2 Years Down: Reflections, Commitments, & Goals
This summer in the midst of the first “post-pandemic” DCI season, MAASIN quietly celebrated our two year anniversary. Our lives look very different from when we started MAASIN in the summer of 2020. The "return to normal" has been challenging for us as we figure out how to balance the critical mission of MAASIN with our own personal commitments, such as working with touring ensembles, returning to full-time school and/or work, and seeing loved ones in person again.
Towards the end of the DCI season we apologized for the unplanned full summer hiatus. We had planned to decrease activity over the summer to accommodate for the summer season but this turned into a full hiatus as a result of poor internal communication and unforeseen challenges. Accommodating for the summer season will be one of our greatest challenges moving forward. We have started accommodations with moving the yearly reflection to fall and making some internal changes to key committees for smoother pre-season planning this year. One of these committees is the Whistleblower Support Committee, which has made changes in the hope of increasing capacity and efficiency. They will be releasing an update for everyone detailing this in the coming weeks.
During our reflection we identified things to work on for the next year. We are glad to add one new commitment and many new and refined goals. Commitments reflect our long-term values as an organization while goals are more short-term actions we will strive to complete to reflect our commitments.
Last year our commitments and goals were as follows:
Commitments
Prioritize community education through events such as town halls, discussion circles, workshops, etc..
Critically reflect on the demographics of our core membership, who we serve, and how this affects our handling of issues.
Engage organizations regarding community concerns with the assumption that we all want to create a better culture in the marching arts.
Goals
Developing a library of free educational materials (presentations, infographics, pamphlets, etc.)
Solidifying relationships with ensembles outside of DCI and WGI.
Increasing our social media presence.
Codifying a scholarship donation and distribution system as part of our financial longevity plan.
Recruiting mindfully to ensure the representation of a variety of lived experiences (ensemble type, section, circuit, region, as well as personal identities).
Identifying opportunities for involvement with varying degrees of time commitment.
We reflected on these commitments and goals as a group and discussed where we felt we succeeded or where we need to improve. Our commitments remain largely the same but we are making one addition. We noticed the March With Pride scholarship program is our most popular and wide-reaching program. This summer we also piloted collecting mutual aid for performers in difficult situations and were stunned by the rapid response of the community each time. It is clear to us that mutual aid and financial support are something our community deeply cares about. We are codifying this in our commitments by adding “Facilitate the collection and provision of support funding for marching arts community members.”
The discussion around our goals was a little more complicated. It was not so much about which goals we met or did not meet. Our reflection made it clear it was more about which goals were technically met but still need improvement, were not met all the way, or perhaps were met at one point in time but then fell by the wayside. For example, we increased our social media presence but it was not a consistent increase. We solidified relationships with some organizations outside DCI and WGI but it was not enough to really make a difference. We have recruited more members but unfortunately we are still very white and DCI-heavy in terms of representation. We provide opportunities to be involved with lower time commitments through the Community Partner program but the Community Partner program needs better recruitment and facilitation to function as it is supposed to.
Our fully updated commitments and goals are as follows:
Commitments
Prioritize community education through events such as town halls, discussion circles, workshops, etc..
Critically reflect on the demographics of our core membership, who we serve, and how this affects our handling of issues.
Engage organizations regarding community concerns with the assumption that we all want to create a better culture in the marching arts.
Facilitate the collection and provision of support funding for marching arts community members.
Goals
Directly engage with the community on our research findings by hosting presentations and question periods
Reach out to scholastic ensembles, non-competitive organizations, and organizations outside the United States in an effort to build connections
Create a more efficient workflow system in our Content Creation committee to maintain a consistent social media presence
Consolidate our finances to be able to manage in and outflow of funding for our scholarships and community aid fund
Develop and launch a donation and support request process for our community aid fund
Release regular financial updates for transparency with the community on exactly how donations are used
Hold a monthly info session on MAASIN so any interested community member may engage with Core Membership to learn and ask questions about MAASIN or current projects
Hold monthly Community Partner meetings to collect input for guidance and provide an avenue for community members to discuss and organize
Create a Steering Committee comprised of various demographics within the marching arts community for long-term planning
Thank you for your patience as we took September to re-evaluate and plan for October, November, December, and beyond. Tomorrow begins a new month and the beginning of our fall programming. Check back on our social media regularly for announcements on the Winter 2023 March With Pride scholarship, new events, workshops, and the reopening of recruitment for both Core Membership and Community Partners. We can't wait to bring our plans to life and keep working towards our vision with you.
With love and solidarity,
MAASIN Core Membership