not do it. Dan S & Steve A talked with Vendini, who couldn’t fix it. Vendini is now an old platform because their company was purchased by AudienceView, and so Vendini won’t be fixed. For now, we will manually charge customers their recurring donations through Vendini. Dan clarified details of the recurring billings for CFO Jen Maggio, for CFO tracking of recurring charges through Vendini.

Dan has reviewed four systems to replace Vendini.

  • Audience View Pro (the purchasing company, separate company) – meets all of our needs. Waiting for a pricing model.
  • Patron Manager, derivative of SeatAdviser. Built on top of SalesForce, so our data would become a SalesForce database and we can get plug-ins from SalesForce to maniputlate patron database. Demo planned for tomorrow. Cost is effectively the same as Vendini.
  • ThunderTix, a version of TicketForce. Will check them out.
  • Tix.com, no information yet, will review them also.

Built a spreadsheet to evaluate each company for the required features. All of the new systems would cover tracking donors and subscriber management, so the additional functionality that Dan has set up in Vendini to do this – and the extra work! – would no longer be needed. New systems will also make it easier to process donors and subscriptions.

Discussed compatibility with marketing mailing systems such as MailChimp or Emma.

ACTION: Dan will continue evaluating the systems, and set up a meeting for the Board as he gets more comparison info.

CFO Report / Financial Status

(Jen Maggio)

Setting up new processes for our updated financial database. Have two QuickBooks accounts – one for the historical data, one for the new data going forward.

We have about $136,000 in the bank. There are some checks out there that have not been cashed, so amount here is not exact. Assuming the actual starting amount for the new system is approximately $125,000, and given our known new recurring donations, and negotiated rental reduction, the budget is coming together and looking positive. Will send it out and ask Board to vote on proposed budget by email.

Small Business Administration contacted CFO about a potential loan we could apply for, up to $56,000. Loan is for 30 years at 2.75%. Not forgivable like PPP. We would make principal payments after 12 months, although interest will be accumulating during those months also. If we got the full amount, it would be about $243/month for the next 30 years. Suggest if they are offering it at a low rate, we should take some part of it. We don’t know if we’re going to need it or not. If we find we don’t, and if there are no prepayment penalties, we could get rid of it.

Another suggestion: borrow the difference between where we would like to be for cash, and where we are now. Or we might use it to help us fund our first show when the theaters reopen.

ACTION: Jen will look at what we would use the money for, how much we should request, or what we do if we don’t use it and want to pay early (is there a prepayment penalty?) She will report back to the Board.

Implementing our anti-racism commitment across our processes

We are on track for the first steps we wanted to take to start

As we move forward, some members are requesting how we stay coordinated on all of the tasks we took on to support anti-racism. All functional directors and committees should consider our goals. Do we need a more specific plan for all of these things? Discuss as part of an offsite retreat?

Results for the most recent eShow cast: more POC in Book of Will. Having Vinh attached to it brought new people in. Have information to keep in mind for next time. From Vinh: 33% POC is okay but “not enough.” Vinh gave Sara additional questions to consider for next time.

Discussed how we coordinate the vision across the group; are more processes needed, or are we already coordinating? ED checks against our SBMT Values as they go.

Note to the Board that this is an open-door situation. Board members can always raise issues to Sara or to each other if they have concerns.

Regarding diversity and inclusion, will the EDI committee come up with additional specific goals for SBMT, or help the committees and functional leaders align with diversity goals? Suggest that this be a conversation for the new Board, as their members will need to help people the EDI committee (only one current member of that committee, Kevin Brownstein, will remain on the Board).

Process Question

Will we have a retreat with the new Board?

Yes; however, because the election will happen in July, August is too early. Possibly September or October once the new Board is empaneled.

Board Elections

Per the ByLaws, 6 members are always up for election at any election period. 3 are elected by membership. 3 are proposed by the Board, and approved by the membership.

Although her term is not ending, Kim Kay has requested to step down. So there are 7 open positions. Out of these, 6 Board members are departing (Kim Kay, Steve Allhoff, Jordan Selburn (term limit), Barbara Heninger (term limit), Jennifer Petersen, Denise Reynolds), and one Board member is running for re-election (Jay Steele).

Since there are seven rather than six slots, Board proposed that for this election, the process would work as follows:

  • Run a general election, giving the membership the option to vote for 4 of the 10 candidates
  • The top 4 vote-getters would be automatically elected
  • The Board would look at the remaining 6 candidates and choose 3, based on Board needs and goals for this election (e.g., increase diversity and representation)
  • Send a slate of 7 candidates for final approval to the membership.

Next steps:

ACTION – Barbara will set up the election on Election Buddy. Goal to complete it by Friday.

