Click here if you want to start by reading from Part 1 of this blog on Teaching From Home.
Teaching From Home
A Very Candid Account of the PROS and CONS
PART 2: The Particularities of Teaching for a Nonprofit
It was surprisingly interesting to both teach at and serve on the board of a nonprofit academy. I learned that board members tend to be caring and passionate members of the community, willing to go well beyond the extra mile for the benefit of the students. It was an inspiring experience. Yet, I learned that the pros and cons are much the same as working for a for-profit academy, with a few additional peculiarities:
PROS
At nonprofit academies, there is often a built-in support system and a fantastic group of caring individuals to help establish scholarship funds for needy students and to help raise funds from the community.
The board can be a powerhouse when it comes to all administration and management issues, from finding a cleaning crew to keeping a savings fund and maintaining the accounting. It’s like having a team of professionals willing to freely help you manage your teaching studio.
CONS
Often, the members of the board are not musicians themselves and may not have any background in teaching. Yet, they are responsible for hiring faculty, preparing recitals, marketing, and making administrative decisions. Not all faculty members have a vote on the board.
A nonprofit academy belongs to all, and also to no one. Therefore, it is likely that only a few of the teachers will assume administrative and cleaning responsibilities, while the other ones simply show up to teach their lessons. Since the assets don’t belong to any one in particular, it is hard to find someone concerned enough to take care of them. After experiencing this situation for a while, I couldn’t help but question why I was not just teaching in my own studio.
The paperwork can be much, much more complicated than anticipated! When I taught at a nonprofit, it took an accountant and consultations with a lawyer to get us through many of the forms and needed procedures. This can be quite an intimidating undertaking if the topic of managing a nonprofit is new to you.
Simple decisions often have to be approved by the board. Proceeding through daily routine tasks or making big changes can feel cumbersome or impossible. You have no control over the location and the possibility of sharing studio space. Conclusion: This is an option for a more experienced teacher, and it can be a good one if you have a group of colleagues with a similar vision, willing to invest themselves in the project with you and share equal responsibilities. You would have to educate yourself regarding all the regulations for a nonprofit and make sure that you have a reliable group of people you can consult or hire for different tasks. It is also a great format if one of your core aspirations as a teacher is to be able to offer scholarships and programs for children and communities in need of assistance and you feel a deep calling to benefit your town through involvement in the arts.
Click here if you want to read a different segment of this blog post on Teaching From Home:
Part 1: Teaching at an Academy
Part 3: Establishing Your Studio Within a Church
Part 4: Renting Your Own Space to Teach
Part 5: Teaching From a Home Studio