by Courtney Duffy, Robert W. Deutsch Arts & Technology Policy Fellow at Fractured Atlas Source: Flickr Fractured Atlas proudly signed on to a letter to the new administration in support of technology policies that promote universal access, an open internet, and civil rights. The letter, which was signed this month by 18 public interest and nonprofit groups, urges the incoming Trump administration to incorporate seven principles into its policy-making. Here are the principles, which can also be found in the full letter:

At the conclusion of 2015, you met several of our staff through our Cool Beans: 12 Days of Coffee series, a celebration of our favorite buzzy beverages. And at the end of 2014, we shared plenty of staff quirkiness with our 12 Days of Cocktails series. (The Vine videos still crack us up.)

Fractured Atlas empowers artists to be entrepreneurs by removing practical barriers to creative expression. As a nonprofit technology organization, we take this entrepreneurial spirit to heart as we create novel and innovative solutions for age-old problems.

by Ian David Moss, Vice President, Strategy & Analytics at Fractured Atlas From Flickr user Ian Brown: “The Twitter logo mod is from graffiti seen on a wall during [the 2013 Gezi Park] protests in Turkey.” Last month, the cast of Broadway’s most popular show made a political statement from the stage…and the President-elect of the United States of America demanded, via tweet, that they apologize for it.

Image: “Gogbot,” Installation at the Gogbot Media Art Festival in Enschede. By Flickr user Ineke Happy holiday season! The Fractured Atlas and Createquity teams are back with another installment of the Createquity podcast, this time highlighting different perspectives on how to approach the issue of cultural equity.

Each month we feature one of our fiscally sponsored projects who have been successful at using our program to advance their art/cause/career. This month’s featured project is Broad’s Word Ensemble.

When you’re setting up a crowdfunding campaign, one of the first decisions that you’ll make is setting your goal, the amount of money that you want to raise. This decision can have far-reaching consequences and is often where the campaign lives or dies.

All toxic relationships thrive on potential. All of them. Humans are optimistically addicted to seeking comfort and rational answers at all times. As a result, we will stay far longer than we should, and behave much more passively than makes sense, working toxic jobs that offer meager promotion opportunities, breaking bread with toxic, self-absorbed friends who offer neither a helping hand nor a shoulder to cry on, and sleeping with toxic people incapable of caring for anyone but themselves. We would much rather engage in the fantastical potential of what these relationships could be than deal with the reality of what we already know they are.

by Courtney Duffy, Robert W. Deutsch Arts & Technology Policy Fellow at Fractured Atlas Source: Flickr Courtney Duffy, our Robert W. Deutsch Arts & Technology Policy Fellow, is back with the latest edition of Copyright With Courtney. She discusses a new development in the ongoing legal battle between Google and Oracle over the use of the Java programming language, and what it means in the greater conversation about fair use. You can find Courtney on Twitter @cduffy90 and join the conversation using #CopyrightWithCourtney.

2016 Unsung Heroes of Arts Administration On September 4, 2016, I placed a call for the Unsung Heroes of Arts Administration, a sort of Bat signal in blog post form. In placing that call, I hoped it would be a simple and fun way to recognize some of those culture warriors in our field who seldom receive public recognition for their efforts, and without whom “the show” would decidedly not go on.

a mosaic of the Fractured Atlas staff “I’m not interested in anybody’s guilt. Guilt is a luxury that we can no longer afford. I know you didn’t do it, and I didn’t do it either, but I am responsible for it because I am a man and a citizen of this country and you are responsible for it, too, for the very same reason… Anyone who is trying to be conscious must begin to dismiss the vocabulary which we’ve used so long to cover it up, to lie about the way things are.” ~ James Baldwin A few weeks ago, Adam Huttler, Fractured Atlas’s CEO, wrote a blog post in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. In that short post, he clearly stated our commitment to fighting systemic racism and other forms of oppression. However, while the post hinted that we felt our statement was long overdue, it stopped short of sharing how Fractured Atlas has navigated deep discussions about our place in the social justice movement for almost two years. Our guilt, and a desire to not seem “trite” or late to the protest had paralyzed us.

by Courtney Duffy, Robert W. Deutsch Arts & Technology Policy Fellow at Fractured Atlas Courtney Duffy, our Robert W. Deutsch Arts & Technology Policy Fellow, shares the lowdown on the annual October celebration of the arts and humanities. You can find her on Twitter @cduffy90.

by Courtney Duffy, Robert W. Deutsch Arts & Technology Policy Fellow at Fractured Atlas Late last month, I was lucky enough to attend a celebration of Baltimore’s newest makerspace, Open Works (photos below). The facility is near and dear to me, not only because I’ve come to know and admire makers through collaboration with the Congressional Maker Caucus on events like 3D/DC, but also because it was created with support from the organization that funds my fellowship, the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation.

Over the past ten years or so I’ve heard countless times, and in countless venues, about an impending leadership gap crisis facing the cultural sector. The theory goes, scores of Baby Boomers are getting ready to retire from leadership roles in arts organizations, and we’ve done a poor job building the pipeline to replace them. If we don’t address this crisis, countless organizations will be left adrift without a capable captain, or worse, they’ll disappear entirely. If only we were a for-profit company with the means to create a formal training system we would be in better shape to withstand this sea change. If only we could pay young people better they wouldn’t leave us for those higher paying for-profit jobs.

