Another Senior BM Exec Resigns

This time it’s Propaganda Minister Will Chase, who has worked for BMOrg for the last 13 years.
Says Maid Marian at the BJ:

After 13 productive years working on Burning Man’s technology, art, and communications teams, Will Chase — who has always preferred the job title Minister of Propaganda — has accepted an offer to join Maker Faire as their inaugural Director of Content and Community. Though Will is moving on in his career (to an organization with deep community and philosophical ties with Burning Man, I might add), we know his influence on who we are and what we do will continue to be felt. 

[Source: burningman.org]

Oh great. They get to stop paying him, we still get stuck with the guy.

Will Chase, Burning Man's Minister of Propaganda

Will Chase, Burning Man’s Minister of Propaganda

Will himself says:

Through all of Burning Man’s communications channels (Burningman.org, The Burning Man Journal, the Jackrabbit Speaks, Facebook, Twitter and the ePlaya), my goal has to been to hold a mirror up to this community, sharing the amazing things you do, in hopes of inspiring more people to be their fully-expressed selves — in ways large or small — and to connect with others who’ll fan the flames of their inspiration. And if we manage to light up just one person, I consider it a victory.

[Source: burningman.org]

Read the rest of the announcement here.

So propaganda is a reflection of this community? Meaning, it’s our fault that we get bombarded with it?

What will this mean now for Burning Man 2.0? A new era of honest communications to Burners, free from propaganda and spin? Or a doubling down on the rhetoric and logical fallacies?

Meanwhile, they’re still trying to find people to run the BLM, Ticketing/Vendors/DPW/Merchandise, and Medici fundraising.

What’s it like to work at Burning Man? You can get a picture from some of the comments at Glass Door:

Screenshot 2016-02-12 06.20.28 Screenshot 2016-02-12 06.20.07 Screenshot 2016-02-12 06.19.56 Screenshot 2016-02-12 06.19.45 Screenshot 2016-02-12 06.19.27
Screenshot 2016-02-12 06.18.58Screenshot 2016-02-12 06.23.02

Wanted: Someone To Make The Whole Dream Come True

robin-hoodhigh engagement philanthropy

Remember when BMOrg wanted to become a non-profit, raising funds from Burners to further its mission of spreading Radical Self-Transformation throughout the world?

Well, guess what. It’s still happening. And now, you could be the actual one to make it happen. Yes, one lucky Burner gets to be responsible for manifesting this entire vision of BMOrg, the Borg, Larry & Co, McLarry, and everyone else in the hierarchy of inclusion that is Burning Man 2.0. The rainmaker! The funds taker! The gifting staker!

From Painter Executive Search (emphasis ours):

Burning Man

Director of Philanthropic Engagement

Position Description

 Painter Executive Search is supporting Burning Man in their search for an experienced and entrepreneurial fundraiser to help shape and execute a fundraising strategy that honors Burning Man values and invites the whole community to share and spread Burning Man culture around the globe.

Burning Man Project (Burning Man) is a 501(c)3 public benefit corporation whose mission is to facilitate and extend the culture that has issued from the Burning Man event (AKA Black Rock City) into the larger world. Burning Man is committed to nurturing Black Rock City as the seminal manifestation of the 10 Principles-based culture, while developing a support infrastructure to connect, celebrate and facilitate the sharing of the culture in communities around the world. Based in San Francisco, California, Burning Man employs a diverse staff of creative professionals with extensive knowledge of art, civics, and community building who seek to bring experiences to people in grand, awe-inspiring and joyful ways that lift the human spirit, address social problems and inspire a sense of community, culture and personal engagement.

Burning Man exists and grows from the vibrant and creative contributions of a largely volunteer community. “Burners” who are transformed by their experiences in Black Rock City and embrace the 10-Principles culture, seek to contribute to the social good “off-playa” when they return to their home communities. Burners gift their personal resources in a range of ways, through financial support, labor, creation of artwork, public art, community building, civic action and other forms of participation. It is this gifting culture that fuels the community’s creativity and powers the social transformation which has led to the dissemination of 10 Principles-based work in the world.

