The African American Shakespeare Company Spring 2012

About Me:

 

My name is Kaine Kenerly and I am a fourth year student at USF, majoring in Accounting. This is my second semester in the PSIP program and I am working with executive director, Sherri Young, at San Francisco’s very own African-American Shakespeare Company.

 

Introduction:

 

Thank you for visiting the Fall 2011 African-American Shakespeare Company blog. Throughout the course of this semester, I will be working with the theater company’s executive director, and posting my experiences on this page. My role this semester will be to assist in an array of tasks relating to business development and accounting.

 

About the Organization:

 

The African-American Shakespeare Company was established in 1994 by professional theater artists from the American Conservatory Theatre as an alternative answer to the “Color Blind Casting” initiative that began in the early 90s. The company’s mission is to provide an opportunity and a place for minority actors to hone their skills and talent in mastering some of the world’s greatest classical roles; and to open the realm of classic theatre to a diverse audience who have been alienated from discovering these time-favored works in a style that reaches, speaks, and embraces their cultural aesthetic and identity.

 

The AASC, founded by the devoted executive director Sherri Young, is now in its fifteenth season and has produced over 30 productions, toured to 85 schools, and reached over 90,000 patrons. Some of the companies most successful productions include: a hip-hop version of Macbeth, Othello set in a law office with an African-American Iago, a gospel version of Antigone, and the seasonal fan favorite AASC adaption of Cinderella. All of the companies productions are geared to re-“represent” these classical works in a different cultural context, while maintaining the integrity of the language.

 

The AASC is currently on a path of exponential growth after a series of critically acclaimed productions and the addition of a new artistic director. Peter L. Callender, an internationally renowned actor and Juilliard graduate, is entering his second season as artistic director of the AASC and is committed to enhancing and carrying forward the core vision set forth by Sherri Young.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring 2012 Projects

 

Major Projects:

Development/Fundraising Projects:

After researching and learning about how to write effective fundraising appeals last semester, this semester my focus is on finalizing the letter I wrote and putting them to use. As suggested in the text I read last semester, How to Write Successful Fundraising Letters, circulating fundraising appeal drafts within the company prior to sending them to your supporters is a great value adding process. So this is precisely what I did early on in the semester. Now with the feedback from the executive director, artistic director, other interns, and the company’s literary advisory, my collection of appeals have become much more concise and accessible.

 

Now that my written works have become more sophisticated and proper, I began thinking about more ways in which we could increase the effectiveness of the fundraising process. When brainstorming what the company’s supporters might want to read in an appeal, l pointed out how much easier it would be to appeal to the supporters if we actually knew what their perspective was. That’s when l suggested the idea of surveying reoccurring supporters of the company in order to gain more insight behind why they support the company. Within one of the company’s fundraising systems, I developed a short (6 question) survey highlighting key points that will help us gain a better understanding of what makes these supporters want to donate and what deters them from doing so.

 

 

Accounting/Bookkeeping:

As this is my second semester interning with the African-American Shakespeare Company, my role has grown and l have taken on more responsibility. This heightened level of responsibility has allowed me to take charge of finance and accounting tasks that are more relevant to my major and career.

 

The first task I took on was something completely new and challenging to me, but possible due to my background in accounting and auditing. Because the company had no official document or even unwritten procedures for accounting or internal control processes, Sherri requested that l created such a document.  So l leveraged example accounting policies and procedures manuals from a couple not-for-profit help websites and began crafting an original manual for the AASC. This document established a framework that will help the company grow in a more business oriented manner and includes: a detailed breakdown of the responsibilities of each staff member, internal control procedures for all cash inflow and outflow activities, and an overall more conservative approach to separation of duties and check and balances.

 

Another task I have taken over is managing the company’s budgets. Budgets are kept for each seasonal production and for each fiscal year. Prior to the start of a production, l sit down with Sherri, and go over all the projected revenues and expenses. As production ramps up and performances approach, l update these budgets by inputting actual revenues and expenses. The differences are tracked and the actual figures are leveraged in the future. The annual budgets work the same way, rather instead of inputting individual values, the projected and actual amounts a populated from the totals listed on each production budget.

 

The final larger task l have taken on, is managing the company’s QuickBooks file. This is a task that took hours away from the executive director and prevented her from spending the necessary time on more pressing tasks, such as grant applications. On a daily basis, l work within the company file, completing tasks such as: recording bills and invoices, recording deposits, recording sales, recording expenses, adding vendors and customers, reconciling bank statements, and generating reports. This has been a very enjoyable task for me, as it relates to area of study, and is a valuable skill to have due to how widely used this software is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekly Projects:

Week 1 & 2:

Tasks –

• Researching how to create an accounting policies and procedures manual
• Lynda.com tutorials on how to operate Intuit QuickBooks
• Manage company transactions in QuickBooks

Developed Deliverables –

• AASC Accounting Policies and Procedures: Internal Controls
• Updated Board Member Contributution Forms

 

Week 3 & 4 –

Tasks –

• Researched acting instruction programs and rates
• Bank statement reconciliation
• Manage company transactions in QuickBooks
• Read first half of Xtigone script

 

Developed Deliverables –

• Acting class matrix
• Xtigone plot snippet
• Volunteer appeal

 

Week 5 & 6 –

Tasks –

• Updated 2011 Budgets
• Initiated 2012 Program Budgets
• Initiated 2012 Season Budget
• Manage company transactions in QuickBooks
• Assisted in performance night operations

Developed Deliverables –

• Independent Donor Appeal Letter
• Co-Sponsorship Appeal Letter

 

Week 7 & 8 –

Tasks –

• Bank statement reconciliations
• Manage company transactions in Quickbooks
• Assisted in performance night operations
• Counting and recording cash and checks received from performances

Developed Deliverables –

• Legacy Gift Appeal Letter
• Directors Production Questionnaire
• Company supporters survey