REBRANDING INITIATIVE Page 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. History and Summary of Issues. 2. Review of Strengths and Weaknesses. 3. Suggested Actions Organized in the Following Categories: a. Board Structure b. Administrative Structure c. Financial d. Choir Structure and Performances e. Marketing 4. Current Mission and Vision Statements Page 2 HISTORY AND SUMMARY OF ISSUES The San Antonio Choral Society began in 1964. It’s original purpose was to provide a community based choir that would be large enough to sing master works and more difficult works than most church choirs could perform. The choir drew members from all over San Antonio (mostly from church choirs) and was an instant success. SACS continued in that mode until the 1990’s when the repertoire was expanded to include more popular music. In 1996, Broadway musicals were added for a “Pops” concert. The choir continued to be managed by a group of charter members until 2013 when a large number of charter members retired from the choir. At that time Jennifer Seighman was hired to be the artistic director for the choir. Jennifer began to raise the standard in terms of music quality, performance arrangement, singer’s skills and music education. Everyone enjoyed the new challenge. In addition, in 2014 the choir was the beneficiary of sizable funds from the estate of a deceased member that continued through 2016. Those funds have now ceased leaving the choir in a quandary as to how to deal with increased costs of operations and no clearly defined revenue source. The loss of funds has caused the officers to reassess our current situation and try to project what direction is needed for the future. A general consensus is that we need to be professionally managed, grow to at least 120 singers to provide flexibility in programing and become recognized in the San Antonio area as a serious musical group. The Choral Society’s first strategic planning effort was initiated in June 2015. Base- line data (organizational finance, policies & procedures, health and culture assessment) were initially collected through core capacity assessment findings, four committee meetings, focus groups, personal interviews with Board of Directors members, choral member surveys, programing requirements, and audience feedback. Page 3 Grant opportunities were presented halting the initiative, driving the need to review our governing documents (By-laws, Charter, etc.) and financial position. In March 2015, the SACS Board of Directors began an initiative to revise the organizational bylaws through a top-to-bottom organizational assessment. Organizational controls and governance were thoroughly reviewed and discussed. Significant improvements were made to ensure the document represented the SACS organization, as a whole. This shifted the document's focus from emphasis on BOD-centric governance to representing all levels of SACS membership and staff. Notable Revisions: • The new Executive Director position was incorporated with associated roles, authorities, and restrictions. • Frequency of scheduled Board of Directors meetings has changed to occur bi- monthly. • Greater detail was added to otherwise vague or misleading statements. • Language was added that guarantees each non-executive committee member would have a defined, unique role. As a committee chair, each is charged to champion a key result area and/or special project. The findings and corrective measures developed a framework for a new management structure, but then they began to realize that there was no obvious operational direction and strategic vision and had no plan or vehicle in place to move toward a long-range end state. Complicating matters, the terms for most of the board members were about to expire. It became apparent that a “plan for the plan” was the only viable option to set the pace for the incoming administration. The Artistic Director laid the groundwork by spelling out the artistic vision and goals from the event/special project programming perspective. This provided the framework necessary to establish a short-term vision that would carry SACS through two-years and categorize each near-term opportunity. The categorization became the five proposed, macro-level goals listed in the draft strategic plan. Although the proposed draft 2016-2018 budget imparted a better understanding of the organization’s fragile state, a more radical outlook would be required to stimulate programming growth and SACS’ footprint in the community. Once the new board members were in place, they came to realize the current vision statement is too broad to provide any specific guidance or direction to effectively manage and focus our efforts. The current vision was useful for short-term goal Page 4 achievement; however, to decide on a long-term vision the best approach was to evaluate SACS’ current state, assess the program direction the Artistic Director envisioned, and develop specific goals that will help us move forward to build a better choir. Current State The Choral Society’s reputation in the community is that of an amateur community choir and not a serious musical group. In contrast, other similar organizations have a reputation as a serious choral group primarily because they are aligned with the enabling organizations like the symphony. We feel our singing is on a par, if not better than those groups, offering a more diverse repertoire and other competencies that set us apart from the rest. Yet to command the required public image we need further work. This led to a strategic analysis of our current situation called a SWOT analysis. Page 5 SWOT ANALYSIS A SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) was conducted to set the stage for actions plans. After preparing this analysis, we listed goals by five major categories that can be carried forward from year to year and amended as needed. Strategic Analysis Strengths 1. We have been around for 52 years 2. We have a diverse base of singers 3. We have an exceptionally well qualified artistic director 4. There is no other quality choir in San Antonio with our size, demographic makeup and community coverage. 5. We are independent of other groups which allows us flexibility in programming and venue selection. 6. Strong commitment to the organization by core group of singers. Weaknesses 1. We lack continuity in leadership and management. Rotation of board members and officers ensures lack of continuity of management. 2. No clear set of goals that can be carried forward from year to year that are easily adopted and continued by each new administration. 3. Lack of business experience and community connections among the board members and officers. 4. We have no consistent source of funding 5. We are dependent primarily on volunteer services from the choir membership who have limited time to devote to singing and to managing the choir organization. 6. Lack of focus and frankness in deciding who we are and what we want to be in the community. 7. We are recognized in the community as an amateur choir rather than a serious musical group. 8. Executive Director will be retiring at the end of this fiscal year. Page 6 Opportunities 1. To become the Premier Choral Group in San Antonio 2. To expand our footprint in the community. This might include expanding our mentor program, adding a youth choir, adding a silver singer group, etc. 3. To become a self-sustaining organization. Threats 1. We don’t have a lot of competition from the market place as there isn’t another group quite like ours. Most of our threats come from within. 2. Apathy on the part of some board members. 3. Singers that sign up for a performance and then renege on their commitment. 4. The perception that funding for the arts is limited in general. We don’t really have a good sense of the size or sources of the funding market. 5. Difficulty in attracting new good singers. 6. We are facing financial insolvency in the short term. Page 7 SUGGESTED ACTIONS BY CATEGORY BOARD STRUCTURE 1. Move toward a board that is comprised of at least 75% non-singers. 2. Make the primary function of the board that of fund raising. 3. Make the officers an executive committee that deals with day to day operational issues. ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE 1. Long range goal would be to have the choir managed by paid professionals. 2. Short term goal is to look for funding that would cover the cost of hiring a paid fund raiser. 3. Paid staff would report to the executive committee and the executive committee would report to the Board of Directors. FINANCIAL 1. Make an all-out effort to raise money for the remaining four months of this year. 2. Encourage all board members to make corporate contacts. 3. Review list of prior donors and send out a mailing requesting contributions. 4. The budget for next year must show all performances at a breakeven or better as well as the rest of the budget. 5. Benchmark other successful choral groups and related musical groups to determine approaches that may assist us in improving our financial condition. 6. Source and develop a paid Fund Raiser position: A paid fundraiser should develop consistent funding sources that would allow SACS to budget more accurately and cover the cost of additional paid staff. Page 8 CHOIR STRUCTURE AND PERFORMANCES 1. Grow in number to approximately 120 singers to allow enough flexibility for additional programs. 2. Set and enforce standards for singers for professionalism and commitment. 3. Continue to collaborate with other musical groups in San Antonio. 4. Increase rehearsal time. 5. Improve music education among singers. 6. Consider re auditions or consultations to give singers better feedback on their performance. 7. Increase size of mentee program. 8. Have regular sectional rehearsals. MARKETING 1. Define role of marketing committee and chair.