The Burning Man organization seeks to be a node in this highly dispersed network by facilitating learning, sharing ideas and technical knowledge, developing resources to seed and foster grassroots work and by celebrating the culture and gifts that flow from it. Burning Man supports this diverse community by awarding grants for art and civic engagement projects, producing interactive art exhibitions and events, offering fresh and unique interactive public art and performance experiences, as well as providing technical, operational or administrative support for efforts to influence social change in local communities. They also share their values and ideas in public speaking engagements and connect leaders, informal groups and like-minded organizations who are working to develop a vibrant, life-enhancing world of civic participation. Burning Man’s community of artists, event participants, and volunteers spans the globe and includes over 60 community produced regional celebrations and gatherings as well as civic engagement work in more than 24 countries.

POSITION SUMMARY

Working in collaboration with the leadership team, the Director of Philanthropic Engagement (Director) will lead the development and execution of a fundraising strategy which celebrates a culture of gifting and extends the opportunities for those who embrace Burning Man’s mission to participate fully in support of that work. Reporting to the CEO, the Director will provide strategic and operational leadership and manage the department staff and programs including annual, major gift and capital campaign initiatives while continuing to nurture and celebrate the unique and vibrant volunteer culture.

This role is highly creative and calls upon an experienced fundraiser to establish sound fundraising practices which embrace 10 Principles-based culture. Deep experience with fundraising mechanics, including clear policies, infrastructure and process development, as well as substantial experience in donor engagement and major gifts is critical. Engaging with donors of a wide range of means, including volunteers whose gifts of time, expertise and passion are essential to the culture will be highly important. Working through ideas and programs that develop a range of opportunities aligned with donors’ and volunteers’ interests and celebrating all contributions with equal enthusiasm is critical for this role.

ORGANIZATIONAL VALUES, HISTORY AND PROGRAM

10 Principles and a Gifting Culture

Burning Man co-founder Larry Harvey wrote the 10 Principles in 2004 as guidelines for the newly-formed regional network. Importantly, they are descriptive rather than prescriptive and are a reflection of the Burning Man community’s ethos and culture as it had organically developed since the event’s inception. Understanding these 10 Principles will be critical in developing a culturally sensitive and effective fundraising program. While these principles rose from the experience of Black Rock City, they define Burning Man culture on and off the playa–how they inform the work of Burning Man continues to be explored and evolved as the work of the community moves off-playa and around the world.

…Burning Man both raises funds for programmatic needs, core initiatives and grantmaking programs, and distributes a range of support grants for arts, civic engagement and training.  Burning Man also highlights and supports other mechanisms that fund and support artists, celebrations or civic efforts—elevating multiple channels for support. Challenges to fundraising methods will arise when philanthropy seeks to influence in ways that are contrary to other Burning Man values such as Decommodification or Radical Inclusion; where contributions can be seen as class-driven, transactional or as a shortcut for personal participation. Maintaining an even playing field, where people are treated and thanked with equal care for their unique contributions–regardless of background or level of personal wealth–are important to members of our community.

…In 2011, they recruited a Board of Directors and formed the nonprofit organization, The Burning Man Project, in a formalized effort to extend the principles, creativity, and culture of Burning Man into the world, year round. The nonprofit received its 501(c)3 status in May 2012. In order to more fully realize the vision of the new nonprofit, the Board of Directors and Burning Man’s leadership developed a strategy of aggregating the programs and organizations into a single entity. This strategy ultimately brought together Black Rock City LLC, the Black Rock Arts Foundation (BRAF) and Burners Without Borders (BWB) under the umbrella of the Burning Man Project nonprofit. Today the Burning Man Project, simply known as Burning Man, is positioned to support these key programs through its focus on three core areas of work; The Event, The Culture and The Network.

In the past, the LLC raised nearly all of its money from ticket sales to the annual event in Nevada, but that alone cannot support the flourishing global expansion of Burning Man culture. In order to seed and support the dreams of inspired Burners year-round, the organization needs to grow charitable contributions from the community to help support this important work.

The mission of Burning Man Arts is to change the paradigm of art from a commodified object to an interactive, participatory, shared experience of creative expression.

