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Best Practices & Financial Accountability
Creative Washtenaw is committed to following and complying with nonprofit best practices. We regularly update our policies, including by-laws, board responsibilities, financial procedures, policies, communications and risk management.
Creative Washtenaw is adamant about following best practices in fiscal oversight and developed its Financial Policies & Procedures to guide the board and staff. Creative Washtenaw's full board receives financial reports (balance sheet, profit and loss statement and cash flow projection) at each of its meetings. A Financial Audit or Review is conducted and the board reviews, adjusts and recommends the it and IRS 990 for adoption (documents are made public). The business manager is responsible for financial record-keeping.
Creative Washtenaw - What's in a name?
To best reflect the geographic region and entirety of the arts + creative industries it serves, Creative Washtenaw was adopted as the name of this organization in 2021. Find name change documents here.
Policies & Procedures
Legal & Annual Filings
Planning process, desired outcome for programming and evaluation
Creative Washtenaw actively engages the arts and creative sector, as well as the broader community, in identifying, planning and evaluating needed projects and services. Whether managed solely by Creative Washtenaw or involving partners, qualitative and quantitative goals are set to measure the success and effectiveness of each initiative. Assessment and evaluation procedures unique to each project are decided during the development phase. Major projects often include a pilot phase to identify opportunities and challenges in order to make modifications to ensure improvement during the next phase. Frequently the public is included in the evaluation process through online surveys or focus groups that provide important feedback and measure public opinion.
Evaluation examples:
Promotion and marketing
Creative Washtenaw is adept in using social and traditional marketing strategies to promote the programs and services that it and its members offer to media, public, cultural institutions, visitor bureaus, chambers of commerce and government agencies. Creative Washtenaw's Communications and Style Guide includes style guides and communication guidelines. Every communications project begins with the team meeting to understand the goals of the project, the targeted audience, the partners and sponsors involved and how success will be measured.