From the Field

2022 Theatre Salary Survey

Theatre Communications Group (TCG) has released the results from its annual salary survey of theatres. The 2022 TCG Salary Survey examines personnel compensation by collecting data from 158 theatres whose annual budgets ranged from $160,000 to $60 million and had an average annual operating expense of $6.1 million. Aggregate salary data is broken down into salaried and nonsalaried positions. Weekly minimum, maximum, average and median salaries, or hourly wages where appropriate, are given for each staff position.

Diversity in the Orchestra Field

The League of American Orchestras has released Racial/Ethnic and Gender Diversity in the Orchestra Field in 2023, a study covering a decade of data that is an update to its 2016 study. Findings from the quantitative and qualitative study suggest that most historically and continuously marginalized groups continue to be underrepresented in the orchestra field, with only small progress being made since 2013/2014. The report breaks down representation—which it suggests does not equate to equity—by role in the orchestra and offers a series of recommendations to accelerate representation and promote equitable and empowered inclusion.

Arts Education Policy and Out-of-School-Time Arts Activities

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison conducted a study to highlight the value of out-of-school-time (OST) arts programs in the creation of inclusive learning environments, especially for vulnerable youth. The focus of this study, targeted toward policymakers, funders, arts program leaders and educators, is on OST arts learning environments as a means to reimagine effective teaching and learning practices. The study resulted in four key policy recommendations: focusing on youth and community assets, moving beyond a program-centric funding and design model, supporting creative professionals, and rethinking assessment systems, which provided insights into increasing educational equity by adopting asset based approaches of OST arts programs. The Wallace Foundation summarized the study in a research brief, Don’t Dictate, Collaborate: Achieving Equity in Arts Education.

Strategic Planning Resources

The Bridgespan Group published How Nonprofits and NGOs Can Get Real Value from Strategic Planning. The article’s authors emphasize that strategic planning is an opportunity for an organization to define success and allocate the time, talent and dollars toward activities to get there. The authors highlight how strategic planning can go wrong, from overburdened lists that lack an overarching goal to visioning that lacks data to help understand needs. The article discusses the various steps associated with strategic planning and showcases the process through two examples.

In addition, Practical Questions Your Board and Team Might Ask about Strategic Planning can help organizations think about the right timing for strategic planning, time needed, the who-what-where-and-when, and equity considerations.

State and Local Government Workforce Trends

Two new surveys from MissionSquare Research Institute describe trends within state and local government workforces. Highlights from the State and Local Workforce 2022 survey include the finding that 53% of surveyed governments hired more full-time employees than in 2021, while nearly 45% found that more employees also quit than in 2021. Governments also saw accelerated retirement dates among employees, with nearly 35% reporting accelerated retirements dates and only 22% reporting postponed retirement dates. The survey finds that nearly 50% of governments report that their racial and ethnic composition is reflective of their community. Additional information is available on recruitment, compensation, retention and workplace culture, state priorities, and projected employment changes.

The second study, Morale, Public Service Motivation, Financial Concerns, and Retention 2022 Survey, suggests that 66% of the more than 1,000 public employees surveyed rate current morale as positive, but 66% also are extremely or very worried about inflation making it hard to keep up with the cost of living. Additionally, 41% of respondents are considering changing jobs in the near future. Additional information is available on employee motivation, retirement savings, morale and job satisfaction, job expectations, and employee retention issues. Both surveys provide useful insights into current workforce trends, and Route Fifty has a short article discussing the research in more depth.

Nonprofits: What Funders Need to Know

In State of Nonprofits 2023: What Funders Need to Know, the Center for Effective Philanthropy researches the health of nonprofits this year. The report explores the relationship between nonprofits and funders, how nonprofits handle current challenges, and the financial health of the sector. Survey results from almost 300 executives suggest that many nonprofits are struggling with staffing challenges even though they are experiencing improved grants processes from funders, and a majority are reporting budget surpluses.