Put down that 501c3 application for a second.
Stop putting together that book of "board member responsibilities".
We need to talk.
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Do you really know what you're doing?
Sure, you know what you just *did*. You filled out a few applications, got together some friends and (BAM) you became a nonprofit arts organization. It was easy. But so is sex. It's the whole post sex "having a baby part" that is tricky.
So let's talk about what you now own.
You now own nothing.
You're confused. You think this is some sort of Zen riddle. You started this arts organization, isn't it yours?
Nope. It isn't. Each person you listed as "board member", yes including that person you don't really know that well, now have as much of a stake in this organization as you do.
You're not an owner. This nonprofit isn't yours. You are a steward. Your job is to take care of the organization and make sure it's mission is being realized. The goal is (or should be) to build something that will survive you.
If you are not interested in that - and you may not be, for very good reasons - then starting a nonprofit arts organization isn't a good idea.
The very nature and structure of a nonprofit arts org indicates that it is about steady progress over a long period of time.
If you're more interested in the here and now then it makes more sense to ignore the nonprofit model entirely and focus on how you can get your art produced cheaply, quickly and then finding the most efficient way to put that work into the public.
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