06/11/2020 – Letter from DCC President Christine Martin
Deer Creek Chorale, Inc.
President’s Report to Membership June 2020
Dear Singers,
How strange it is not to sing together. I was so happy to be able to sing for “Light of a Clear Blue Morning”. What began as a very intimidating process (where do I take a breath?….ugh I sound awful…start over….does that sweater make me look fat?…..is the lighting ok???) ended as an extremely enjoyable and satisfying activity. Now that I managed it, I look forward to trying it again!
At the end of each season, we have a membership business meeting/potluck supper. Unfortunately, this email serves as our meeting due to the worldwide pandemic.
Plans for the upcoming Fall 2020-2021 Season:
Marty, Wayne, and Julie are communicating weekly and have mapped out several scenarios for Fall that we can adopt/adapt as relevant factors develop and stabilize. Such factors include but are not limited to the following.
- Access to Bethel
- Maryland state guidelines
- Reopening of schools
- Status of Covid-19 impact in Harford and Baltimore counties
- Testing/tracing/treatment
- Recommendations from ACDA, Chorus America, etc.
It’s too early to make a decision, but as the summer progresses, we will know more and communicate with you. The goal of artistic staff and your board of directors is to find ways to keep singers engaged and connected to DCC’s mission and values!
Board of Directors: All goals in DCC’s previous Strategic Plan have been fulfilled. It is oh, so satisfying to see the accomplishments of the last several years. Moving into the future, Stephanie Davis and Sharon Bottcher have led the Board’s revision and development of the Plan and it is both ambitious and realistic for such a dynamic organization. COVID put a dent in our momentum, but we will continue with the revisions and share it with you when the final version is complete.
Outgoing Board member Sharon Bottcher, Director of Marketing, will be sorely missed but will remain active with Marketing efforts. Members Lance Ledebur and Luianne Potter have agreed to join the Board of Directors. Lance will serve as Treasurer. Both have been actively involved with the choirs and have a wealth of experience. You will soon see their bios on the DCC web page. Our By-Laws indicate the need for a majority approval from the membership for new board candidates. Since we cannot meet in person for a show of hands, please email me directly if you oppose the candidates. Interested in being on the Board? The best place to begin is committee membership. It’s a wonderful way to grow the DCC and get to know other singers. VACANCY: Our Executive Committee needs to fill the office of Vice President. Please contact me for a discussion of what board membership includes if you are interested in the process!
State and Local Funding: DCC received more funding this past year than ever before. Funding agencies Maryland State Arts Council, Baltimore County Council of Arts & Sciences, Harford County Cultural Arts Board and MD Humanities Council all contributed to the operations of DCC and its choirs. Unfortunately, the cancellation of our Spring Concerts from all 4 choirs have left us financially vulnerable. We are reaching out to donors asking for continued support. Deer Creek Chorale and its choirs will bounce back! Keep singing!
Committee Work: During social distancing, singer volunteers have been working with their hands instead of with their vocal cords! For NINE WEEKS alto board member Sharon Kachur has been coordinating the efforts of team leader sopranos Mary Sue Shaw and Hope Ledebur and Chamber Choir accompanist Lori Geckle while they and their DCC member singer-sewer teams have cut and sewn 400 face masks/week for Johns Hopkins COVID workers. 400 per week! For 9 weeks! We haven’t forgotten about our Spring 2020 charitable partner, the Gunpowder Riverkeeper. We will be supporting them for the upcoming season with river walks and awareness.
Treasurer’s Report: Because our 2020 activities were cancelled in May, the Board of Director’s decided after lengthy discussion to not pay DCC administrative and artistic staff for the month of May. This was an agonizing decision but provided a savings of approximately $6500 and kept us (almost) in the black.
Currently, over half of our yearly state and local funding are at risk, and we anxiously await news regarding monies available to the Arts. We must complete the projects we received funding for last season, and plans are being made for that as we move forward.
Below you will find the previous season’s budget and actual numbers. The board has voted to approve Proposal’s A and B for the 2020/2021 season. The cancellation of part of our season is unprecedented for DCC therefore the board thought it prudent to prepare two budgets: one for a regular season scenario and one for a lean season. We will continually revisit both.