In the Fall of 2014, all art initiatives, were joined to create a single, robust program that strives to provide more streamlined services to artists, produce more interactive, community driven art and inspire more civic engagement projects. The Burning Man Arts program supports artists on and off the playa, and is exploring an expanded range of offerings, including increased collaborations and partnerships with like-minded organizations and additional support services for artists, including fiscal sponsorship.

Burning Man Arts provides a range of grants focused on Black Rock City, Global Arts and Civic Arts. This year Burning Man provided more than $1 million in grants to artists. In the previous 13 years, the Black Rock Arts Foundation had funded 149 projects worldwide, providing more than $2,500,000 in grants and support to artists and more than $430,000 through its Grants to Artists program and installed or otherwise supported 38 projects (with direct grants of $770,000) through its Civic Arts program...

DIRECTOR OF PHILANTHROPIC ENGAGEMENT

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Director of Philanthropic Engagement will build a sophisticated and sustainable fundraising program that seamlessly integrates into Burning Man’s programmatic initiatives to advance the organization’s mission. The role focuses on both fundraising program development and relationship building, including identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of contributors to Burning Man from individuals, foundations and companies, public agencies as well as a large number of volunteers including artists, regional leaders and event participants whose creativity and participation is the cultural capital upon which Burning Man is built.

Goals for the Director include establishing a culture of fundraising that invites broad participation in the development of leadership and major gifts and ensures that all gifts are welcomed with a spirit of gratitude. The Director will also create systems and processes that enhance the ability to deepen relationships with donors and volunteers and that effectively acknowledge their contributions in a timely and affirming manner. The Director will be responsible for increasing both the base of individuals and foundations contributing to Burning Man annually, and in deepening the support through effective storytelling, engagement and participation. They will lead the efforts to creating an increasingly healthy and dependable annual fund, as well as prepare the infrastructure for a future capital campaign or special project need.

Specific responsibilities include managing a portfolio of leadership donors and prospects, supervising staff and participating as a member of the leadership team. The department is being constituted by existing staff members from other departments, but the Director will have the opportunity to hire as needed. The current department is envisioned as a Major Gifts Officer, an Individual Gifts Officer, a Fundraising Grants Officer, an Information Systems Development Assistant, a Special (Fundraising) Events Manager, and a Stewardship and Volunteer Appreciation Programs Manager. Aligning the existing fundraising efforts and building understanding and consistency across all fundraising programs will be an important focus for the position.

DUTIES & ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

LEADERSHIP, STRATEGY AND COMMUNICATIONS

  • Support and partner with the CEO, Board members and other key leadership to develop and execute a fundraising strategic plan;
  • Actively work across the organization to set and communicate specific fundraising objectives, strategies and goals in support of the mission and strategic plan;
  • Work with the CEO to engage and activate Burning Man’s Board of Directors, including establishing a Fund Development Committee and supporting, motivating, training Board volunteers in their fundraising efforts;
  • Actively understand, reflect, and promote Burning Man to the public, effectively and joyfully sharing the fundraising opportunities and needs of the community;
  • Engage with volunteers in a manner that affirms their importance and value to Burning Man culture and both facilitates and celebrates their personal contributions of creativity, participation and time;
  • With the CEO and leadership team, steward the strategic vision of the organization, participating in weekly leadership team meetings, communicating priorities and goals, and building a positive team culture that reflects the organizations values;
  • In consultation with others, craft organizational messaging about Burning Man’s programs to communicate and motivate current and prospective donors to strengthen their organizational and philanthropic commitment;
  • Working across the organization, help establish an awareness and a vocabulary for communicating outcomes of Burning Man’s highly diverse and creative work;
  • In coordination with Burning Man Communications, drive development-related content in such publications such as Jack Rabbit Speaks, newsletters, annual reports, fundraising appeals, e-mail, and other communication channels;
  • Engage in positive leadership development within the team to advance Burning Man as a great organization;
  • Play a leadership role in capital campaigns and discussions that ensure the long-term sustainability of Burning Man and its programs.

