Nonprofit Art Group Committees
A nonprofit art group is made up or various committees which help do the work toward that group's mission and goals. Within the membership of the group, volunteers step up to join and add their skill sets and/or interests to a particular committee. This blog post explores various aspects and managing art committees with a leaning toward the Prince William Art Society's committee needs.
Types of Art Committees
Standing Committee - a permanent body of people that are necessary to the art group's duties, policies, goals, responsibilities, and objectives. The persons can be elected or volunteer, but there should be a Chair person for each committee. The standing committee is permanent in the sense of "there will always be this specific committee within our art group". The members of the committee may change over time, but that committee needs to be in place. A standing committee may also be in place for as long as the members of it wish to serve and are not (necessarily) subject to Board member elections.
Examples: Programming and Scholarship Committees
Ad Hoc Committee - is not permanent, is a temporary team, and serves different purposes. They can solve problems, develop ideas, and/or are brought together to achieve a specific task. Once the task or project is resolved, the committee can be disbanded.
Examples: Nominating Committee for Board Elections or a Research Committee for a project.
Subcommittees - are a collection of members from a larger committee or board that generally focus on solving a particular task under the parent group, and reports to that parent. They are for a specific purpose and often a period of time.
Examples: GoWell Stonebridge and the GoWell Warrenton Committees would be a sub from an Events Committee; a Gallery Committee could easily have its own subcommittees
Select or Special Committees - a type of committee appointed as needed with a timeline to complete a specific task, issue or oversight.
Examples: Research Committee, Gallery Search
The Prince William Art Society (PWAS) Board is working to provide more opportunities for our members to:
- Exhibit/sell art at local venues.
- Expand members knowledge of the art business.
- Procure grants from state, county, and cities.
- Provide meaningful networking (learn about outside shows, meet artists outside PWAS).
- Build friendly member relationships to better help one another.
Hence, the need to have a more in-depth look at our committees and how we can grow them. Members should review the committees that they would like to become involved in - whether they have experience or not. Obviously, we would hope that a person's background, life and work experiences would lend themselves to the appropriate group but volunteers are certainly welcome to join where their interests lead them too.
You'll quickly see the relationships and connectivity that should be in place between many of these group of committees. Indeed, often they will need to work hand in hand to strive toward the art groups success.
No one person nor group - nor Board, can do it all. Nor should any member of a group expect that they do.
Typical Committees Within an Art Group
The Prince William Art Society does not currently have all of the committees listed here (or perhaps need), but these groups are typical of many nonprofit art organizations. Some committees might be bundled or renamed differently, here is an overview:
Executive Committee - PWAS sees the Executive Committee as the elected Board Members, but this can be a subset of the Board members for urgent situations or on demand situations between Board meetings.
Membership Committee - recruiting, engaging and maintaining membership within the art group is an ongoing and very important committee for any art group, society or guild. Ensuring advantageous benefits for joining the group should always be a high priority. Between membership fees, donations and a small percentage taken from art sales, these are typical methods of funding a nonprofit art group and the costs of maintaining the organization's annual expenses.
Finance Committee -
the group that tracks the Benjamins of course. All assets and
liabilities, the preparation of the annual budget, overseeing any
endowments, taxes, investments, and other strategies must be clearly
organized. This is another standing committee where at least one person
should have major financial experience.
Fundraising and Developmental Committee -
for many nonprofit art organizations, fundraising is usually the
primary activity (after Memberships). Fundraising can include many types of events like
silent auctions, galas, competitive runs and contests, raffles and other creative
methods for raising money for the organization. Other opportunities for
raising funds is gaining donors (large and small), sponsors,
philanthropists, patronages, as well as grants and endowments.
Fundraising should be a standing committee and work in conjunction with other committees such as short term and long term planning. When an art organization develops big plans and goals, fundraising must be on the agenda.
Strategic Planning and Outreach Committee - This committee works towards developing, executing, and defining the PWAS as a 3-5 year strategic plan.
Marketing Committee
- if no one knows about your art group and your goals or that your nonprofit exists, how can you
raise money for it? Marketing should be a standing committee. This group pushes the PWAS mission across all channels.
Public Relations Committee -
this is a group where creativity and prior experience can really help.
The committee handles all printed materials like flyers, leaflets,
whitepapers, brochures, etc. - with a UNIFIED message. This is the public face of the group, making a positive image imperative. The Webmaster of the group's website, social media and Blog Admin typically works with the PR folks.