| DEER CREEK CHORALE FINANCIAL REPORT | 2020/2021
PROPOSAL A |
2020/2021 PROPOSAL B | ||
| REVENUE | 2019/2020 BUDGET | 2019/2020
ACTUAL |
||
| 1. CORPORATE | $4,000.00 | $103.81 | $500.00 | $2,000.00 |
| 2. EARNED INCOME | ||||
| 2A. ADVERTISING | $5,000.00 | $2,695.00 | $3,000.00 | $5,000.00 |
| 2B. COSTUMES | $3,300.00 | $1,625.00 | $2,000.00 | $3,000.00 |
| 2C. MUSIC | $4,900.00 | $1,191.93 | $2,500.00 | $2,500.00 |
| 2D. PROMOTIONAL ITEMS | $500.00 | $30.00 | $500.00 | $1,000.00 |
| 2E. PAYPAL | $34.31 | |||
| 2F. EARNED INTEREST | $22.15 | |||
| 3. MEMBERSHIP DUES | $24,700.00 | $18,527.00 | $15,000.00 | $17,000.00 |
| 4. FUNDRAISING | $15,500.00 | $16,011.00 | $17,000.00 | $20,000.00 |
| 5. PERFORMANCES | $18,800.00 | $7,781.00 | $12,000.00 | $20,000.00 |
| 6. GRANTS | $25,100.00 | $19,962.25 | $20,000.00 | $20,000.00 |
| 7. INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT | $33,000.00 | $24,017.44 | $30,000.00 | $35,000.00 |
| 8. NON-ALLOWABLE INCOME | $14,650.00 | $3,780.14 | $5,000.00 | $10,000.00 |
| $145,450.00 | $95,781.03 | $107,500.00 | $135,500.00 | |
| EXPENDITURES | ||||
| 1. BANK FEES | $1,000.00 | $953.75 | $1,000.00 | $1,100.00 |
| 2. BUSINESS EXPENSES | $100.00 | $48.00 | $100.00 | $500.00 |
| 3. CONTRACT SERVICES | $23,000.00 | $14,280.34 | $18,000.00 | $30,000.00 |
| 4. FACILITIES (Rent, Utilities) | $1,500.00 | $1,585.00 | $1,600.00 | $2,000.00 |
| 5. FUNDRAISING | $6,050.00 | $8,435.47 | $6,500.00 | $8,000.00 |
| 6. INVENTORY | $8,600.00 | $5,241.31 | $6,000.00 | $5,500.00 |
| 7. EDUCATION/SCHOLARSHIP | $2,000.00 | $1,585.00 | $1,000.00 | $1,500.00 |
| 8. OPERATION COSTS | ||||
| 8A. INSURANCE | $750.00 | $550.00 | $700.00 | $700.00 |
| 8B. PROF. DUES & MEMBERSHIP | $600.00 | $350.00 | $400.00 | $600.00 |
| 9. POSTAGE | $150.00 | $234.64 | $300.00 | $150.00 |
| 10. PRINTING AND COPYING | $100.00 | $436.30 | $700.00 | $1,500.00 |
| 11. SUPPLIES | $1,400.00 | $826.50 | $900.00 | $1,450.00 |
| 12. TRAVEL | $5,000.00 | $1,982.26 | $4,000.00 | $6,000.00 |
| 13. WEBSITE | $1,000.00 | $553.68 | $600.00 | $1,000.00 |
| 14. NON-ALLOWABLE EXPENSES | $2,250.00 | $282.00 | $500.00 | $3,000.00 |
| 15. ARTISTS | $69,950.00 | $55,405.00 | $60,000.00 | $73,000.00 |
| 16. MARKETING | $6,550.00 | $2,831.64 | $4,500.00 | $6,500.00 |
| 17. MISC. CONCERT EXPENSES | $3,000.00 | $948.27 | $1,500.00 | $3,000.00 |
| $133,000.00 | $96,529.16 | $108,300.00 | $145,500.00 | |
| OVER/UNDER | $748.13 | -$800.00 | ||
| Proposal A is COVID barebones but if used judiciously and with increased fundraising efforts | ||||
| should leave us in the black. | ||||
| Proposal B is aggressive and an attempt to keep things moving forward. | ||||
| Any questions of break downs within categories, get in touch with Treasurer Lance Ledebur. | ||||
| All would have to be revisited and adjusted if the present social distancing extends. | ||||
| ASSETS AS OF 4/10/20 | ||||
| CHECKING ACCOUNT BALANCE | $23,867.87 | |||
| (PART OF THIS REFUNDABLE FOR PORTUGAL TRIP) | $6,500.00 | |||
| VIRTUAL BALANCE | $17,367.87 | |||
| MONEY MARKET ACCOUNT BALANCE | $28,867.75 | |||
| RESTRICTED FUNDS | ||||
| ORCHESTRA FUND | $3,702.57 | |||
| SCHOLARSHIP FUND | $6,558.33 | |||
| YOUTH CHOIR FUND | $3,925.00 | |||
| TRAVEL FUND | $3,294.06 | |||
| RESERVE FUND | $11,387.75 | |||
Thank you for your time and I hope we can all be together soon.
Respectfully,
Christine Martin
Deer Creek Chorale,
President, Board of Directors