Image: “Gogbot,” Installation at the Gogbot Media Art Festival in Enschede. By Flickr user Ineke Happy Fall television premiere week! The Fractured Atlas and Createquity teams are back with a third installment of the Createquity podcast on television and our well-being! Public conversations about television and the arts have tended to pit one against the other. If television wasn’t saving the arts by connecting them to a wide and public audience, it was killing them by advancing popular culture over ‘serious’ fare. While some celebrated the arts on television as encouraging live attendance, others worried it discouraged such attendance by serving as a substitute. From a public health standpoint, we can also be concerned by research associating heavy television-watching with conditions like obesity and early death — would we be both healthier and happier attending and participating in “traditional” art forms rather than staying home in front of the television? Even in the age of digital communications — of broadcast and cable and wifi, oh my — we often miss the larger conversation about the box: television is culture. It conveys visual and narrative human expression, it employs and animates artists, reaches a massive audience every day, and it can even be a tool for social change. And — spoiler alert— people really enjoy watching television…a lot of television. So what are the implications of “television as culture?” And how do they frame and inform the trajectory of artists, arts organizations, audiences, and all the others supporting and advancing artistic work? These episodes will explore the scope, scale, sources, and substance of contemporary television; consider its social, civic, and health effects; and discover it as a medium where artists and audiences find each other and even as a vehicle for artist and youth empowerment. Episode 1: Guest Louise Geraghty (bio below) provides a quick rundown of the research Createquity has done on this topic. Hear about the impact television may have on our personal health and happiness. Is heavy TV watching in the same category as soda/junk food when it comes to possibly needing some regulation? Episode 2: Guest Qui Nguyen (bio below) talks to us about his experience in both the theatre and television worlds. Hear about how he feels the two industries interact and impact the health of the overall arts industry. Can television be a stable and even desirable form of employment for creative artists? Episode 3: Guest Rebecca Yenawine (bio below) explains how she uses television media to engage low-socioeconomic-status youth in the Baltimore area. Hear about the impact she feels media has on the health of our communities. The Host Andrew Taylor | Host Andrew Taylor thinks (a bit too much) about organizational structure, strategy, and management practice in the nonprofit arts. An Associate Professor of Arts Management at American University in Washington, DC, he shares what he learns at “The Artful Manager.” The Guests Louise Geraghty | Editorial Team (Former), Createquity Louise Geraghty is a Project Manager at the University of Chicago Crime Lab, where she works closely with Chicago’s Department of Family and Support Services to manage and evaluate a randomized control trial of the city’s One Summer Chicago Plus summer jobs program. She is a recent graduate of the University’s Harris School of Public Policy, where she held research related internships at the University’s Arts and Public Life Initiative and the Urban Education Institute. Louise has previously worked in fundraising at Steppenwolf Theatre Company and in program management at Artist Corps New Orleans. Rebecca Yenawine Rebecca Yenawine has been founder and director a community arts organizations since 1997. In her current work as Director at New Lens she advises young people in running their own organization and supports their creative endeavors. As a part of New Lens she advises teens and young adults in media production and takes part in over ten productions per year. Films include work about criminal justice, education and health related issues. Her pieces have been accepted into the Maryland Film Festival, the Media that Matters Film Festival and many other smaller festivals. She has experience in making videos for numerous nonprofit entities from Johns Hopkins University to the Baltimore City Health Department. Rebecca also works as consultant with Teachers’ Democracy Project where she helps teachers use media as a tool for change. She is adjunct faculty member at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in the Masters of Community Art Program where she teaches community art research. She has worked in partnership with MICA on community arts research and evaluation since 2009. Rebecca has a BA in English from Goucher College and a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Education. In 1999, Ms. Yenawine was the recipient of a Community Fellowship Award from the Open Society Institute. She has published articles through the CAN Network and the Nathan Cummings Convening. She has presented and been part of panel discussions on numerous occasions at Baltimore City Colleges and other civic institutions. Qui Nguyen | Theatre and Television Writer Qui Nguyen is a playwright, TV/Film writer, and Co-Founder (along with Robert Ross Parker) of the OBIE Award-winning Vampire Cowboys of NYC. His work, known for its innovative use of pop-culture, stage violence, puppetry, and multimedia, has been called “Culturally Savvy Comedy” by The New York Times, “Tour de Force Theatre” by Time Out New York, and “Infectious Fun” by Variety.He is a member of the WGA, The Dramatists Guild, The Playwrights Center, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Ma-Yi Writers Lab and a proud alumnus of New Dramatists and Youngblood. Currently, Qui’s at work on new plays for South Coast Rep/Manhattan Theatre Club (The Vietgone Saga), The Atlantic (Untitled Qui Nguyen Project), and Oregon Shakespeare Festival (The Tale of Kieu). For television, he’s written for Peg+Cat (PBS) and the upcoming SYFY thriller, Incorporated. He’s currently a writer for Marvel Studios. The Team Ian David Moss | Executive Producer Ian David Moss is the founder and CEO of Createquity, a virtual think tank and online publication investigating the most important issues in the arts and what we can do about them. As Senior Director of Information Strategy for Fractured Atlas, Ian works with his own organization and the wider field to promote a culture of learning and assessment and support informed decision-making on behalf of the arts. Evidence-based strategic frameworks that he helped create have guided the distribution of nearly $100 million in grants to date by some of the nation’s most important arts funders. In addition to Createquity, Ian founded the Cultural Research Network, an open resource-sharing forum for self-identified researchers in the arts, and C4: The Composer/Conductor Collective. He holds BA and MBA degrees from Yale University and is based in Washington, DC. Malcolm Evans | Producer Malcolm Evans is a Program Associate at Fractured Atlas. He graduated from Trinity College (Hartford) in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts in Theater & Dance. He also carries a minor in Studio Arts and has studied with the London Dramatic Academy Program. When he’s not hard at work at Fractured Atlas, he is hard at work at home, writing screenplays. Follow him on social media @malxavi. Michael Feldman | Assistant Producer Michael Feldman provides strategic and engagement advice to local and international arts organizations. Based in Washington, D.C., he also serves as a board member of theAlliance for a New Music Theatre, an arts partner of the Czech Embassy for theirMutual Inspirations Festival. Michael is a former cultural attaché and diplomat whose experience bridges the arts, development, and public policy worlds. Michael was a director at PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief; a director for Europe and Central Asia at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative; and professional staff of theBudget Committee of the U.S. Senateas part of a fellowship with theAmerican Political Science Association. At the US State Department, Michael served in Europe and Central Africa; he oversaw assistance for the Balkans; and he negotiated policy with theOrganization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD), the G-7/8 process, and the European Union. Michael graduated from Wesleyan University with a B.A. in Economics and speaks German, Czech, French and Italian. Katherine Gressel | Assistant Producer Katherine Gressel is an NYC-based freelance artist, curator and writer focused on site‐specific and community art. She was a 2011 Createquity Writing Fellow and now helps spearhead new public programming for the organization. She has also published and presented with Americans for the Arts’ Public Art Network and Public Art Dialogue, among others. Katherine is currently the Contemporary Curator at Brooklyn’s Old Stone House, and has also curated for Brooklyn Historical Society, FIGMENT, No Longer Empty, and NARS Foundation. Katherine has painted community murals internationally and exhibited her own artwork throughout NYC, and currently runs an award-winning business, Event Painting by Katherine, creating live paintings of private events. Katherine has also held programming, grantwriting and teaching artist jobs and internships at such organizations as Smack Mellon, Arts to Grow, Creative Time and theBrooklyn Museum. Katherine earned her BA in art from Yale and MA in arts administration from Columbia. Jason Tseng | Engineer Jason Tseng has devoted his professional and personal life to empowering ordinary people to make extraordinary change. Splitting his time between serving the arts and queer communities of color, he has worked for organizations like Theatre Communications Group, Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), and currently serves on the steering committee and chair emeritus of GAPIMNY, the second oldest queer Asian community organization in the nation. Jason currently serves as the Community Engagement Specialist at Fractured Atlas, a nonprofit technology company that serves artists. Before moving to New York, he grew up outside Washington, D.C., in Maryland and graduated from the University of Richmond studying Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies and Theatre. In his spare time, Jason creates plays, stories, comics, and illustrations (usually about queer people and people of color). He now lives in Long Island City with his fiancé and their rabbit, Turnip Cake. Other Suggested Reading Why Don’t They Come?— Ian David Moss, Louise Geraghty, Clara Inés Schuhmacher, and Talia Gibas Are The Arts The Answer to Our TV Obsession— Clara Inés Schuhmacher, Louise Geraghty, Fari Nzinga, and Ian David Moss Createquity is a virtual think tank and online publication investigating the most important issues in the arts and what we, collectively and individually, can do about them.

Source: Flickr user Johnny Silvercloud On Friday, Terence Crutcher was gunned down by police in Tulsa. Then yesterday, police in Charlotte shot and killed Keith Lamont Scott. They are just the latest in a terrible and seemingly unending string of unarmed black Americans who have been killed by police in this country.

Nominate Your Culture Warrior Today! Image by Flickr This morning, I awoke to read about those deserving individuals short-listed for the Man Booker Prize and thought, for all the Bookers, MacArthurs, National Medals of the Arts, Pulitzers, Barry’s Blogs, Oscars, Emmys, and Dance/USA Ernies, you know what list I never wake up to read about in The New York Times? The Unsung Heroes of Arts Administration.

