SOP

Standard Operating Procedures for the Atlanta Radio Theatre Company
2/26/08 Draft

The operations of the Atlanta Radio Theatre Company shall be governed by its bylaws.
As noted in Article I, Paragraph c of the bylaws, membership shall 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 shall be set at $5, payable to the Secretary, who shall then turn over the monies to the Treasurer.
2. Membership is for one calendar year.
3. Registration shall be deemed expired when in arrears for over 60 days, however for the purposes of this organization, membership durations shall be retroactive to the first day of each calendar year, regardless of when the fee is paid.
4. Membership shall 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.
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 shall be submitted in the first quarter of each year or revised budgets may be submitted upon request of the Board of Directors.
3. Departments shall 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 shall be submitted to the Vice President for approval. The budget shall accompany the project details and will be passed along to the President and Treasurer. Approval of the budget shall be a prerequisite to approval of the project.
  2. Projects that do not involve live or studio production (ie marketing materials, packaging, etc) shall 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 shall 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) shall 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 shall demonstrate adequate research to determine the best value. A form will be provided with guidelines for what shall 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.
Contracts
1. Contracts shall 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 shall 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 shall be understood that revenues from a live performance will go towards the continued functioning of the organization and shall 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.
Marketing
1. Marketing shall take place in-house and with the assistance of other organizations and venues when possible.
2. Marketing of the organization shall 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.
Sales
1. Sales shall be divided into two categories: table sales (for live performances) and mail-order.
2. Table sales shall 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 shall 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.
Production
1. Each production must be approved by the Vice President who shall act as Executive Producer.
2. Each production shall 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.
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.
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 shall 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 shall be kept indicating the title of the officer and a detailed accounting of their duties and authority. This record shall be kept separately from the Standard Operating Procedures.
Committees
1. Committees shall be appointed with specific goals by either the Board of Directors or the Executive Committee. Each committee shall have a Chair which shall ensure that the stated goals of the committee are met.
2. Committees shall have a deadline set, or if an ongoing committee shall have frequency of reports set.
3. A record of committees and who serves on them shall be kept indicating the name of the committee, the Chair, and a detailed accounting of the committee’s duties and responsibilities. This record shall be kept separately from the Standard Operating Procedures.
Record Keeping
1. Records shall be kept for business and artistic purposes.
2. Business records shall 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 shall 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) shall be kept in hard-copy format in the ARTC script files.
    2. Drafts, revisions, and alternate versions created for specific venues shall be kept in electronic format with the authors' permission.
Meetings
1. Meetings of the Board of Directors shall take place at least quarterly.
2. Meetings of the Executive Committee shall take place at least bi-monthly.
3. Meetings of all other committees shall 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.