ACTION – When election system is ready, send election information to membership and give them one week to vote

ACTION – Barbara tally the votes and provide results to Board. Board members to meet during the week of July 19 to pick the three remaining candidates

ACTION – Approval election to be sent out final week of July

Question: Are persons contributing to formal eStudio programs considered volunteers? Yes, those hours apply to voting rights.

Question: Are persons participating in Thursday Night Theatre considered volunteers? No. This is a separate program started by persons who happen to work with SBMT, but it is not a formal SBMT offering.

Executive Director Questions

Are there policies that the EDI should formalize (similar to our harassment policy)?

ACTION – Jen Maggio will look at tax code for inclusion on Boards and use it as our model.

Is it worth it to solicit feedback from our eStudio participants? General response from Board: A little too early, participants don’t know yet the full gamut of what’s coming. Maybe wait until September. We do ask for feedback after each event.

ED would like to know more about grant applications, grant writing.

ACTION – Jordan hold a meeting with ED, fund-raising committee, perhaps other SBMT members willing to help with grant writing, to give them information. Possibly Sunday July 12.

Respectfully submitted by Barbara Heninger, July 8, 2020

Appended: Reports submitted in advance

Executive Director’s Report (Sara Dean)

Here’s what I have been working on, generally.

Donations

Monthly promised:  $2,682

One Time Donations:  $20,070

Adjusted Monthly (One Time/ 12, plus Monthly) = $4,355

Adjusted Monthly Goal #2 = $5,000

Sasha Motaylgo worked with Dallas and I on the pitch for the Retirement Communities, and that is ready to go.  We will send it out within the next few days.  Thanks to Michael, Jay & Kim for additional help, and Doug for the Sizzle Reel.

Discuss:  Monthly Recurring Donor Issues, Grant Discussion

eStudio

Rehearsals for Book of Will start tomorrow, casting is complete, all said yes. 33% of the cast are BIPOC (presenting).  He and I are working on additional information for future. If we are to hold auditions for each Readers Theatre, this will be time consuming.

-Feedback has been positive.  We have a heavy load for July & August.  We expect that interest will eventually peter out. If you have any feedback on programs please let me know.  And please spread the word!

If you haven’t participated in any events, please check it out. We are doing cool work.

Discuss: upcoming August & Sept Programs. Survey to participants

EDI

We actively are hitting our EDI goals:

– Board Meeting info is on the website.

– Casting Consultant engaged for Readers Theatre. Discuss upcoming Directors & Vinh’s feedback.

– Diverse slate for our Board nominations

– We are not season planning, but are actively seeking diverse profiles in eStudio. Khalia Davis, Smita Patibanda, Felicia Chang are individual evenings.  Dave Leon & Nicole Sarich directing.  Vinh Nyugen is interested in leading a discussion on song choice, aimed at BIPOC.

–  The biggest takeaway over the changes in the last month – to create diversity, reach out and invite.

Discuss:  Leadership, next goals.

Upcoming Ideas and Projects

– Season 2021/2022.

– How do we become more engaged with the BIPOC community? Second Stage, Youth Theater, Workshops?

– Outdoor venues and concerts, with distancing and limits in place?

Thanks,

Sara

SBMT Marketing & Social Media report for July, 2020

Submitted to Board of Directors by Doug Hughes, July 7, 2020

Videos

We continued publishing our Love Note videos weekly on YouTube, in the News Notes email, and in the Facebook eStudio private group.

In addition, I edited and posted the following eStudio content to our YouTube channel archive

SBMT Website updates

  • Revamped the HOME page carousel to remove a graphic artifact, update the all text, make the typography match, remove season subscription link, and introduce new images including a screen shot from Khalia Davis’s Zoom discussion on Youth Theatre, replacing the Big River
  • When Dan Singletary migrated the website to a less-expensive plan at the end of May, he also updated us to the latest version of WordPress Avada / Team Fusion. While this gives us better security and improved features, it also ushered in a new user interface for the home page carousel and page headers. I spent some time figuring out the new way that things now work and updated my “How to Update the SBMT Website” documentation.
  • The footer stopped displaying our latest Facebook post; I couldn’t solve the issue so I reworked the code to display our Instagram page instead.
  • Updated AUDITION page to announce auditions for The Book of Will.
  • Redesigned the eStudio page to move past events to their own section at the bottom of the page (organized into categories including Readers Theatre, South Bay Cabaret, Behind the Curtain, and Performance Workshops). Added new July events including Khalia Davis discussion, Evening of Sunshine, Trivia Night with Walter Mayes, Tap workshop with Francesca Cipponeri, Broadway by the Decade (40s) with Heather Kenyon, The Book of Will (cast to be announced), Jazz Dance workshop with Mike Saenz, South Bay Cabaret with Felicia Chang, and Headshot Photography discussion with Joanne DeGeneres.