A Guide to Working at Fractured Atlas This week Fractured Atlas published How We Work: A Guide to Working at Fractured Atlas. It’s a document that’s been in the making ever since we opened our doors in 1998, and it’s the result of years of conversations, research, experimenting, and iterating. Within minutes of publishing, we were already tinkering with it, a nod to the ever-changing nature of life at Fractured Atlas. work.fracturedatlas.org Why publish this document publicly? Why not? What’s so special and sacred about workplace policies, values, and culture that we often keep them under lock and key? Every company has core values whether they articulate them or not. Every organization has a set of guard rails that guide its work. (Those guard rails might be close together or miles apart, but they still exist.) Our organizations, and the cultural sector, benefit from articulating these things and sharing the information so we can all borrow and iterate on the ideas like any talented artist (I’m looking at you Benjamin Britten and your Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra). Maybe you’re interested in a job at Fractured Atlas and curious about what it’s like to work here. Maybe you’ve heard whispers of Fractured Atlas’s unlimited day off policy. Maybe you’ve heard about our R&D pipeline for the exploration and development of new products and services. We thought the time had come to put pencil to paper, and then, uh, publish that content as a website. It seems we’re constantly talking about workplace culture at Fractured Atlas. What do people need to do their best work? How can we find meaning and purpose in our work? If this isn’t the job you love anymore, can you craft the one you want out of the one you have? If not, where do you want to go and how can your time at Fractured Atlas help you get there? How can teams operate with trust and respect while also embracing healthy conflict? We talk about shared purpose — change the world — and shared identity — Waffle Wednesdays (usually on Thursdays) — and about what it means to have a workplace environment where you’re more frequently than not building the plane while flying it. Our office library includes dog-eared copies of Good to Great, Nuts!, Maverick, The Hard Things About Hard Things, Delivering Happiness, Zingerman’s Staff Guide, How to Measure Anything, Multipliers, The Purpose Economy, The Advantage, Give & Take, Who: The A Guide to Hiring, Remote: Office Not Required, and countless others related titles. We talk about what it means for our company culture and the office environment when 75% of staff work remotely at least one day a week, with 25% of staff fully remote in ten different states. Is it possible to equalize the experience so rather than onsite versus offsite, people feel they all work for the same organization and are committed to the same purpose? How We Work isn’t a template, not even for Fractured Atlas. If we were to relaunch the company today it would be a mistake to take this document as gospel and adopt it without question. Just like trying to be Google doesn’t work for Fractured Atlas, trying to be Fractured Atlas circa 2002 doesn’t work for Fractured Atlas circa 2016. Would we borrow and iterate on some of the policies, probably. Some of them have withstood the test of time. Others? Still in the experimental phase and might not make the cut. Lastly, does each person at Fractured Atlas wholeheartedly agree that — from their personal perspective — How We Work accurately reflects their work experience? No. Like most things we do at Fractured Atlas, smart, opinionated, talented people disagree. People disagree about how to go about accomplishing something. People disagree about the speed at which things should be attempted. Show me 35 smart, talented, insightful people who all totally agree about everything. Does that mean we wait for perfect alignment and consensus? No. We head down a path that is directionally correct and make adjustments as we go. Please take a gander, and then, if they don’t already, encourage your organization to publish what it’s like to work there. Openness and transparency help us all. It helps fuel the conversation so we can become stronger organizations and a stronger sector. Ultimately, it helps us create better, more fulfilling and supportive places to work that make bigger dents in the universe. Share away!

Courtney Duffy’s work as Fractured Atlas Arts & Technology Policy Fellow has been made possible through the generosity of the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation. You can find her by emailing courtney.duffy@fracturedatlas.org or on Twitter @cduffy90. The Deutsch Foundation recently profiled Courtney’s fellowship on its blog, which you can find here.

Every week, we find the most interesting and important stories at the intersection of the Arts, technology, and business and share them with you. (If you’d like to get these in your e-mail inbox you can subscribe to here).

Pre-gaming your arrival to the executive director’s chair It was like receiving an electronic time capsule from my younger self when the text message pinged its arrival. Last week a friend texted me the photo below of a handout I created to accompany a talk I gave about ten years ago. I don’t recall the session name, but the handout was titled, “…like drinking from a fire hose,” and contained a list of the things I suggested a new non-profit executive director review before sitting down in that fancy, new chair on their first day.

Source: Flickr Members of Congress spend recess at home in the district, offering artists a great opportunity to connect Our Arts & Technology Policy Fellow, Courtney Duffy (@cduffy90), whose role is made possible through the generosity of the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, offers the merits of connecting with elected officials in the coming weeks, along with advocacy tips for artists who choose to do so.

photo credit: Gender/Power Composition IV, a MAP Fund recipient and Fractured Atlas member Calling all presenting artists and arts organizations! If you’re fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas and interested in applying for the MAP Fund, please continue reading for some important information about applying.

The Fractured Atlas and Createquity teams are back with a second installment of the Createquity podcast! Our first series, “Watch Where You’re Giving,” discussed the implications for the arts of the growing philanthropic movement called effective altruism. In this series, we look at what it takes to “make it” as a professional artist, as explored in Createquity’s recent series of research-driven articles. Is a college education actually necessary, and how much depends on talent versus luck versus a high tolerance for uncertainty? And is the chance to succeed as a professional artist equally available to people of all backgrounds and income levels, or are people who, for example, grew up in lower-income families less likely to become professional artists? In this latest Createquity podcast series, Createquity and Fractured Atlas team members illuminate the major factors that contribute to artists (or prevent artists from) establishing successful careers. We also focus on some of the tools Fractured Atlas has developed to support artists, with the larger goal of helping create a more navigable and equitable ecosystem for professional artists. Episode 1: Guest Michael Feldman (bio below) provides a quick rundown of the research Createquity has done on this topic. Hear about how the decision to become an artist is affected by socioeconomic background and tolerance for risk, and what artists have in common with tech entrepreneurs. This includes a comparison of different state-run programs for artists in countries outside the United States. Episode 2: In this case study of sorts, guest Theresa Hubbard, Program Specialist in fiscal sponsorship at Fractured Atlas (bio below), explains how fiscal sponsorship and the organization’s other programs can help mitigate some of the challenges and risks working artists face. She also discusses her own professional and personal experiences with access to creativity and her views on the future of the field. The Host Andrew Taylor, Host Andrew Taylor thinks (a bit too much) about organizational structure, strategy, and management practice in the nonprofit arts. An Associate Professor of Arts Management at American University in Washington, DC, he shares what he learns at “The Artful Manager.” The Guests Michael Feldman | Editorial Team, Createquity Michael Feldman provides strategic and engagement advice to local and international arts organizations. Based in Washington, D.C., he also serves as a board member of the Alliance for a New Music Theatre, an arts partner of the Czech Embassy for theirMutual Inspirations Festival. Michael is a former cultural attaché and diplomat whose experience bridges the arts, development, and public policy worlds. Michael was a director at PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief; a director for Europe and Central Asia at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative; and professional staff of the Budget Committee of the U.S. Senateas part of a fellowship with the American Political Science Association. At the US State Department, Michael served in Europe and Central Africa; he oversaw assistance for the Balkans; and he negotiated policy with theOrganization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD), the G-7/8 process, and the European Union. Michael graduated from Wesleyan University with a B.A. in Economics and speaks German, Czech, French and Italian. Theresa Hubbard | Program Specialist, Fiscal Sponsorship, Fractured Atlas Theresa Hubbard is a Program Specialist at Fractured Atlas, where she helps sponsored artists and emerging organizations navigate the funding landscape and find resources to support their work. She also serves on the steering committee of the National Network of Fiscal Sponsors. Prior to joining the Fractured Atlas team in 2011, she completed internships with the National Symphony Orchestra at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and with the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall. Theresa is an active member of the Oratorio Society of New York and holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance from Syracuse University. The Team Ian David Moss | Executive Producer Ian David Moss is the founder and CEO of Createquity, a virtual think tank and online publication investigating the most important issues in the arts and what we can do about them. As Senior Director of Information Strategy for Fractured Atlas, Ian works with his own organization and the wider field to promote a culture of learning and assessment and support informed decision-making on behalf of the arts. Evidence-based strategic frameworks that he helped create have guided the distribution of nearly $100 million in grants to date by some of the nation’s most important arts funders. In addition to Createquity, Ian founded the Cultural Research Network, an open resource-sharing forum for self-identified researchers in the arts, and C4: The Composer/Conductor Collective. He holds BA and MBA degrees from Yale University and is based in Washington, DC. Malcolm Evans | Producer Malcolm Evans is a Program Associate at Fractured Atlas. He graduated from Trinity College (Hartford) in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts in Theater & Dance. He also carries a minor in Studio Arts and has studied with the London Dramatic Academy Program. When he’s not hard at work at Fractured Atlas, he is hard at work at home, writing screenplays. Follow him on social media @malxavi. Katherine Gressel | Assistant Producer Katherine Gressel is an NYC-based freelance artist, curator and writer focused on site‐specific and community art. She was a 2011 Createquity Writing Fellow and now helps spearhead new public programming for the organization. She has also published and presented with Americans for the Arts’ Public Art Network and Public Art Dialogue, among others. Katherine is currently the Contemporary Curator at Brooklyn’s Old Stone House, and has also curated for Brooklyn Historical Society, FIGMENT, No Longer Empty, and NARS Foundation. Katherine has painted community murals internationally and exhibited her own artwork throughout NYC, and currently runs an award-winning business, Event Painting by Katherine, creating live paintings of private events. Katherine has also held programming, grantwriting and teaching artist jobs and internships at such organizations as Smack Mellon, Arts to Grow, Creative Time and theBrooklyn Museum. Katherine earned her BA in art from Yale and MA in arts administration from Columbia. Jason Tseng | Engineer Jason Tseng has devoted his professional and personal life to empowering ordinary people to make extraordinary change. Splitting his time between serving the arts and queer communities of color, he has worked for organizations like Theatre Communications Group, Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), and currently serves on the steering committee and chair emeritus of GAPIMNY, the second oldest queer Asian community organization in the nation. Jason currently serves as the Community Engagement Specialist at Fractured Atlas, a nonprofit technology company that serves artists. Before moving to New York, he grew up outside Washington, D.C., in Maryland and graduated from the University of Richmond studying Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies and Theatre. In his spare time, Jason creates plays, stories, comics, and illustrations (usually about queer people and people of color). He now lives in Long Island City with his fiancé and their rabbit, Turnip Cake. Other Suggested Reading The BFA’s Dance with Inequality— Shawn Lent, Louise Geraghty, Michael Feldman, and Talia Gibas Who Can Afford to Be A Starving Artist?— Shawn Lent, Louise Geraghty, Michael Feldman, Talia Gibas, and Ian David Moss The State: A Friend Indeed to Artists in Need? — Shawn Lent, Michael Feldman, Talia Gibas, and Louise Geraghty Createquity is a virtual think tank and online publication investigating the most important issues in the arts and what we, collectively and individually, can do about them

The Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, which generously makes my Arts & Technology Policy fellowship possible, recently connected me with an organization that shares the Fractured Atlas mission to eliminate barriers to artistic expression. Maryland Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts — or MdVLA for short — protects the legal rights of Maryland-based artists through pro bono legal referrals and education. Adam Holofcener, MdVLA’s executive director, has a background in policy work and graciously agreed to answer a few of my questions. You’ll find our conversation, which has been lightly edited for the sake of brevity, below.

Every week, we find the most interesting and important stories at the intersection of the Arts, technology, and business and share them with you. (If you’d like to get these in your e-mail inbox you can subscribe to here). Check back every week for insightful and eye-opening stories that peaked our interest, and hopefully yours too. OPINION: How to Build a Better Board. The first thing we have to do is recognize and embrace the basic fact that leadership for nonprofit arts organizations must come from the board, not the staff.” Pokémon Go Is a Massive Art Happening and You’re All Invited. The app’s number of daily users is set to surpass Twitter’s, somewhere around 140 million people, and they’re spending at least 43 minutes a day in-app. It’s a cultural phenomenon to say the least, and it’s also an art happening. Lawmakers Restore $7.7M in Funding for Massachusetts Cultural Council. This funding allows the Massachusetts Cultural Council to continue their crucial programming including […] support for Springfield’s new cultural district, and arts and music programming for thousands of school-aged kids’. Canada Pursues New Approach to Arts Funding. In Canada, by contrast, the arts are elemental to what the prime minister has called the emergence of Canada as the ‘first post-national state. What Instagram Reveals About Inequality in New York City. Their analysis shows that more than half of all visitors’ photos are concentrated in 24 tracts, which cover just 12 percent of Manhattan’s total area. Pressure Mounts for US Museums to Increase Diversity at the Top. Two recent studies paint a stark picture of the lack of ethnic and racial diversity among top museum staff in the US. While people of colour represent 38% of the country’s population, they make up only 9% of museum boards and 16% of the administrators, curators, conservators and educators who make decisions about what is exhibited and preserved as culturally important. Former Met Tech Maestro Named Chief Digital Officer of New York City. Sreenivasan, who was responsible for the creation of a Met smartphone application and a redesigned website, will now head the Office of Digital Strategy, which is in charge of engaging the public and representing city government through technology.

Guest post by Jamie Hoffman, Home Decor and Garden Buyer at UncommonGoods Jamie Hoffman — Uncommon Goods As a buyer for UncommonGoods, I spend my days scouring craft fairs and trade shows looking for new items to sell in our online shop. I meet a lot of talented artists who’ve worked hard to perfect their products, but who are struggling with how to break into the commercial market. Sometimes it’s because they haven’t figured out how to scale their production capacity in a way that inspires confidence. Other times it’s because they’re neglecting to frame their work in a way that shows how special it is — be it through photography or written product descriptions. Because of my experience and perspective as a retail buyer, I know that every aspect of developing and showcasing product is an opportunity to share it with the customer.

Suit filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) contends First Amendment rights are being violated by DMCA’s anti-circumvention provisions Our Robert W. Deutsch Arts & Technology Policy Fellow, Courtney Duffy, returns with a new #CopyrightWithCourtney post on a legal challenge to the U.S. Copyright Office’s flawed system of granting exemptions to tech users who seek to break digital locks to access copyrighted works for legal purposes. The current system has major ramifications for filmmakers. Follow Courtney on Twitter @cduffy90 and join the conversation using #CopyrightWithCourtney. Last week, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) sued the U.S. Copyright Office and the Department of Justice to overturn the anti-circumvention provisions in Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which make it illegal to circumvent digital locks on copyrighted works. Refresh my memory: What’s the DMCA, and what’s wrong with it? The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was signed into law in 1998 under President Clinton as an attempt to update copyright law in accordance with the changing technology of the times. Part of the law, Section 1201, makes it illegal to break digital locks placed on copyrighted material whether the intended use is legal or not. It’s the act of breaking the lock itself which is illegal. The Library of Congress, which houses the Copyright Office, has a triennial review process by which individuals and organizations can petition for exemptions to this law on behalf of those who intend to make legal uses of these copyrighted works. This review process is burdensome, and groups must spend time and money to restate their case every three years, even if they have been granted an exemption in the past. How are artists impacted by the broken DMCA? Filmmakers and authors have long held the right to make fair use of copyrighted material, transforming it for uses like criticism and commentary, making arguments, and providing historical context. But since the DMCA made it illegal — and, in some cases, a crime — to access this content by breaking encryption unless an exemption is granted, these artists are forced to restate the same case over again every three years in order to continue to be able to access these works. Veteran filmmaker Gordon Quinn, who is a Fractured Atlas member, has presented the case of the documentary filmmaking community before the Library of Congress for the past several years. In this Motherboard article Gordon and I wrote together, he details the unpredictability of the process, noting that although the filmmakers’ argument for the circumvention of digital locks on Blu-Ray disks was denied two cycles ago, it was accepted during the most recent cycle without significant changes to the argument. This unpredictability has undoubtedly stifled innovation in the field, which harms filmmakers and audiences alike. As a result, Gordon and I argued, the DMCA inadvertently chills fair use and other lawful activities that are central to free expression in a democracy, as well as the livelihoods of filmmakers around the country. What is the nature of EFF’s new lawsuit against the Copyright Office? EFF’s suit comes after years of failures by the Copyright Office to fix the broken DMCA exemption process, which involves a number of burdensome and administrative hoops for artists like Gordon Quinn to jump through every three years. EFF’s main argument in this suit is that the legal proceedings involving circumvention violate consumers’ First Amendment rights to freedom of expression. The Copyright Office, EFF alleges, “has mismanaged the process and repeatedly failed to grant valid exemptions” in violation of the First Amendment. My colleague at Public Knowledge, Kerry Maeve Sheehan, agrees: “The Office has erected a litany of administrative barriers, not required by the law itself, to scholars, technologists, consumers, and many others (like artists) ensnared by unintended consequences and indefensible applications of Section 1201,” she says. “Even when the Copyright Office does recommend exemptions, they are often so narrow as to be practically useless.” Gordon Quinn, pictured on the left, at Public Knowledge’s DMCA panel on Capitol Hill. What sort of advocacy have Fractured Atlas and Public Knowledge done already? My colleagues at Public Knowledge have been paying close attention to this issue for several years, and took a more active approach to advocacy in the fall of 2015, aligning with the most recent triennial review process. Fractured Atlas sponsored a trip for Gordon Quinn to Washington, D.C., where he represented the arts community on a Capitol Hill panel put on by Public Knowledge that focused on the DMCA’s flaws. Gordon discovered a poster of one of his films in a Congressional office during his visit. During his trip to Capitol Hill, Gordon accompanied me on face-to-face visits with a dozen Congressional offices from across the political spectrum in which he described the burdensome exemption process he endures every three years. Gordon clarified that fixing the current system will not in fact lead to additional piracy — a common misconception — because those who seek exemptions are seeking to access copyrighted works for legal uses only. Any uses of the works that do not fall under fair use would be subject to punishment under existing copyright law. Gordon articulated that as a copyright holder himself, he relies on the ability to legally incorporate copyrighted works into his new works. “In a democracy,” he said, “we cannot keep culture locked up.” We will monitor the process of EFF’s suit carefully and provide updates on the blog. Stay tuned! You can find additional blog posts Courtney has written on this subject here, here, and here.

