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At ArtsPool, we believe that the work we do can’t be captured in the term “outsourcing.” To us, there are three major differences between outsourcing and what we call “collective insourcing:”

• We’re a team player. ArtsPool was designed to work closely with our member organizations to help them better understand their businesses. From the outset, our goal is to help our members focus on the important, mission-driven work of their organizations, while partnering with ArtsPool to manage operational tasks, such as payroll, bill payments, and budget updates. We’ve developed a model of collective management, which allows our members to share administrative resources and reduce frictions within our field.
• We know the work. Since our founding, we’ve sought out team members who have extensive knowledge in the arts and the arts nonprofit worlds.
• It’s a cooperative. When you join ArtsPool, you also become a part-owner of the organization. See the question “Who owns ArtsPool?” below for details on our governance structures.

ArtsPool provides its members with easy access to diligently prepared data, which allows members to focus on making informed decisions about their business. Instead of spending time preparing data for analysis – and often shortchanging analysis for lack of time – members can more fully interact with their data. Frequent engagement with strong data empowers members to respond to issues and manage their business more quickly and proactively, which allows them to focus their energy on mission-driven work.

For our Core Services, we provide each member with a customized quote for a flat monthly fee tailored to their organization’s budget size and operational complexity. These monthly fees include an annual inflation adjustment and are reviewed across the entire membership every two years to ensure that fees remain affordable and aligned with ArtsPool’s operational overhead and the staff time required to serve each member. Software costs incurred on behalf of members are reimbursed to ArtsPool on a monthly basis based on actual usage. For our consulting work, we charge a flat-fee based on the specific scope of the project.

ArtsPool is co-owned by the nonprofits that it serves and by its workers. Ownership is not represented in a financial stake or a financial liability, but through governance rights and responsibilities. ArtsPool’s governance process is embodied by its Steering Committee, which comprises six representatives elected from among the organizational members (the members paying ArtsPool for services) and two representatives elected from among the employee members of ArtsPool (employees who have been at ArtsPool for more than a year). Steering Committee meetings are open for both organizational and employee members to attend, though only elected representatives may cast votes on matters being voted on by the Committee.

ArtsPool is committed to protecting its members, employees, partners, and the company from illegal or damaging actions by individuals, either knowingly or unknowingly. We approach security as a team effort involving the participation and support of every ArtsPool employee, affiliate, or member who deals with information and/or information systems. Every ArtsPool employee, contractor, and member is expected to adhere to strict security standards as it relates to equipment, networks, passwords, documents, financial information, donor data, employee data, and other personally identifiable information. Wherever possible we embrace the use of security best practices such as secure socket layer network connections (a.k.a SSL or TLS), two-factor authentication, encryption, anti-malware software, and random, unique passwords stored in a secure, encrypted password management system. ArtsPool employees receive training in security best practices each year and the company conducts an annual security audit of its systems and practices. When selecting third-party tools and partners, ArtsPool gives a high level of consideration to their security protocols. Security protocols and functionality that are prioritized in this decision include:

• Compliance with the Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) No. 16, Reporting on Controls at a Service Organization created by the Auditing Standards
• Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
• Availability of two-factor authentication
• Encryption and/or obfuscation of personally identifiable information
• Permissions-based access
• Use of Secure Socket Layer (SSL)/Transport Layer Security(TLS) certificates for secure web access
• Notification of unusual access or activity

ArtsPool is built on a partnership and clear communication between members and staff. We expect our members to: retain management and control of their company, continue to make decisions about their company, keep the lines of communication open, and partner with ArtsPool to share information that helps us provide correct, up-to-date data.

If you’re interested in exploring ArtsPool membership please fill out our contact form and we will follow up with you to schedule a phone call.