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Transparency

Publishing Board and Corporate Affiliations

We demand: Published and transparent listings of board member affiliations with corporations and other nonprofits.

ALREADY DOING
  • List all board member names publicly.
MORE DISCUSSION NEEDED
  • We need to find out if there are any things in the by-laws or non-profit rules that would either require or prevent this.
SUB-COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
  • That board Anti-Racism committee also needs to discuss this.

Publishing Land Acknowledgements

We demand: That you publish permanently and prominently in the lobby a description of how the theatre’s land was acquired and the history of the land with acknowledgements of the land’s Tribal Nations.

ALREADY DOING

  • We have finalized our first land acknowledgement statement, which was read at the first rehearsal of Detroit ’67 and the next All-staff meeting (but don’t currently have it printed anywhere).

  • Anti-Racism Statement is posted on all call boards

SUB-COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

  • Publish land acknowledgement.

  • Have anti-racism statement in all public place’s signage/info is placed as well.

Hiring Transparently

We demand: That you conduct transparent hiring practices (including clear salary recommendations for postings) throughout the entire organization, particularly executive leadership and junior to mid-level positions.

ALREADY DOING
  • Union rates for members of the various unions are well defined and available to union members and online. We don't currently follow any specific process for any administrative jobs.
MORE DISCUSSION NEEDED
  • WERK needs to be involved in this discussion.
SUB-COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

  • Discuss listing a salary range in job descriptions that leaves room for negotiation.

  • Consider that when looking at experience not all people have been afforded the same opportunities as others, so paying more for experience could only continue oppressive tactics.

Auditing Vendors

We demand: That you conduct a vendor audit, including of the wealth management companies managing endowments.Publish total dollars spent with BIPOC-owned businesses versus white-owned.

SUB-COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

  • Committee recommends that the finance office conducts a vendor audit (to the best of their ability) regarding BIPOC vs White Owned business with the goal of patronizing a more equitable group of local businesses for Signature's needs. We recommend this to look at the work Signature needs to do vs. making it public somewhere. N/A

  • We don't have an endowment

Planning Business Transparently

We demand: That you create transparency around institutional expectations, logistics and requirements, and be prepared to embrace the possibility of the BIPOC artists in the boardroom asking for amendments and changes to those institutional expectations.

SUB-COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
  • We recommend that this is a topic taken up for discussion by the board anti-racism committee.

Fundraising Transparently

We demand transparency in fundraising and the distribution of funds as it relates to BIPOC artists’ work.

  • Cease the practice of raising money to engage BIPOC artistic work but using most of the funds raised for institutional overhead.

  • Publish total dollars earned by white artists and staff in a season versus total dollars earned by BIPOC artists and staff, according to titles and positions.

  • Stop exclusively fundraising from BIPOC communities to support the development of BIPOC work.

  • STOP asking Tribal Nations to fund your projects with American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and Indigenous artists and communities; consider how those funds will be diverted from tribal infrastructure and cultural retention projects. In regards to the historic deficits of Tribal Nations, predominantly white institutions (PWIs) need to find other resources to ethically fund their projects with American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and Indigenous artists and communities.

  • Publish an organizational budget showing how dollars are allocated.

ALREADY DOING
  • Reporting back to grant makers exactly where the money for projects is going. We do not exclusively ask BIPOC people, companies, or funders to support BIPOC works.
SUB-COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

  • The committee recommends that we do the exercises of analyzing staff salaries and organizational budgets for money allocated to BIPOC vs white to know where we should prioritize the need to do the most work. Not specifically for publication, but we have the info if anyone asks, we can decide whether or not to release it. N/A

  • We don't currently do this, and if we ever do a work specifically about Native/Indigenous culture that we don't ask any Indigenous populations to invest in it.