Every week, we find the most interesting and important stories at the intersection of the Arts, technology, and business and share them with you. (If you’d like to get these in your e-mail inbox you can subscribe to here). Check back every week for insightful and eye-opening stories that peaked our interest, and hopefully yours too.

Every week, we find the most interesting and important stories at the intersection of the Arts, technology, and business and share them with you. (If you’d like to get these in your e-mail inbox you can subscribe to here). Check back every week for insightful and eye-opening stories that peaked our interest, and hopefully yours too. Ideo: Is Jazz School The Next Great Innovation Incubator? We call our approach design thinking. Berklee doesn’t have a name for their mind-set yet (“jazz thinking” or “music thinking” come to mind), but the similarities between the two have led us to believe there are fundamental entrepreneurial traits in the professional creative process. How Does Crowdfunding Change the Picture for Artists? Digital platforms let people successfully and efficiently sort into narrow niches, to find a vibrant-yet-specialized community of interest. These better matches are game-changers for some, but it may not be a boon for everyone. Introducing a New Tool for Unlocking the Power of Media Grants Data. Developed by Foundation Center and available on the Media Impact Funders’ website, this new tool enables users to see, understand, and dig deep into the numbers, networks, and trends surrounding media and philanthropy. Web Site Offers First Ever-Live Stream of a Broadway Show for $10. While tickets to the New York production are going for $52 to $147, the streamed show — offering 10 camera angles — goes for a mere $9.99 on computers, tablets, and smartphones. Or you can enjoy it on big TV screens by using Apple TV and Roku set-top boxes, but only if you pick a $169.99 (year-long) or $14.99 (one month) subscription to BroadwayHD. U.S. Dept. Of Justice Deals Crushing Blow To Songwriters. Songwriting and music licensing is one of the most strongly regulated areas in entertainment, […] Streaming services, in particular, have greatly disrupted the industry and led to tremendous declines in the revenue paid to songwriters. However, songwriters’ hands are mostly bound, because the federal government’s Consent Decree mandates how songwriters can be paid.

Courtney Duffy, our Robert W. Deutsch Arts & Technology Policy Fellow, has the scoop on an important net neutrality opinion from the D.C. Circuit Court last month that gives the arts community cause for celebration. You can find Courtney on Twitter @cduffy90. In June, after more than six months of deliberation, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit released its opinion affirming the Federal Communications Commission’s 2015 Open Internet Order. The FCC’s historic decision, which reclassified broadband internet as a common carrier service under Title II of the Communications Act, empowered the FCC to protect a free and open internet.

New book for your summer reading list: The Art of Relevance by Nina Simon (photo by Lisa Niedermeyer) The title of Nina Simon’s new book, The Art of Relevance, perfectly sets up our expectations as a reader. It could have been titled The Ultimate Guide to Relevance, or 10 Steps to Being More Relevant, but Simon would never choose such titles because she understands relevance is a moving target. Framing the pursuit of relevance as an art primes us to seek insights into process. Many of you already know Nina’s work from her popular blog Museum 2.0, her best selling book The Participatory Museum or her TEDx Talk Opening Up the Museum. However, for those of you who don’t recognize the name, here is all you need to know in order to be interested in this book’s author — Nina is hungry for accountability. It is not enough to just talk about building relevance in diverse communities, she is deeply invested in what actually works and holding oneself accountable. Before reading this book my working definition of ‘relevance’ was something along the lines of ‘to be relevant you must be in tune with the current environment; you are topical and timely’. Simon replaces such milk-toast definitions of relevance with the following: Relevance is a key that unlocks meaning. It opens doors to experiences that matter to us, surprise us, and bring value into our lives. If we believe the products, services and experiences we create are relevant to a certain audience, but we aren’t unlocking new meaningful experiences for that audience, we aren’t in fact relevant to them at all. Take a moment to let that truly sink in. Many of us are likely attempting to market to, invite, and build for specific communities, but are we unlocking new information that is meaningful to the lives of those individuals? What would it look like if we did? What does it take to authentically do it well? How might the pursuit of relevance change us? What is the danger of irrelevance? The Art of Relevance is an opportunity to learn from others stories and Simon’s thoughtful framing. As I read the book I dog-eared page after page, making notes of the people in my world that I wanted to share the a-ha’s with. Here are the groupings those folks fell into, I highly recommend this book to: People designing new experiences (artists, software developers, curators). People leading efforts around equity and inclusion (arts admins, founders, board members). People advocating for the intersection of communities (disability + dance, museum + homeless, lgbt + race). People tuning into potential for scalable relevance (philanthropists, investors, entrepreneurs). The Art of Relevance is an engaging, 196 page read, anchored with stories and examples ranging from small artist-led community projects to large established institutions. (It’s worth noting 2 of the projects featured are Fractured Atlas members and past honorees of our Arts Entrepreneurship Award. Kudos to Museum of Impact and The Laundromat Project!). While the e-book version offers the convenience of reading on the device of your choice, the printed version offers a bright key covered front, thoughtfully designed as a social object. What conversations might be sparked with a stranger on a plane, on a park bench, on your commute, because you are both curious about unlocking meaning?

Each month we feature one of our fiscally sponsored projects who have been successful at using our program to advance their art/cause/career. This month’s featured project is Catacomb of Veils.

Arts, Technology, and Business Stories to Watch by Fractured Atlas Every week, we find the most interesting and important stories at the intersection of the Arts, technology, and business and share them with you. (If you’d like to get these in your e-mail inbox you can subscribe to here). Check back every week for insightful and eye-opening stories that peaked our interest, and hopefully yours too.

