Follow-up my Question at the February Membership Meeting
Donna Oswald
meeting. I apologize in advance for the wordiness, but the topic is
too important to just write a terse note. The question I asked was
directed to Andy Lingras in response to a goal he had listed in his
email to the membership earlier last month. I asked why he felt the
need to effectively dismantle the grants program by making a radical
change to the dues structure to allow people to “opt out” of the
portion of dues that has gone to provide arts grants, equating it with
opting out of the hardcopy spotlight. I also asked why this was
something that was listed as a goal to be accomplished by the end of
this fiscal year. I am unaware of any hue & cry from the membership to
do such a thing, nor am I aware of ever being asked my opinion on
this. He stated that “there would be a discussion of this at some time
in the future” & that nothing was decided (it was unclear whether this
had been discussed with any other board members). He indicated that
the Saints had “drifted into our current position of providing grants”
& that it was not consistent with our charter. I respectfully &
vehemently disagree with this position. Our incorporation with the
Secretary of State’s office, list us as a Non-For-Profit Charitable
Organization. Nothing vague or open to interpretation in that. Our
“conversation” got cut short as the meeting was running long but I
felt there was more to be said on the topic. The following was
emailed to each individual board member.
The Saints is & always has been to me a charitable endeavors &
philanthropic (such as our limited resources allow) organization. I
have always been extremely impressed that the Saints make donations to
worthwhile arts organization (& previously to students, although I
always found that relationship less motivating than the organizational
grants). It could be said that the Saints grants (whether through the
Grants Committee or through the board discretionary funds) are the
only truly selfless activities that the Saints partake in. After all,
while we perform duties as volunteer ushers, we do so with the full
expectation of receiving something in return - a seat at the
performance. When the Goodman asked people to usher twice (once to
help out but not get a seat) & a 2nd time when they could expect to
watch the show, the number of volunteers (Saints or otherwise) dropped
significantly and they changed their policy. With the Grants
program(s) however, this is done with no expectation of receiving
anything in return, with the exception of the heartfelt thanks from
the recipient. Numerous examples of appreciation for this program
have been presented to the board by others & as letters in the
Spotlight, which serves to only reinforce the conclusion that the
recipients are extremely appreciative of the funding we have been able
to provide them.
Doing away with the Grants program (especially during these hard
economic times when so many other funding sources are being decreased
or eliminated) would be a grave disservice to the Arts Community of
Chicago & cast a pall on the Saints legacy. We have the unique
ability to collectively make a significant difference to the Arts
Community in Chicagoland. Our grants program is truly an excellent
example of the “whole is greater than the sum of the parts”.
Individually our $15-20 portion of the dues would be a drop in the
bucket to a random individual theatre, but collectively we have the
ability to make significant improvements to a theatre’s artistic
endeavors or future potential. Whether it’s to fund the purchase or
upgrade of much needed lighting or sound equipment, bring in a guest
artist for a special program, provide computer enhancement to allow
theatres to service their patrons better or sponsor a special
performance, the vast majority of these things would not have occurred
without the Saints. What power we have to effect positive change! I
would like to believe that most members see the Saints organization as
something other than a “fraternal social organization” whose only
purpose it to provide limited effort to the theatres in return for
seeing the show for free The return on your time investment is huge –
I wish I could get a stock to perform that well. New Saints get
caught up in the whole “usher & see the show for free” mentality but
as time goes on they come to realize & appreciate the other equally
important components of the Saints. If they don’ it’s just because we
as an organization haven’t effectively communicated with them.
I see no demand by the membership to change the dues structure. I’ve
never had anyone say to me “I’d love to join the Saints but it’s too
expensive”. People who would say that would never pay to see live
theatre/music/dance in the first place, they don’t appreciate its
value. The Saints membership is the best return on your investment
that I can think of. Where else can you get such bang for your buck?
Nowhere! Volunteering for one or two performances (depending on where
you go) & you’ve already gotten back value exceeding the cost of your
dues. If someone can’t see that, then maybe they need to channel
their volunteer activities elsewhere. We do this because we love the
arts, we love seeing it performed & through grants we get to feel as
if we’re participating in art. The grants program is the ultimate
audience participation artform. For a person with limited to no
artistic talent, that is nothing to trifle with.
WE are unique & a leader in this country, no other major metropolitan
area has an arts volunteer program like the Saints. AS Jeff Marks
said at the last membership meeting, Chicagoland is unique – we were
the first to recognize the value of subscription based theatres, we
were the first in establishing a performing arts volunteer program
that is not individual theatre based (although many theatres have
volunteers dedicated to them) but program based & we are leading the
way as a charitable organization that is unparalleled in the US. With
apologies to the Marines – “We are the many, the proud, the SAINTS”!
connie dimopoulos
dues so more money can be donated to theaters in need. CDimopoulos
Donna Oswald
Thanks for posting, we need more folks like you that give a hoot to
come forward, so that the board doesn't think that there's just a few
of us "complainers". Please consider sending a short email to the
board stating your support for continuing the grants program & dues
structure as is. This isn't over yet & those on the board taking a
stand need to know that we support them. For your convenience here
are the board emails in a simple listing that you can cut & paste into
an email (so you don't have to manually type them in)
Deb Granite <deb.g...@msn.com>; apli...@gmail.com; Sharon McLean
<t_mc...@sbcglobal.net>; lberg...@sbcglobal.net; Mark Jeffries
<spotl...@gmail.com>; Hugh Spenser <saint_hug...@yahoo.com>;
steppe...@yahoo.com; jven...@niu.edu