Public Impact Commitment

We use hiring practices that ensure qualified candidates from across the region have a fair chance at open positions. Further, we’re committed to sharing our approaches and best practices in hiring and onboarding with others in the nonprofit arts sector. To achieve these goals, we:

• Include salary and benefit information on all job postings, as well as our commitment to not negotiating salaries.
• Use a variety of recruitment strategies to ensure job openings reach qualified candidates across the entire Midwest.
• Ensure that job postings use plain language to communicate expectations and criteria for evaluating candidates. Emphasize transferable skills over educational requirements.
• Conduct structured interviews with standardized questions, providing questions and approximate time commitments in advance for candidate preparation.
• Involve multiple staff members in interviews, ensuring candidates gain a clear understanding of our organizational culture and staff members have opportunities to build hiring skills.
• Post resources on our website on how to write better job postings, conduct interviews remotely, onboard new hires, and other best practices in hiring.

As an employee-centered organization, we:

• Maintain an office space that is accessible, welcoming, and reflective of our staff and region.
• Offer a remote-first workplace that allows flexibility in work hours and location.
• Create intentional opportunities for staff to build relationships with one another.
• Provide policies and practices, such as the four-day work week, paid family and medical leave, sabbatical, and others that center employee well-being.
• Involve staff in reviewing and updating policies to identify opportunities to further improve our workplace.

We recognize that professional development is essential for career advancement. Therefore, we:

• Provide all staff with access to professional development, on-the job-training to improve technical skills, and opportunities to build leadership skills and serve as leaders in the community.
• Ensure that all supervisors are equipped to mentor staff, providing guidance and support.

We are committed to ensuring that our pay practices are fair to employees. To achieve this goal, we:

• Conduct regular audits to identify and address any disparities in pay between similar positions.
• Use transparent and objective criteria to determine compensation and ensure that staff members understand the basis of their pay.
• Evaluate all pay ranges against market comparisons to ensure competitive wages.

We are committed to fostering an arts environment that is accessible to all communities. To achieve this goal, we:

• Ensure broad representation in decision-making bodies such as grant review panels, program selection committees, and leadership positions.
• Compensate panelists and selection committees fairly.

• Seek input from community stakeholders, grant recipients, and program participants through regular feedback sessions, surveys, and focus groups to inform program development and grantmaking strategies.
• Follow up with stakeholders to continuously improve policies, procedures, and practices.

• Simplify grant application and reporting processes, provide clear guidelines, and ensure that the grantmaking process is accessible and easy to understand for all potential applicants.

• Promote transparency in grantmaking, clearly articulating the selection criteria for funding decisions.

• Share resources and knowledge in advancing access and fairness in the arts sector with organizations, community groups, and funders.
• Use consistent metrics to track progress toward our goals and regularly report on outcomes to stakeholders.

• Maintain strict policies against discrimination, harassment, and microaggressions within the organization and during grantmaking processes.
• Leverage technology to understand of the reach of our programs and services.

We will actively work towards greater financial-based social responsibility and transparency, aligning our financial practices with our mission and values.

• Provide transparent and accessible financial reports that detail how funds are allocated, invested, and utilized, demonstrating a commitment to accountability and fairness.

• Prioritize working with a broad range of vendors and suppliers to support economic access and fairness.

• Develop a comprehensive Investment Policy that clearly outlines our investment objectives, risk tolerance, and ethical guidelines.
• Imbed ethical investing by utilizing environmental, social, and corporate governance management strategies. Prioritize investments that align with our values and mission.

• Maintain guidelines that encourage representation of many perspectives in all marketing materials, including images, videos, and narratives.

• Maintain guidelines for using inclusive, respectful, and non-discriminatory language in all marketing and communication materials.

• Ensure that marketing materials are accessible to all, including those with disabilities, by following accessibility standards (e.g., Web Content Accessibility Guidelines published by the Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium).
• Maintain protocols for recognizing and acknowledging donors that are fair and unbiased, avoiding preferential treatment based on factors like race, gender, or wealth.
• Clearly communicate how funds are raised, allocated, and used to ensure transparency and trust among donors, supporters, and constituent communities.