Music licensing for video productions can be complicated. You know you can’t grab a song out of iTunes and throw it on top of your video, but what can you do? More than anything else, your budget is going to control your song selection. If you don’t have tens of thousands of dollars allotted to your music budget alone, mainstream Top 40 pop songs will be out of your reach. But you still have options.

Arts, Technology, and Business Stories to Watch by Fractured Atlas Every week, we find the most interesting and important stories at the intersection of the Arts, technology, and business and share them with you. (If you’d like to get these in your e-mail inbox you can subscribe to here).

Arts, Technology, and Business Stories to Watch by Fractured Atlas Every week, we find the most interesting and important stories at the intersection of the Arts, technology, and business and share them with you. (If you’d like to get these in your e-mail inbox you can subscribe to here).

Source: Flickr Courtney Duffy, our Robert W. Deutsch Arts & Technology Policy Fellow, is back with the latest edition of Copyright With Courtney. She discusses last month’s outcome of the important Google v. Oracle case and what it means in the greater conversation about fair use. You can find Courtney on Twitter @cduffy90 and join the conversation using #CopyrightWithCourtney.

This May, Fractured Atlas had the opportunity to bring together the 2016 Arts Entrepreneurship Awards honorees in New York City. The event, Creative to the Core, celebrated the work of five organizations who are pushing the boundaries of conventional business practice in the arts. Representatives from each organization engaged in an insightful panel discussion about what it takes to bring innovative approaches to their arts businesses and their visions for the future of the field.

One of our favorite books at Fractured Atlas is Brandraising. We have several copies floating around our office and we recommend it at every opportunity. In 2014, I inaugurated our blog book club with a write-up.

Each month we feature one of our fiscally sponsored projects who have been successful at using our program to advance their art/cause/career. This month’s featured project is Such A Funny Life. Cover Photo by Gavin Whitner (https://musicoomph.com)

On Wednesday May 4th, Fractured Atlas fiscally sponsored artists hit an unprecedented milestone: collectively, they have raised over $100 million dollars since the program launched in 2002. These artists, groups, and organizations shared a belief that their work had value, and that their communities would not only welcome it, but also financially support it through fiscal sponsorship. And they were right: their patrons, fans, and institutional partners were right there with them, contributing the funds necessary to create and share their work.

source: Wikimedia Arts, Technology, and Business Stories to Watch by Fractured Atlas Every week, we find the most interesting and important stories at the intersection of the Arts, technology, and business and share them with you. (If you’d like to get these in your e-mail inbox you can subscribe to here). Check back every week for insightful and eye-opening stories that peaked our interest, and hopefully yours too. How Identity Politics Conquered the Art World. “Art in this era has veered dramatically toward an approach that hasn’t been seen in the West for more than 1,000 years: a concerted urge, almost a rage, to be totally communicative to the largest possible audiences […] in the same register, telling stories of social, political, and philosophical conditions. Of course, not everybody today is making this kind of work. But taken together, it does constitute a real aesthetic movement, one that is biographical, autobiographical, personal — the art of the first person.” OPINION: Art Museums Should Be Allowed toParticipate in Both Sides of the Free Market. But what if rules about deaccessioning were abandoned? What would happen? My guess is: nothing much. […] In the end, a free market in art would most likely produce a net increase in public welfare, just as free markets do in nearly every other area. Getting to Evidence-Based Policy: Three Perspectives. “We may all agree that we want to base our policies and programs on good evidence, but questions remain. What evidence is most useful and reliable? Which options are based on the strongest evidence? Do we have enough evidence to make confident decisions?” Vincent van Bot: The Robots Turning Their Hand to Art. “’We’re so early with the possibilities of robots and art, the sky is the limit,’ said the competition founder, Andrew Conru. ‘It’s refreshing to see technology in action.’” Canada Council Unveils Strategic Plan, Focusing on Indigenous Art Creation and Digital Technology. “The Canada Council for the Arts plans to create a separate granting stream for indigenous arts and artists and to use its programs and influence ‘to engender a new relationship between Canada’s indigenous and non-indigenous peoples.’” What Role Can Artists Play in Prison Reform? “The relationship between artists and their subjects has always been full of potential pitfalls, and in the midst of the presidential primary spectacle and a cultural environment in which trying to demonstrate social consciousness has become a kind of currency for mega-corporations and massive arts institutions alike, it can be tough not to feel the creep of cynicism. But this conversation surprised me.”

by Fractured Atlas Fractured Atlas is seeking a full-time Development Associate to serve as a member of its External Relations team. The position provides the primary support for a growing individual giving program and also assists with administrative tasks related to fundraising from all sources. The Development Associate processes and acknowledges gifts to Fractured Atlas and helps to maintain the sophisticated customized donor database.

Courtney Duffy (@cduffy90), our Robert W. Deutsch Arts & Technology Fellow, spearheaded the 5th annual 3D/DC 2016 (#3DDC2016), the premier 3D printing policy event in the nation. The event took place on Capitol Hill over the course of April 13 and 14. Here is a recap.