Blog posts

  • Posted Black Lives Matter blog post on 6/15
  • Worked with Barbara Heninger to post all Board minutes from 2019 and 2020 to our blog, linking to a summary of them from the bottom of the BOARD OF DIRECTORS

E-blast weekly newsletters on Vendini

We sent out the following email blasts since last month’s report. (Note: I am no longer reporting revenue from the emails, since none of them contained any Vendini-ticketed events or donation request modules that would trigger income tallies.)

Mailer to subscribers

  • Sara’s letter to 450 subscribers went out, selling our new eStudio content and soliciting Monthly Sustaining Donations. Donors continue signing up, though it’s hard to know which individual effort closed the deal.

Facebook posts

  • We picked up 17 new Facebook followers this month. We are now at 1,661.
  • The posts with the highest engagement this month were
    • The Importance of Being Earnest (2.6K reach; 244 clicks; 87 reactions, comments, shares)
    • Khalia Davis discussion (2.5K reach; 81 clicks; 121 reactions, comments, and shares)
    • Chris Reber acting workshop (1.5K reach; 85 clicks; 46 reactions, comments, and shares)

Publicity

  • The Facebook group “Discover Los Gatos & Saratoga, CA” plugged our “Evening of Sunshine” event in a post today, along with links to our other July eStudio events.

Artistic Vision & Planning Committee Report for June

  • eStudio– below is the list of programs completed since the last board meeting; complete metrics on the live attendance and historical views can be found in the metrics dashboard that will be updated from time to time. To see future programming, go to the monthly schedule. All of the files related to eStudio can be found in the shared Google Drive.
    • June 11: KALW – Open Air Corona Radio Theatre – Scenes from Almost, Maine(Producer: Sara Dean)
      • KALW had 11,900 different people tune in for at least five minutes per week back in February 2018
    • June 12: Readers’ Theatre – The Importance of Being Earnest(Producer: Walter Mayes) – 261 views
    • June 15: Broadway by the Decade: History of the 1920’2 & 1930’s(Producer: Heather Kenyon) – 74 views
    • June 20: Performance Workshop – Jazz Dance with Michael Saenz(Producer: Sara Dean) – 15 views
    • June 24: South Bay Cabaret – DeLightful, DeLicious, DeLovely, DeMarco! (Producer: Sara Dean) – 149 views
    • June 29: Behind the Curtain – Khalia Davis: Youth Theatre Initiatives(Producer: Sara Dean) – 233 views
    • July 1: Performance Workshop: Script Analysis & Character Study with Chris Reber(Producer: Steve Allhoff) – 196 views
    • July 7: South Bay Cabaret: An Evening of Sunshine with Bob Sunshine (Producer: Michael Hirsch) – 86 views
  • Thursday Night Theatre– This is a non-SBMT FaceBook group created by local performers and community members who are also SBMT performers or attendees. Sara Dean contributed to it; however, to make it clear this is not a formal SBMT offering, Beth McClelland (t.mcclelland@gmail.com) has taken leadership of the group. It will remain an ongoing vehicle for the community to participate in table reading of new and existing works to keep the community connected during the sheltering in place and social distancing.
  • For discussion
    • eStudio Producers
      • Looking for ideas & producers
      • Looking for technical directors
    • Thursday Night Theatre
      • Looking for producers/directors
    • Mainstage Productions
      • Outdoor facilities
      • Preparing the Saratoga Civic Auditorium for post-pandemic
    • Filmed Productions
      • A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murderstreaming rights
      • Looking for producers and directors interested in filming a production

Michael Hirsch

Development Report for June

1) Received $5800 from SVCreates for the 2020-21 season. This was the second year of a 2-year grant, will need to be applied for again in ~9 months but it is highly likely that they will have less money next year.

2) Researched the NEA grant. While there is some potential, I don’t think we can/should pursue it *at present* for two reasons:

  • As we don’t have a project currently planned, the timeframe is not enough for us to put together a proposal likely to be successful in a highly competitive environment.
  • The grant is restricted to one-half of the total project costs, meaning we would have to find additional grants of at least $10k, or fund this out of pocket. Given our current financial outlook, this would be an extremely risky idea.

In general, we need to consider a couple of things when looking at project grants such as this. First, at best the grants will cover the cost of the project, usually less. They will not help cover our general operating expenses, and should not be considered as a way to boost our core fundraising. Second, we should have *detailed* project plans in place – things we want to do, why we want to do them, and how we’ll carry it through – before we look for project grants. Doing it the other way around (finding a grant, then crafting a project) is much less likely to be fruitful.

Jordan Selburn