Flux Theatre Ensemble is Now a 501(c)(3)

(Post and photo by August Schulenburg.)

As we prepare for our 10th anniversary year, I’m thrilled to share that Flux Theatre Ensemble is now officially a 501(c)(3) organization! We want to send a special shout-out to the leadership of Heather Cohn in making this happen, along with clutch support from Friend of Flux Jerry Polner and Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.

Now, you might be wondering a few things, like 1) “What does that even mean?” or 2) “Why did you wait so long?” or 3) “What’s for dinner?” Great questions.

What’s a 501(c)(3)? A 501(c)(3) organization has a tax-exempt relationship with the IRS as set forth by the Internal Revenue Code. In the words of the Code, a 501(c)(3) organization “must be organized and operated exclusively for exempt purposes set forth in section 501(c)(3), and none of its earnings may inure to any private shareholder or individual. In addition, it may not be an action organization, i.e., it may not attempt to influence legislation as a substantial part of its activities and it may not participate in any campaign activity for or against political candidates. Organizations described in section 501(c)(3) are commonly referred to as charitable organizations…”

Got all that? In return for meeting these (and other) requirements, Flux receives exemption from federal income tax, as well as the ability to receive tax-deductible donations, bequests, devises, transfers, and gifts.

Wasn’t that already possible under Fractured Atlas? Well, look at you, remembering that Flux was a fiscally-sponsored organization with Fractured Atlas! That relationship did allow us to claim some of the benefits of a 501(c)(3) organization by serving as our fiscal sponsor. However, in order to cover the expenses of that relationship, Fractured Atlas rightfully charges a percentage of donations received. Additionally, most major funders expect organizations to have their own 501(c)(3) before they’ll give anything other than small grants. For these and other reasons, it was time to make the switch.

But don’t worry, we’re not breaking up with the fabulous Fractured Atlas. We’ll continue to use their Artful.ly software as our primary ticketing, donation processing, and CRM program. We hope to look for other collaborative opportunities with them, not only because we love some of their employees, but because their values are so aligned with how Flux works.

Why did you wait so long? It’s true that many theatres acquire their 501(c)(3) earlier in their lifespan, and some do so before they even begin producing. We waited for a couple key reasons:

• Fractured Atlas is awesome (see above), and took care of many of the key reasons for becoming a 501(c)(3).
• As a not-for-profit corporation, Flux is required to have a governance board. The board of directors structure is a much more complex topic than we have time for in this blog post, but as it relates to Flux, a board could be problematic. An a non-hierarchical artist-led ensemble, our governance is baked into our structure. Preventing a different governance process from superseding or overruling our ensemble process will be critical. Additionally, we have a circle of accountability in our Friends of Flux. What will happen when we add a third circle of decision-making to the mix? Reader, we do not know.
• Finally, we didn’t want to grow for the sake of growing. So many theatres define success by their budget size. There’s value in that, particularly in how it correlates with capacity to pay collaborators and execute mission. However, we wanted any growth to be in the service of our community and art, and not the other way around. We can now see clearly why and how our work needs greater resources to have its full impact, and so we feel more confident adopting this move toward becoming an institution.

What’s for dinner? This is perhaps the most important question. If you’re a fan of amazing trilogies that feature lots of Creative Partners and Friends of Flux, then dinner is soon. If you want to catch some of those same Creative Partners in Flux’s next Food:Soul, then you’re in potluck.

But if what you’re really craving is an ensemble slowly but surely growing into its next incarnation…well, in the immortal words of Becky Byers, then that’s what’s for dinner. (Just give us some time to prep the meal.)

(Photo by Isaiah Tanenbaum from our 2013 Flux Annual Retreat.)

Will our future board meetings feature this much Yuengling Lager?
Only time will tell..