The State of Our Union Is Strong
Highlights from the President's Annual Report on December 2, 2010
Membership - increased by 18%
Member participation - averaging 87%
Member retention - 93.3%
Music Program - Seven new songs were learned in 2010. The chorus now maintains an active repertoire of 24 songs.
Music Team - The team was expanded to include Ric Domenico and Sloan Yarborough as assistant directors. In addition, Ric Domenico, Sloan Yarborough, Doug Morrison, and Bruce Cokeroft were added as section leaders. Harlan Wilson was tapped to be our in-house performance coach.
Fall/Holiday Concerts - The Saturday night concert was a sell-out. Less than 23 tickets were unsold from the matinee. People from 36 cities in eight states purchased tickets. 97 people attended the cast party.
The website - Major redesign completed this year; Site now offers 35 pages of content; Traffic reached 10,000 visitors earlier this year. Some 500 people visit the site each month.
Fund Development - In addition revenue from member dues and public performances, this year, revenue sources were expanded to include events, merchandising, advertising, in-kind sponsorships, and individual donations.
Board Governance - The board met 12 times and expanded from five to six members. New policies were approved, and a few changes were made to our bylaws. A member Code of Ethics was adopted. Refinements were made to our vision statement and new elements of our vision were adopted.
Budget - The chorus achieved the annual budget for all of 2010 by the end of October.
Recordings - Our new CD turned out great and is very representative of the high standards in artistry and musicality on which this organization was founded.
Costuming - We introduced both informal and dress costumes in 2010 and now have no less than three possible costume configurations.
Performance Standards - Our levels of artistry and musicality are at an all-time high.
Social activities - After adding a Vice-President of Fun,the members were treated to two different social events this year.
New Rehearsal Venue - We were blessed to move to Whitworth Memorial Baptist Church on March 18 of this year.
Member Recognition - In addition to honoring our member of the year, a new award for Rookie of the Year was added to our recognition program. In addition, those members with 90%+ attendance at chorus events, and to the member with the best attendance for the year will also be recognized.
Mailing List - The chorus mailing list increased from a dozen to over 1500 contacts.
Videography- Dove award-winning videographer Carl Diebold captured high definition footage of our Saturday evening concert. Our hope is to also utilize this footage for promotional purposes and possibly yield a quality DVD to bolster our merchandising efforts.
Social Media - Our Facebook fan base has grown from 500 to over 1000 people around the world.
Protecting our Brand - Leadership works diligently to make sure that everything we do, both on and off the stage helps to cultivate a brand that is synonymous with excellence in choral singing, vision, and class.
Advertising - YTD,social media advertising has yielded roughly 4 million ad impressions, 1600 visits to our website, generating 33% of our membership inquiries, 20% of our guests, and 50% of our new members.
Leadership Development - Todd Wilson completed over 36 hours of training this year in the areas of fundraising and organizational management.
Alliances - Nashville Singers became a member of the Center for Nonprofit Management this year, an organization that provides guidance and resources for nonprofit leaders.
Community Service - Nashville Singers ensembles made over a dozen performances in the community. Members donated a combined 2000 hours annually to support our mission.
Please work on the nine songs that we will be performing with the community chorus that is backing up Erica Lane on December 21st.
