MBIRD RELEASES ORGANIZATIONAL CHART, MANAGEMENT CHANGES
New President, New Board Member, New Committees, & more
Organizational Chart[Saratoga Springs, NY] – The Mockingbird Foundation today released an organizational chart which both codifies and formalizes the relationships among its constituent offices and working groups, including a half dozen important management changes which the Foundation announced simultaneously. The chart is intended to serve internal purposes, such as clarifying the organizational structure beyond Phish’s breakup, as well as external purposes, such as enunciating the careful design of authority and responsibility within the organization.
“This Foundation is run by dozens of fans, through a half dozen working groups, and a decade of informal patterns of authority and responsibility in conjunction with the formal structure,” said Executive Director Ellis Godard. “This chart identifies those relationships, so that the Foundation’s administration is as clear as its mission.”
The charted structure distinguishes between three working aspects of the Foundation:
* Directors of Operations manage grant applications, Internet presence, volunteer efforts, media relations, and artistic branding, and are filled on an ongoing basis by board approval or appointment.
* Directors of Special Projects manage Foundation flyers, events, albums, and merchandise, and are approved or appointed by the board on a case-by-case basis.
* Ongoing Projects currently include The Phish Companion, but may soon include additional projects that are still maturing and of which the status (ongoing vs. special) is therefore not yet certain.
The chart also reflects important separations of duty in the Foundation’s administration, website, and book.
* Dan Hantman has been named as the new President of the Board. His role will, among other things, include consensus-building within and direction from the Board to other offices and operating bodies of the Foundation. The role of President has been separated from that of Executive Director of the Foundation, a position which Ellis Godard will continue to fill. The Executive Director’s authority and responsibility has been narrowed to Operational aspects of the Foundation, while the Executive Committee will now take on oversight and development of Ongoing and Special Projects.
* Dan Hantman, who has been the Foundation’s webmaster since its inception, will also now serve as an Internet Liaison from the board to the new webmaster, Julia Mordaunt, who also designs and maintains the Mimi Fishman Foundation website and an important archive of articles about Phish (phisharchive.com).
* For The Phish Companion, a division of labor between administrative and production issues utilized for the second edition has been formalized as Executive Editor and Managing Editor in order to provide clarity as the Foundation begins plans for the third edition.
The chart also includes two important additions to the organization’s structure, both of which codify relationships with external volunteers.
* The first addition, conceived at a board meeting 1/3/02 and so currently titled the Hampton Committee, will review feedback to the second edition of The Phish Companion and advise the Managing Editor on production issues, just as the Literary Agent advises the Executive Editor on adminstrative issues.
* The second addition, announced last week, is an Advisory Panel of Phish luminaries and professional colleagues who support the Foundation and are willing to provide advice on certain issues as needs arise.
Additionally, Jim Raras has accepted an invitation to join the Board of Directors, bringing the size of the current board to 12. Jim has worked mightily on both editions of the book, and has provided important guidance and insight on several related aspects of Foundation activities. In addition to the development of new Special and Ongoing Projects, the Foundation board anticipates continuing its organizational development on an ongoing basis, including the re-engagement of emeritus directors over the next six months.
The Mockingbird Foundation is a leading provider of historical information about the band Phish and its music. Conceived in 1996, and founded in 1997, the Foundation is operated entirely by volunteers, without any salaries or paid staff. It fundraises for music education for children by celebrating the music of Phish. Its comprehensive books, innovative recordings, creative donation premiums, and special events for the Phish fan community have raised more than $250K and funded scores of grants so far. The Foundation will release a second edition of The Phish Companion this summer, and will announce its next round of grant recipients in October.
Phish is a rock band from Burlington, VT. They began on December 2, 1983; became one of the highest grossing and most beloved touring acts in history; and will perform their final show on August 15, 2004, in Coventry, VT. The band’s net proceeds from its livephish.com music distribution service are donated to the Mockingbird Foundation.