Social Media Committee - the areas of where the art group posts events and images, announcements, invitations, plus - plus. On Facebook, Twitter - X, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube - whatever platform the art group uses, posting should be on a steady and consistent schedule. The PWAS Blog, Artistry Spin is a part of this committee.Gallery Committee - when an art group has an ongoing space to house and/or be a base for the art group, a very active group of people need to handle all aspects of running that gallery. From exhibits, calls for art, events, receptions, volunteering, sales, space rentals, and so much more, the Gallery Committee manages the space that houses the art and artists and the public that will visit. Finding a new Gallery is a main objective of PWAS. (PWAS Gallery Committee disbanded at this time.)
Building and Grounds Committee - this group is involved in upkeep, accessibility and renovation of any art group's physical space. (PWAS has no need of this one at this time.)
Education Committee - Workshops, classes, art education activities, initiatives, and opportunities for their members and/or the community. The committee can include both teachers and students, classes for the public and workshops for the members.
The art organization can develop any of their committees as needed.
New Proposed PWAS Committees
For the Prince William Art Society, the following new committees have been noted to be must haves, high priority groups to help reach their objectives. A committee can be as large as needed and it is often recommended to have an odd numbered group so that when voting on a topic, there is a tie breaker.
Events Committee* (High Priority)
- Help with set-up, take-down of shows.
- Collecting the inventory lists for Pop up shows.
- Help assign display spaces.
- Assist with hanging/taking down art from shows.
- Printing labels.
- Maintaining artists in Square machine.
Grant Committee* (High Priority)
- Write concise, compelling applications for funds to be used for venue rentals, training, equipment, etc.
- Editors, reviewers.
There are a lot of grants for nonprofit art groups "out there" with a lot of money on the table for those art groups, galleries and art organizations to help with all manner of outreach in their communities.
Short-Term Planning Committee* (High Priority)
- Secure venues for exhibits, working with realtors, gallery curators, business owners.
- Plan exhibits at local venues, organize paperwork.
- Secure outside jurors.
Long-Term Planning Committee* (High Priority)
- Help find venues for long term exhibits.
- Work with County and Arts Council to establish permanent County Arts Building.
- Apply for large state grants.
Note that planning types of committees are recommended to be from 9-15 members (when possible) to allow for more viewpoints. -
“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” —Pablo Picasso
Activities Committee* (High Priority)
- Help organize classes (venues, instructors).
- Plan field trips (get quotes for bus).
- Plan late spring or early summer picnic at county pavilion.
- Monthly or bi-monthly art challenges.
The Activities Committee is sort of an offshoot of the Members Committee and is the "fun" side of things that your membership can enjoy. PWAS feels that building relationships with like minded artists is beneficial to the entire group.
Other PWAS Committees
Program Committee
At the PWAS meetings every month, the Program Committee arranges a guest speaker, a presentation, show and tell, or other art discussion of interest to the PWAS members and visitors that is in addition to the business meeting.
Scholarship Committee
The Jewell Pratt Burns Scholarship and Committee annually presents an award to 1 or 2 Prince William County graduating high school seniors, that are moving forward with an education and career in the an arts.
Hospitality Committee
- Food and Beverage for Meetings – solicit members to provide snacks and beverages.
- Help organize Art Receptions.
- Holiday Planning.
- Summer Picnic.
For ongoing projects and planning, updates and/or changes, the art groups By Laws would need to be updated to include the agreed upon duties and responsibilities for any of the additional committees.
Where,
when (date and time). Sometimes regular meetings work well but the
committee will need to arrange what works best for their needs and
upcoming projects.
With all that being said, if you belong to an art group, get involved at a committee level. Contact your Member-at-Large (for PWAS this is Tom Payne) and discuss where you can best fit in.
*Designates a New Committee for PWAS
Organize Your Art Committee
Art Groups are made up of people that love and create art. While there are huge art groups with huge budgets, HR and payrolls, many small art groups must work with their volunteer members to work toward the success of the whole, even with much smaller budgets. While some members have vast experiences and knowledge to help the group and team, many folks have to learn as they go. I hope to help here with tips to help artist members have a bit of understanding on how a committee is expected to flow - no matter the name or type of committee.
1. Purpose.
Have a crystal clear purpose toward a common objective. Each and every meeting is scheduled so that all goals and objectives can be solved and progress is methodically accomplished. Definitely, time must be used wisely, so by having a clear purpose and understood by all of the team, this helps to achieve the purpose for the meeting.
