SOP

Standard Operating Procedures for the Atlanta Radio Theatre Company
6/3/08 Draft

1. The operations of the Atlanta Radio Theatre Company shall be governed by its bylaws.
2. As noted in Article I, Paragraph c of the bylaws, membership will be contingent upon the payment of a "membership" fee which is set by the Board of Directors and can be changed to reflect the needs of the organization.
   1. This fee will be set at $5, payable to the Secretary, who will then turn over the monies to the Treasurer.
   2. Membership is for one calendar year.
   3. Registration will be deemed expired when in arrears for over 60 days, however for the purposes of this organization, membership durations will be retroactive to the first day of each calendar year, regardless of when the fee is paid.
   4. Membership will entitle the member to the right to vote on organizational matters, the right to hold office or a seat on the Board of Directors, as well as other benefits to be determined by the Board of Directors.
3. Finances
   1. As required by Article VIII of the bylaws, all expenditures must be approved by both the President and the Treasurer, with the following exception. Expenses that fall at or below the amount of $100US can be approved by either the President OR the Treasurer.
   2. Yearly budgets for each department will be submitted in the first quarter of each year or revised budgets may be submitted upon request of the Board of Directors.
   3. Departments will consist of the following:
      1. Production/Publishing - including costs of CD duplication, packaging, technical equipment needs, etc.
      2. Sales - including table sales needs as well as mail order sales needs (excluding postage)
      3. Marketing - including printing needs, rental costs for live shows (considered a marketing activity), advertising space purchases, and promotional product to be given away.
      4. Distribution - including postage and other costs of running a mail order business.
   4. To allow for the smooth functioning of the organization, projects may have individual budgets separate from the departmental budgets.
      1. Projects that involve live or studio production will be submitted to the Vice President for approval. The budget will accompany the project details and will be passed along to the President and Treasurer. Approval of the budget will be a prerequisite to approval of the project.
      2. Projects that do not involve live or studio production (ie marketing materials, packaging, etc) will be submitted directly to the Treasurer for consideration and approval by the Treasurer and President. These budgets should be submitted no later than 30 days prior to the money needing to be spent, however if money can be saved by having the budget approved faster then this requirement can be waived by the President and Treasurer.
      3. Projects with a budget of over $1000 will require the approval of two thirds of the Board of Directors, with the President and Treasurer retaining veto power.
   5. Recurring expenses of variable value (ie postage, etc) will be evaluated quarterly by the Executive Committee.
   6. Purchasing
      1. Purchases can be proposed by any member of the organization. Purchases will be evaluated by the Executive Committee, with final approval resting with the President and Treasurer, as outlined above.
      2. Purchase proposals will demonstrate adequate research to determine the best value. A form will be provided with guidelines for what will serve as adequate research. See Appendix B.
      3. Purchase proposals should ideally be made two weeks prior to when the goods or service must be ordered. This may be waived in certain instances pending the approval of the Executive Committee, including the President and Treasurer.
   7. Pricing and Discounts
      1. Pricing of salable product will be set as follows
         1. Prices of CDs, cassettes, and other forms of distribution of audible content will be set by the Board of Directors.
         2. Prices of non-audio merchandise (T-shirts, lanyards, etc) shall be set at the time of purchase. The member requesting the purchase of the item will present a business case which will include the per-unit cost, the overall cost, shipping charges, setup charges, expected sales volume over a set period of time, and the proposed selling cost of the item.
      2. Discounts of salable product, whether audio or non-audio, can be given at the discretion of the Marketing Director or the Table Sales Lead. Following the discount or promotion, the Marketing Director and/or Table Sales Lead will report to the Board of Directors to show the effectiveness of the discount and evaluate whether it should be repeated in the future.
      3. Tickets for live performances may be given away or discounted at the discretion of the Vice President who may be overridden by the combined veto of the Producer of the individual show and any one other Board member.
4. Contracts
   1. Contracts will be used.
   2. Everyone who wishes to participate in an ARTC production will be presented with a contract or a release, acceptance of which is required for participation on the artistic or technical side.
   3. Contracts will not be required for business activities, i. e. marketing, sales, development, etc.
   4. See Appendix A for details. Until Appendix A is approved, the following temporary measures are enacted:
      1. It will be understood that revenues from a live performance will go towards the continued functioning of the organization and will not be distributed to the participants.
      2. In the event that a live production is deemed of sufficient quality it may be converted to a studio production and offered for sale to the general public.
         1. Participants will be presented with an altered agreement indicating the transition from live to studio status.
         2. Distribution of the recording may proceed once three quarters (75%) of the participants have accepted the new agreement.
5. Marketing
   1. Marketing will take place in-house and with the assistance of other organizations and venues when possible.