MANAGEMENT AND PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT

  • Manage the day-to-day responsibilities of executing the development program;
  • Identify, develop, and mentor the development team; promote professional development of the staff and creatively organize them to maximize their effectiveness and clearly define their roles, relationships, and expectations;
  • Collaborate with the Finance Director to develop and implement Burning Man’s financial strategy; oversee the development and monitoring of the annual budget for the department;
  • Oversee research of funding sources and trends, with foresight, to help position Burning Man ahead of major funding changes or trends;
  • Oversee development and execution of all fund development proposals with a long-term relationship-management approach;
  • Monitor donor and fundraising information; regularly provide and present data and analysis to the board and senior leaders, reporting progress and challenges to fundraising efforts;
  • Develop and implement a stewardship program aimed at cultivating deeper ties with donors;
  • Oversee and provide supervision for hands on/engaged experiences, receptions and events;
  • Assist in the creation, publishing and maintenance of process documentation.

INDIVIDUAL FUNDRAISING

  • Manage a portfolio of leadership gift prospects ($25,000 and above) contributing to achievement of the overall fundraising goals for Burning Man;
  • Regularly meet with the CEO to review the fund development prospect pool and devise specific strategies for individual engagement and solicitation.

EXPERIENCE

A successful candidate will likely have:

  • Ability and successful experience in conceptualizing a comprehensive strategy for institutional advancement; possess a deep command of the fund development body of knowledge;
  • Demonstrated success in identifying, cultivating and soliciting individual donors which resulted in a robust pipeline of new relationships and significant increases funding;
  • Experience building and/or significantly growing a sophisticated, complex development function, ideally within a visual arts-related organization or cultural institution;
  • Excellent relationship-building skills and agility to build rapport with internal and external stakeholders around innovative ideas and programs;
  • Able to work effectively with artists, board members, donors of all financial capacities and colleagues across the Burning Man community;
  • Experience fostering deep relationships with volunteers and valuing their contributions of time expertise and passion as equal to any financial contribution;
  • Ability to both motivate and engage volunteer leaders in fund development activities, including making ‘the ask’;
  • Exceptional communication skills; articulate, with proven ability to write effectively and speak persuasively;
  • Superior organizational skills, with a strong sense of detail-orientation and excellent time management skills;
  • Demonstrated success in working with a diverse volunteer leadership; donors and donor prospects; and corporate, community, and government leaders;
  • Demonstrated leadership skills in order to establish and build a finely-tuned fund development department;
  • A bachelor’s degree, preferably a Graduate Degree;
  • Valid Drivers’ License and a clean driving record;
  • Direct familiarity with Burning Man as a result of participating in the annual Black Rock City and/or official Burning Man regional events in other locations;
  • Ability to adjust work schedule seasonally and work away from home (on playa) for up to 10 days during the months of August and September.

ATTRIBUTES

  • Dedicated to principles of behavior and ethics of the Burning Man organization; able to embrace the organization’s evolving mission and the sweep of its vision, and will fit well within a culture of impassioned, driven, creative, and dedicated professionals;
  • Dynamic, highly organized, and strategic individual with a deep understanding of their personal value and a commitment to express that value creatively and with passion;
  • Inspirational, able to bring out the best in others and joyfully approach challenges as opportunities for growth and learning;
  • Ability to think on his or her feet, problem solve, critically think, and remain calm under stress;
  • Friendly, personable demeanor conducive to effectively presenting information and responding to questions from executives, managers, staff, vendors, artists, local community members, participants, BMP board members, and the general public;
  • Ability to prioritize tasks in a fast-paced environment along with the ability to accept interruptions as part of the routine; confidence in managing multiple projects and deadlines;
  • Exercise a keen sense of organizational diplomacy, able to maintain personal integrity and uphold high standards of confidentiality;
  • Committed to building a responsive, efficient, and highly lucrative fundraising program within a dynamic cultural enterprise;
  • Possesses a high degree of emotional intelligence, self-awareness and fortitude.

 

For additional information or to be considered for this role contact:

Nancy Painter

Nancy@painterexecutivesearch.com

(415) 202- 6240 [Source]

If you know anyone who you think might be suitable, please suggest them to Nancy. I can definitely think of a few candidates.

The stakes are high: if this person does a good job, then the entire Burning Man Project vision of the past 30 years could actually be achieved.

Anyone care to venture a guess as to what happened to the last person in this role?