There comes a time in every arts organization’s life when an important question arises: should I become a 501(c)(3)? Whether it’s straight out of the gate, or years into your organization’s operations, it’s important to have all the facts before taking this leap. This question is one that many of our projects seriously consider during their time with us, so Program Director Dianne Debicella sat down with Gene Takagi, Managing Attorney of NEO Law Group, to discuss all the considerations that go into making this decision. Dianne Debicella: So let’s say I’m an individual artist who wants to start a 501(c)(3) organization. Can you break down the steps that would be involved in actually doing so? Gene Takagi: The first step is the planning step, so you’ll want to mobilize the right people to serve on the board of directors before you even form the corporation, and get a business plan in place that is 501(c)(3) compliant. You’ll need to understand the laws and understand what your resource needs are going to be, and then fairly assess whether you’re equipped with sufficient knowledge and resources to advance the mission and the goals of your non-profit. So getting the people and the plan together, that’s the first step. The second step is forming the entity itself. It’s most typical to form a non-profit corporation, which involves drafting and filing articles of incorporation or a certificate of incorporation with the state agency, typically the secretary of state. And once those articles are filed, you’re officially incorporated. Once the board has been elected, it’s going to want to take actions, which could include at its initial meeting, electing officers and adopting the bylaws. The bylaws are the instruction manual for how the organization is to be governed by the board. There are a lot of procedural things that are going to be put into the bylaws that relate to how you elect board members, how you have board meetings, what rights the board members have, and whether and how board members, staff, and officers are protected by the organization. The bylaws should include these provisions to avoid disputes and so that the board doesn’t have look for applicable laws when asking “What are we supposed to do when this happens?” Hopefully the bylaws contemplate all of that, and because laws change over time, we have to make sure that the bylaws comply with the external laws as well. This means they should be reviewed from time to time. After that initial board meeting, you’re still going to have some additional filings. In 39 states, a charity registration is required not only in the state of incorporation but also in any states in which you will actively engage in charitable solicitations. So that’s something to think about, particularly with online fundraising. You’ll have to get an employer identification number. That has to happen after incorporation because you want that EIN to attach to the corporation itself. And that can easily be done through an online filing. The next steps may be filing for federal and state tax exemption. Federal tax-exemption can be applied for using IRS Form 1023 or Form 1023-EZ. States vary on whether they have corporate level income taxes and whether a nonprofit needs to file for state tax-exemption. But it’s important to note that as a 501(c)(3) entity, you may not automatically be considered tax-exempt for state tax purposes. There’s also a deadline on many of these steps, which may need to occur in a certain sequence and within a certain time frame. You generally have about 27 months within incorporation to receive 501(c)(3) status retroactive to your incorporation date, but if you fail to take this step or others in a timely fashion, there could be more problems and challenges to follow. DD: What should an arts organization know before they consider applying for 501(c)(3) status? GT: They should first make sure that they have an understanding of all the requirements, not just for setting up a non-profit organization, but also for what will be required to operate that organization over time. So, leaders should make sure they understand all the rules that will apply and affect how they govern and manage the organization. And they should make sure they have adequate resources to be able to comply with all of those rules and operate in an efficient manner in furthering their mission. In relation to fiscal sponsorship, it’s important for leaders to ask themselves whether they will advance their mission most effectively and efficiently by running an independent non-profit, taking care of all the compliance and administrative issues as well, or if working with a fiscal sponsor is a better option. DD: Do you think there is a specific point in time that it’s the right move for an existing collective or group to become a 501(c)(3)? What would be some critical questions for an organization in helping to make that decision about the timing of it, and whether or not they should do it? GT: The first thing to think about is if there’s been money involved — so, if this group of individuals has been collecting money, or pooling their money and then spending it, they have to figure out whether that was reflected in an individual’s or entity’s tax return. If significant sums of money are involved, it’s probably time to talk with a lawyer and an accountant. If personal liability is of any concern, then incorporating is probably a good next step. And if you form a corporation and you know that the things you’re doing fall within the meaning of charitable or educational in 501(c)(3), then forming or applying for 501(c)(3) status probably makes sense. In some cases, however, your activities will not be consistent with 501(c)(3) status, in which case incorporating as a for-profit or forming a limited liability company might be appropriate. For groups that have been operating without any formal structure, once you have money coming through, and you’re concerned about liability, that’s the time to think about forming a nonprofit and applying for 501(c)(3) status. But you should also consider comprehensive fiscal sponsorship as a possible alternative that allows you to spend more of your focus on programs and fundraising instead of administration. DD: About a year ago, the IRS released the form 1023-EZ, which is a sort of shortened application to becoming a 501(c)(3). What are the benefits and challenges of completing this form? GT: There are two big advantages of the Form 1023-EZ. First, it’s very quick and easy to fill out and submit to the IRS. Second, the IRS processes these applications very quickly, sometimes as quickly as within two weeks of receipt. But it’s not as easy as it seems. In the 1023-EZ, you’re checking boxes, certifying under penalty of perjury, that say that you will operate as an organization that will comply with all of the requirements of the 501(c)(3). Now in the longer form, you get to describe those things in greater detail and you include your articles of incorporation. The 1023-EZ requires neither of those things. You mostly just check off the boxes that state you’re going to comply and that your articles comply. There have been some follow up studies, one from the National Taxpayer Advocate, that showed that in about a third of the applications, the articles of incorporation, when reviewed post-determination, did not comply with the requirements for 501(c)(3) organizations. This would have been picked up for the most part, if these organizations had completed the long Form 1023. The instructions for Form 1023-EZ are not short and they should be read very carefully and understood before filling them out. Again, boxes on the 1023-EZ are checked by applicants under penalty of perjury, so it’s something to be taken very seriously. I really do prefer the long Form 1023 because it makes people develop a business plan and think about 501(c)(3) compliance before filing. I think that’s very important. One other potential big disadvantage, and this might hold true particularly for artists, is grantors can tell from an applicant’s IRS determination letter whether a Form 1023 or a Form 1023-EZ was used to get 501(c)(3) recognition. A funder may think the candidate that received its status using the Form 1023-EZ is less attractive than one who used the longer Form 1023. When a foundation can know that an organization went through the long form process with the IRS, I think it’s reasonable that the Foundation would expect that the organization knows more about how to comply not only with 501(c)(3) requirements, but with grant agreement requirements. DD: What are some of the requirements non-profit organizations face once they have 501(c)(3) status? GT: Ensuring you recruit and maintain a strong board of directors is a good starting point. It’s important to get a board together of the right individuals who don’t have conflicts of interest and who will be able to meet the legal responsibilities and duties of serving as a board member. Prior to filing for 501(c)(3) status, the board should have put together a business plan that includes plans for funding, a realistic budget, and a mission and planned activities consistent with 501(c)(3) regulations. Artists, in particular, need to think about whether their mission involves educating the public, which is a 501(c)(3) purpose, rather than creating art for personal and/or commercial purposes. So, while selling art might be something a charity could engage in, the 501(c)(3) purpose of a charity would not be to allow one person or a small group of persons to sell art to make a living; instead, the purpose should be to expose that art to a broader public, and by such exposure, educate them on why such art is important. Staffing is an essential need — whether it be volunteers, contractors, or employees. On the program side, you need people who can adequately run and operate the program; on the administrative side, you need people who have the time, resources, and experience necessary to adequately administer the organization; and on the funding side, you need people who can and will raise funds for the organization. If the organization is compensating individuals, it must be particularly careful about getting right the distinction between an employee and independent contractor, knowing how to manage any conflicts of interest, paying no more than fair market value, properly withholding payroll taxes, and complying with all applicable employment laws. Fundraising is subject to various laws and there are many best practices to consider as well to help ensure trust, flexibility, and donor satisfaction. For example, providing the proper form of receipt for a charitable donation may make the difference between a major donor being able to take a charitable contribution deduction or not. Of course, all activities must be carried on in a legally compliant manner and where there are significant risks, there may need to be policies, practices, and other tools to mitigate such risks. Insurance is a common risk management tool to help protect not only the organization but the directors, officers, employees, and volunteers too. Getting the right forms of insurance is not always an intuitive process so it’s important to discuss your needs with an insurance agent or broker. There are several ongoing requirements of which 501(c)(3) organizations should be aware include annual filings with the IRS and possibly with a state tax authority. In addition, a charity may need to register in its state of formation and possibly any other state in which it is engaged in active or significant fundraising. DD: Any additional things you want to address? GT: Some of the startup procedures can be difficult, but ignoring them can create more and much more difficult problems for the organization. For example, by not thinking about insurance, in a worst case scenario, someone may get harmed and the leadership may be held personally responsible. This could be a disaster if something happens, especially without a non-profit corporation’s limited liability shield to protect them. Starting a non-profit is in many ways similar to starting a for-profit, in terms of the responsibilities involved, so it shouldn’t be done very lightly. It should be done with a lot of consideration, sufficient startup resources, and a lot of planning to ensure that the human resources are there to both staff a diligent board of directors and accomplish the nonprofit’s projects and goals in an effective and efficient manner. About Gene Takagi Gene Takagi is the managing attorney of NEO Law Group and contributing editor of the Nonprofit Law Blog. At NEO, Gene has represented over 400 nonprofit organizations on corporate, tax, and charitable trust law matters. Gene is a popular writer on nonprofit legal topics and has been published by The Nonprofit Quarterly, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, The Nonprofit Times, Taxation of Exempts, and ALI-ABA. He is also a popular speaker who has presented at conferences for Independent Sector, BoardSource, Net Impact, CalNonprofits, the American Bar Association, the Northern California Planned Giving Council, Social Media for Nonprofits, the National Network of Fiscal Sponsors, and numerous local and regional bar and CPA associations. He is a graduate of UCLA School of Law and a recipient of multiple awards for his work. Gene currently serves on the board of CompassPoint and the public policy committee of Independent Sector.

Each month we feature one of our fiscally sponsored projects who have been successful at using our program to advance their art/cause/career. This month’s featured project is The Dirty Blondes.

Arts, Technology, and Business Stories to Watch by Fractured Atlas Every week, we find the most interesting and important stories at the intersection of the Arts, technology, and business and share them with you. (If you’d like to get these in your e-mail inbox you can subscribe to here). Check back every week for insightful and eye-opening stories that peaked our interest, and hopefully yours too.