   2. Marketing of the organization will consist of the following duties:
      1. Creating and maintaining a brand identity for the organization.
      2. Creating and implementing ideas for marketing and promoting the company’s live shows and studio productions.
      3. Appointing a spokesman for the organization.
      4. Determining a budget for all of the above activities.
      5. Maintaining records of all discount or promotional items.
      6. Deciding which items will be sold at a given event and overseeing their placement on the sales table.
      7. Writing and distributing news releases.
      8. Maintaining a list of appropriate media contacts and community event calendars.
6. Sales
   1. Sales will be divided into two categories: table sales (for live performances) and mail-order.
   2. Table sales will have the following requirements:
      1. Ensure adequate stock is ordered from the warehouse or the manufacturer.
      2. Maintain a running inventory of sales table products.
      3. Maintain an approximate audience count (within reason).
      4. Attractive presentation of product and adequate staff to represent it.
      5. Sufficient cash to facilitate making change.
      6. Timely deposits following an event.
      7. Creating reports of the sales event and distributing them to the Board of Directors.
   3. Mail order sales will take stock from the warehouse. The warehouse will maintain the following duties:
      1. Tracking inventory.
      2. Reordering supplies (CDs, labels, covers, etc).
      3. Fulfilling mail orders in a timely fashion.
      4. Fulfilling orders for table sales.
      5. Submitting quarterly reports to the Board of Directors.
7. Production
   1. Each production must be approved by the Vice President who will act as Executive Producer.
   2. Each production will have a Producer whose job it is to establish a production schedule and set realistic deadlines.
   3. For a specific checklist of a Producer's duties, see Appendix C, the Producer's Checklist.
   4. A producer may be removed for cause; the Vice President will name a replacement or place the project on hold.
8. Publication
   1. A Production Oversight Committee made up of the President and Vice President will review and evaluate each completed production/project to make sure the technical and creative standards of the organization have been met.
   2. Approval is required before a production/project may be distributed, broadcast, or sold.
   3. Evaluation sessions are open to all members in good standing or by invitation from the President or Vice President.
9. Appointed Officers
   1. To allow for the smooth functioning of the organization, members of the Executive Committee may appoint officers and assistants to help them with their duties.
   2. Appointed offices are an adjunct of the office which appointed them, given certain authority. The appointing office will retain all their usual authority over any decisions made by the appointed officer.
   3. Appointed officers serve at the pleasure of the officers who appointed them or the President.
   4. A record of appointed officers and assistants will be kept indicating the title of the officer and a detailed accounting of their duties and authority. This record will be kept separately from the Standard Operating Procedures.
10. Committees
    1. Committees will be appointed with specific goals by either the Board of Directors or the Executive Committee. Each committee will have a Chair which will ensure that the stated goals of the committee are met.
    2. Committees will have a deadline set, or if an ongoing committee will have frequency of reports set.
    3. A record of committees and who serves on them will be kept indicating the name of the committee, the Chair, and a detailed accounting of the committee’s duties and responsibilities. This record will be kept separately from the Standard Operating Procedures.
11. Record Keeping
    1. Records will be kept for business and artistic purposes.
    2. Business records will include, but not be limited to, the following:
       1. Corporate papers - including Articles of Incorporation and 501(c)(3) status.
       2. Financial records - including tax forms filed with Federal and State governments, sales figures, other income, and expenses.
       3. Contracts - including individual agreements with actors, writers, musicians, technical staff, and all others related to live and/or studio productions. If the contract includes a "trigger" for payment, this should be noted in the financial records.
    3. Artistic records will include, but not be limited to, the following:
       1. Records of live shows - including scripts performed, authors, actors with roles, musicians, Foley artists, and technical staff. Sources for recorded sound effects should also be noted.
       2. Archives of live shows - including all sound files generated during the recording process as well as all recorded sound effects used in the production to allow it to be repeated in the future.
       3. Records of studio productions - including all the same data as would be saved for a live show.
       4. Archives of studio productions - including all sound files generated, trials, drafts, sound effects and their sources.
       5. Scripts
          1. One version of each script that is deemed of sufficient quality for performance (either live or studio) will be kept in hard-copy format in the ARTC script files.
          2. Drafts, revisions, and alternate versions created for specific venues will be kept in electronic format with the authors' permission.
12. Meetings
    1. Meetings of the Board of Directors will take place at least quarterly.
    2. Meetings of the Executive Committee will take place at least bi-monthly.
    3. Meetings of all other committees will take place on an as-needed basis on the judgment of the Chair of that committee or may be called by any member of the Executive Committee.

Appendixes

• Appendix A - Contracts - TBA
• Appendix B - Purchase Request Form
  • Excel spreadsheet with formulas
  • PDF form
• Appendix C - Producer's Checklist