High Engagement Philanthropy: taking it to the next level. $25k and up.

High Engagement Philanthropy: taking it to the next level. $25k and up.

Source: Columbia University

Seems like a positive career trajectory. Source: Columbia University

Donation Tickets: Here To Stay

caravansary ticket 2

A number of readers have brought to our attention BMOrg’s latest job posting. They are looking for someone to “manage” their tickets, despite paying about half a million dollars a year to an external firm for ticketing.

Significantly, in the wording of the ad is this:

Manages Locals, Lifetime, Alumni, & Charitable donation ticket programs. 

Lifetime tickets?

Alumni tickets?

We have heard that discounted tickets are available for Gerlach locals.

“Charitable donation tickets” would be the “VIP Tickets” that were sold to select camps for $650 all year-long, without regard to the event being sold out. The $250 above face value is a donation to the Burning Man Project. If Burners sell tickets above face value, it’s “against Burning Man’s Principles”, if BMOrg does it, it’s “saving the world”.  Now that the chumps and suckers and hucksters are magically the same, and Decommodification has become an ironic prank on the community, maybe it’s OK for Burners to re-sell their tickets at market price.

Perhaps if you donate enough money to their charity, you become one of BMOrg’s Alumni.

Missing from the list of duties? Putting stamps on envelopes and mailing tickets to the 20% of Burners who come from other countries. There is no incentive to shorten the Will Crawl line, which is reminiscent of the way nightclubs like to have long lines at their entrances.

image: Donovan Beeson/Flickr (Creative Commons)

image: Donovan Beeson/Flickr (Creative Commons)

Proficiency in maths is required, which will be helpful given their predecessor accidentally forgot to count $1.3 million of ticket sales a couple of years back.


 

From theresumator.com:

Ticketing Associate

Location: San Francisco, CA

Department: Ticketing

Type: Full Time

Min. Experience: Mid Level

JOB SUMMARY

Burning Man’s Ticketing Associate manages specific ticketing programs throughout the year and is the point person for all outward-facing ticketing communications, including architechting participant support. This role also participates in year-round planning for Box Office operations, and on playa acts as one of two Box Office Co-Operations Managers.

This is a full-time, regular position eligible for benefits in our San Francisco office.
DUTIES & ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Year-round Ticketing Operations:
* Oversees day-to-day participant support including creation of support macros, coordinating with the ticket vendor’s support team, ensuring consistency of messages across all support platforms.

* Maintains accuracy of content in all public-facing channels.

* Monitors and pursues ticket resale activity on the secondary market, including managing a volunteer resale tracking team.

Special Programs:
* Manages Locals, Lifetime, Alumni, & Charitable donation ticket programs.

* Reviews and processes Low Income applications.

* Reviews and processes post-event refund requests.

* Manages interdepartmental BMID process and production and oversees on-playa BMID office operations.

* Assists in creation of all training materials & conducting trainings.

* Acts as Box Office lead for Community Events as needed.

* Manages internal ticket QA process and is responsible for all inventory tracking.

* Responsible for coordinating all internal TRS training and supporting materials.

* Manages internal ticket fulfillment.

* Produces post-event departmental ticket use summaries.

* Manages early on-site staff credentialing & coordinates with the Gerlach Office

* On playa acts as one of two Box Office Co-Operations Managers.

Other:
* Attend meetings as needed.

* Support current ticket policies.

* Assist with research as requested by the Legal team.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

* Bachelor’s degree or higher

* Must be extremely detail-oriented

* Excellent project management skills

* Exceptional customer service skills

* Strong analytical skills

* Ability to work with sensitive information discreetly

* Ability to follow directions accurately and efficiently

* Working knowledge of Salesforce, FileMaker Pro, MS office suite, internet browers, and email clients.

* Comfortable learning new technologies and their applications.

* Experience managing databases

* Confortable with and proficient in math

* Must be adept at prioritizing competing tasks

* Must possess outstanding verbal and written communication skills

* Participant of Burning Man

* Confident & effective working independently

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

* Box Office experience

* experience managing volunteers

* experience creating data-driven infographics

* working knowledge of graphics programs

Burning Man is an equal-opportunity employer.