In our final installment of our interview series with 3D printing industry leaders leading up to #3DDC2016, we talk to Teresa Sappington, Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow. Teresa is a high school engineering teacher from Lamar County Center for Technical Education in Purvis, MS. She is sponsored by the Department of Energy’s Office of Science and currently serves as a Congressional Fellow on Capitol Hill with Congressman Mark Takano’s office since the fall of 2015.

Courtney Duffy, our Robert W. Deutsch Arts & Technology Policy Fellow, is spearheading 3D/DC, the fifth annual 3D printing policy event sponsored by our friends at Public Knowledge which is scheduled to take place on Capitol Hill on April 14. For additional event details and to RSVP, click here. You can find the other posts in our 3D/DC 2016 blog series here, here,here, and here.

Fractured Atlas introduces Arts Smarts: an Arts Business Intensive, April 30th, 2016, Los Angeles, CA Fractured Atlas is not CrossFit and getting better at your arts business is not the same as getting shredded abs for the beach.

Tax day is fast approaching: what’s a freelance artist or burgeoning arts organization to do? In anticipation of the IRS’s upcoming deadline, we sat down with Rus Garofolo, Founder of Brass Taxes, to discuss some key questions that arts organizations might want to consider in their tax prep.

Courtney Duffy, our Robert W. Deutsch Arts & Technology Policy Fellow, is spearheading 3D/DC, the fifth annual 3D printing policy event sponsored by our friends at Public Knowledge which is scheduled to take place on Capitol Hill on April 14. You should come: For additional event details and to RSVP, click here.

For the past several months, some of our staff have been hard at work with our friends over at Createquity, to bring you something new. The result is the Createquity podcast!

This week we announced the details of 3D/DC 2016, an annual 3D printing policy event on Capitol Hill that is put on by our friends at Public Knowledge and the Congressional Maker Caucus. Our Robert W. Deutsch Arts & Technology Policy Fellow Courtney Duffy, who is running the event this year, recently interviewed the man who started it all: Michael Weinberg. The post below was originally featured here on the Public Knowledge blog.

Each month we feature one of our fiscally sponsored projects who have been successful at using our program to advance their art/cause/career. This month’s featured project is The Movement Theatre Company (TMTC).

Source: Flickr Courtney Duffy, our Robert W. Deutsch Arts & Technology Policy Fellow, is spearheading 3D/DC, the fifth annual 3D printing policy event sponsored by our friends at Public Knowledge which is scheduled to take place on Capitol Hill next month. You should come.

Arts, Technology, and Business Stories to Watch by Fractured Atlas Every week, we find the most interesting and important stories at the intersection of the Arts, technology, and business and share them with you. (If you’d like to get these in your e-mail inbox you can subscribe to here).

Source: Flickr Arts, Technology, and Business Stories to Watch by Fractured Atlas Every week, we find the most interesting and important stories at the intersection of the Arts, technology, and business and share them with you. (If you’d like to get these in your e-mail inbox you can subscribe to here).

Our Robert W. Deutsch Arts & Technology Policy Fellow Courtney Duffy has the scoop on Arts Advocacy Day, which takes place in Washington, D.C. on March 7 and 8, 2016. You can follow her on Twitter @cduffy90 and track event goings on using #ArtsAdvocacyDay. It’s that time of year again: Arts Advocacy Day is upon us! Hundreds of arts advocates from across the country have descended upon the nation’s capital to speak with a unified voice and ask Congress to support funding, programs, and policies that enrich our nation’s arts community.

by Scott Raker and Malcolm Evans, Program Director, Insurance and Program Associate, respectively, at Fractured Atlas You should be able to create without restraint. The suggestions below will help you manage the risks inherent to creating art:

Dangerous Situation of Beagle by G. Gore. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Anyone who happened to view our live stats this February may have noticed that our Insurance Program surpassed 15,000 bound policies. This is a huge leap from when the program began to offer property and casualty options in 2007. At the time, Fractured Atlas was in many ways steering into uncharted waters. While a handful of intrepid brokers and carriers were providing insurance programs, most options were tailored for established arts companies and organizations with substantial budgets. Even though artists needed insurance policies to fulfill contracts, pursue grants, and cover their own equipment and artwork, there wasn’t really an accessible insurance option for the broader artistic community.

I confess to being somewhat mystified by the personal development aisle in the bookstore. Self-help I understand because boy do I need a lot of it. But there are always a couple of shelves worth of books that never quite made a lot of sense to me. I’m talking about books like The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People or The Power of Positive Thinking.

Source: Flickr Courtney Duffy, our Robert W. Deutsch Arts & Technology Policy Fellow, co-wrote an op-ed on 1201 reform with Fractured Atlas member Gordon Quinn of Kartemquin Films. Gordon recently joined Courtney on Capitol Hill to advocate Congress on this issue, which you can read more about here. Below is an excerpt from their article, which appeared in Vice/Motherboard.

Legendary massive graffiti mural space which was whitewashed by developers in 2014. Image courtesy of Flickr Arts, Technology, and Business Stories To Watch by Fractured Atlas Every week, we find the most interesting and important stories at the intersection of the Arts, technology, and business and share them with you. (If you’d like to get these in your e-mail inbox you can subscribe to here).

This past year saw new paradigms for defining entrepreneurship in the arts and culture sector, and we had an amazing group of nominees. We are excited to honor these five organizations whose experimentation and innovation in the field truly stood out. By creatively leveraging the intersection between technology and the arts, giving voice to social justice issues, and creating revolutionary transparency around budgeting, these organizations are each in their own way using cutting edge solutions to deliver their messages.

Arts, Technology, and Business Stories To Watch by Fractured Atlas Every week, we find the most interesting and important stories at the intersection of the Arts, technology, and business and share them with you. (If you’d like to get these in your e-mail inbox you can subscribe to here).

Courtney Duffy continues the #CopyrightWithCourtney blog series with a post on a recent advocacy visit to DC by a Fractured Atlas member. You’ll find additional posts in the series here, and join the conversation with Courtney on Twitter @cduffy90.

Arts, Technology, and Business Stories To Watch by Fractured Atlas Every week, we find the most interesting and important stories at the intersection of the Arts, technology, and business and share them with you. (If you’d like to get these in your e-mail inbox you can subscribe to here).

A Brief Digest of Arts, Technology, and Business Stories To Watch For the past few years we’ve been finding and sharing important stories at the intersection of the arts, technology, and business through our monthly newsletter, CultureFlash. However, over the years we found ourselves with more and more important and interesting stories on the cutting room floor. So we decided to make CultureFlash a weekly affair, and to share it here on medium, as well as via e-mail newsletter (which you can subscribe to here).

A pathway for confronting the cultural sector’s challenges The health of the cultural sector, and its ability to be creative, innovative, and resilient depends on the quality and skills of the people working for our organizations. In order for our sector to remain vibrant and relevant, we need to continually develop and leverage the skills our people possess.

by Courtney Duffy, Robert W. Deutsch Arts & Technology Policy Fellow at Fractured Atlas Courtney Duffy, our Robert W. Deutsch Arts & Technology Policy Fellow, has an update on the results of our advocacy in opposition to proposed changes at the IRS that would have dramatically complicated the way nonprofits accept gifts from donors.

Seven-year-old selves rejoice During the recent holiday gift-giving season I discovered what many of you might already know: coloring books are cool again. And the seven-year-old Tim Cynova with his truck and tractor coloring book is psyched. Where have you been all these years my waxy-smelling Crayola companions?

We did it everyone! It’s 2016! We made it to the future! Congratulations all around. The year is filled with so much promise just waiting to be derailed by the mundane. When it comes to the constant battle of the urgent versus the important, no time management strategy lasts forever. It’s a series of strategies and tactics that will enable us to look back on 2016 with more pride at what we’ve accomplished than regret at what might have been. (Did you catch that? This year is only hours old and I just skipped ahead to the end. Life moves so quickly nowadays.)