2. Preparation.
Having an agenda sets expectations, keeps everyone on the same page, and stay on topic. Create an outline and be sure to prioritize tasks, goals, and ensure no important details are missed. And email out the agenda to your team members in advance of the meeting.
Keeping to the agenda is just as important as preparing for the meeting. Some groups assign time periods per topic, less important or low priority topics might be shelved, or if someone needs more info on a topic, that discussion can go to the parking lot, a phone call or an email.
Know the By-Laws of your art group. There is no sense in discussion or suggestions that do not coincide with the By-Laws of your art group.
Where and when (date and time) should be upfront and LARGE. Sometimes regular meetings work well (weekly, monthly...) but the
committee will need to arrange what works best for their needs and
upcoming projects and deadlines.
Smaller committees typically meet in each other's homes but here in Woodbridge, we've had committees that meet at Wegmans - upstairs, or in coffee shops.
3. Updates.
Set a time (15 minutes or so) at the beginning or end of the meeting for your stakeholders updates.
4. Assign Meeting Roles
Assign, select and/or vote on roles and rules for your committee.
A. Select
your Chair or Lead Person - you could have a co-chair but someone needs to
report to the Board. The Chair person also keeps the group on target (in focus) and
moving forward (and probably creates the agenda with input from other members). Select a motivated, approachable, team builder as your lead.
B. A Note Taker is needed, or a Secretary for each committee. A specific person is assigned to take detailed notes - these are the Meeting Minutes and are an official record of your meeting.
C. A Timekeeper - no one likes going down a rabbit hole and losing track of time. If the meeting is supposed to be an hour and a half or two, then be polite and stick to it (as best you can). Herding kittens is always a challenge and your timekeeper should alert the group that time is slipping away - even more especially if high priority subjects haven't been touched yet.
D. Dedicated Members - recruited volunteers with a passion for the arts; great skillsets, go-getters, and/or a desire to learn.
These are the basics roles but your group may need other roles as well. Just ensure that the same people are not always stuck doing all the volunteering nor all of the tasks. Hold people accountable.
5. Process.
A. A voting process should be in place when decisions must be made. That's when odd numbers of members comes in handy - it is recommended to have between 5-7 members is typical for most committees.
B. Participation - Invite input and participation from all members of the committee. Define each person's tasks when assigned and if you volunteer to do a thing, DO that thing. Ensure
that all of your people voice updates to their tasks, projects, etc. I
believe this truly helps to show that the group is a Team.
C. Progress - No
one likes going to a meeting and things go off the rails. Or when no
decisions are made and you leave knowing less than when you arrived. As we all know, everyone is busy, so stay focused and on target.
6. Rules of Order.
Know at least the basics of Robert's Rules of Order for Meetings
This is the common and fair method for organizations and the attendees to have an equal voice in every meeting, so knowing RRO helps a lot.
7. Give Advance and Fair Notice of Meetings and Time Frames
Members should always have adequate time to prepare, attend, and consider issues before every meeting.
Also note that if meetings can be via alternative method options like Zoom, that links and notices are sent well in advance.
8. Detailed Meeting Notes.
Have someone that keeps accurate and thorough notes about the meeting and what was discussed, decided upon, who was assigned a task, what the progress was and what will need to be followed up on.
If someone cannot make the meeting, detailed notes will help keep everyone on the same page and is a reminder to all on the who, what, when, where and whys.
9. Meeting Closure Begins with "What Are the Next Steps?"
Common goals via next steps should move the objectives forward at every meeting.
10. After the Meeting, Share the Notes within the Committee.
If there are parking lot topics, continue the discussion outside.
Typically your committee's chair person would report the progress at the art group's Board meeting in a more condensed form.
Take away about Committees
Make sure everyone in your committee knows dates and deadlines and honestly, everyone should be taking some notes - especially if you have followup to do. Everyone also needs to understand the art organization's mission and plans for the future - for this is why we are doing what we do.
Getting involved is something PWAS will be urging everyone toward. Sure, you can work as a solo artist all you want to, but getting involved in the workings of your local art group has a ton of rewards in itself.
Author: Sandra McClelland Lewin
PWAS Vice President
Author: Donna Liguria
Artistry Spin Blogmaster and an artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA, specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com, her Donna's Esty site and her Blog at Donna’s Cave Paintings.
Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 50+-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia. Visit us at any of our local art shows or join us for our monthly meetings - held on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Dr, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm
Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership
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