Call for Applications: SOAK Event Producer Shadow Program
We are starting the process to identify potential candidates who might be interested in becoming a SOAK*2020 Event Producer. While the full SOAK*2020 Producer position description and application process has not been announced quite yet, we want to invite those in the community who are already interested in the position to learn more about what the job entails during the current event cycle.
We understand that event production may seem complicated or intimidating, but this program lets potential candidates see "under the hood" during SOAK*2019 in order to help you decide if the position might be a good fit. Selected applicants will spend time "shadowing" one or more Producers before, during and after the event for a first-hand look at the job. Dates and times will be communicated in advance.
*If you think you might have what it takes to produce SOAK*, please write two thoughtful paragraphs about why you would be a great candidate for the SOAK*2019 Producer Shadow Program.
To apply, please submit your paragraphs to programs@precipitationnw.org no later than Wednesday, May 15, 2019.
All submissions will be reviewed, and all applicants will be notified as to whether or not they have been selected. Participation in this program is exploratory (for your benefit as well as ours), and doesn't equate to an application for the open position or a guarantee that the position will be offered to you. Persons selected for the program will be sent a schedule and expectations, and can then either accept or decline the opportunity.
Please contact programs@precipitationnw.org with any questions about this program or the role.
Call for Applicants: BurnOut 2019 Producer
Do you love throwing a great party? Are you passionate about the Portland burner community? If so, the Precipitation Northwest Board of Directors wants YOU to apply for the volunteer position of Burn Out 2019 Producer!
Event Overview: BurnOut is the officially sanctioned post-Burning Man Decompression event for Portland, Oregon and the surrounding areas. This event brings the principles and energy from Black Rock City to our region. It is meant to give local burners in the Portland area an opportunity to celebrate our community and culture, while providing a creative and interactive space for them to network and build connections with other like-minded people in our region. The first official Portland Decompression was held in 2004, and has taken place nearly every year ever since. It is 100% volunteer operated.
Burn Out 2019 Sneak Peek: New this year, the Burning Man Project has encouraged Precipitation Northwest to collaborate with the International Sculpture Festival as a way to attract new artists and participants to our event, while also exploring a new way to fulfill our mission to bring more participatory art to the larger Portland community. The board is excited to explore this opportunity! The 2019 one-night event will be held on Saturday, October 12th at the North Warehouse.
Burn Out 2019 Producer Position Summary: Help your fellow community members connect with each other through art, music, and a communal experience. This is a wonderful platform to give a gift back to your community. While event producers are responsible for managing all aspects of the event, this position will be directly supported by the Precipitation Northwest Board, our three Burning Man Regional Contacts (RCs), and past event producers.
Producers will work under the direction of PNW and RCs to…
Plan, oversee, and produce the Burn Out 2019 event
Hire, manage, and work with volunteer department leads (including attending & leading production team meetings as needed)
Oversee and manage overall event budget
Act as point of contact and reference for event vendors
The BurnOut 2019 Producer will work closely with a Precipitation NW Event Liaison (aka main point of contact on the board) to make sure the event is a success.
Click here to view the full position description and details.
Time Commitment: Burn Out is coming up fast - you’ll need to be ready to hit the ground running starting in mid-June. Based on input from past producers, here’s an estimate of the time involvement for this role:
6 months to 3 months prior to the event: up to 15 hours per week
3 months to 2 weeks prior to the event: up to 25 hours per week
1 week prior to the event: up to 30 hours per week
During event: on call 24 hours & stays until last person is out or other arrangements have been made with LNT (Leave No Trace) team
To Apply: Please read the full position description before applying. Then please send your resume, 2-3 references, and a cover letter outlining your desire and experience for the Burn Out 2019 Producer role to programs@precipitationnw.org. The deadline to apply is midnight on Sunday, June 2, 2019.
After applications have been reviewed, qualified candidates will be contacted for in-person interviews with the Precipitation Northwest Board. Our goal is to have this position filled by June 13.
Please contact programs@precipitationnw.org with any questions.
Post-Event Report: TownHall 2019
The 2019 Burning Man Portland Townhall event was held on Saturday, February 16 at the TaborSpace Dining Space & Annex. This annual event is sponsored by Precipitation Northwest and organized by Portland's three Regional Contacts (RCs) as part of their volunteer work for the national Burning Man Project (aka BMORG). This event is a way for RCs to share information about the how, what, where, when, and why of Nevada’s Burning Man event, culture, and community. It is also a way for local burners (or those interested in learning more about us!) to meet with others in the community, learn more about local happenings, and get information about the annual regional event, SOAK.
This year's event was was attended by community members both in-person and online via live stream.
The day started off with a social potluck (new this year!) which featured an informal speaker series where theme camps and artists could share about their projects. Break out sessions followed the potluck.
Next was the RC presentation, which included a Q&A and a presentation on topics related to the larger Burning Man culture and Burning Man 2019 in August.
Precipitation Northwest presented next, sharing about the following:
A general overview of the board’s structure
How the board functions internally and gets things done
How the Board is involved with BurnOut and SOAK Producers
How the board works with Regional Contacts (RCs)
Who the new 2019 board members are (welcome Sarah, Dale, and Danielle!)
A brief overview of board finances
A brief overview of business responsibilities as a 501c3
In addition to the presentation, the board also had a short Q&A session to answer questions from the community.
The final session of the day was presented by SOAK*2019 Event Producers (Honeybee, Pablovex, and HugBoss), who did a fantastic job providing information and updates about this year's regional event. This year’s theme is Hive Mind, and will take place May 23-27 in Tygh Valley. Find out more by visiting the SOAK*2019 website or checking the SOAK*2019 Facebook event page.
The board is happy to sponsor this annual event and looks forward to participating next year. This event is not only fun, but it is an important opportunity to improve communication, increase transparency, and foster collaboration with our community about the work we do. We welcome and appreciate those who attend, participate, and provide feedback and support to us at these and other events.
Thank you to Purple Communications for their professional ASL interpretation services. We are glad to have their help to continue to improve accessibility for our beloved and diverse community!
Finally, a special thanks to our three RCs PornStar, Ice Queen, and Tank Girl for organizing the schedule of events. We are so grateful for their continued support of Precipitation Northwest and for their dedication to helping our shared burner community grow and thrive.
Click here to see the full 2019 Burning Man Townhall presentation.
Post-Event Report: SOAK*2019 Leads Retreat
Last weekend (February 8-10), the Precipitation Northwest board attended the annual SOAK Leads Retreat. This event happens every year and is considered the official kickoff for the year’s SOAK event.
Organized by the SOAK Producers, this retreat has traditionally been attended by all of the SOAK Department Leads, as well as the RCs. Last year (2018), the Precipitation Northwest Board was invited to attend for a few hours to share updates and discuss things like event finances. Following last year’s event, Leads and Producers decided to invite the Precipitation Northwest board to stay and participate in the whole weekend starting in 2019.
The Leads Retreat is a chance for this year’s Producers, Department Leads, and the Precipitation Northwest Board to gather and prepare for the upcoming event and plan the weeks of hard work ahead.
This year’s retreat was held at Mount Hood Kiwanis Camp, and was attended by 6 of the 7 Precipitation NW board members, all 3 SOAK*2019 Producers, and 36 of the 38 Leads. Tzara, one of the three Portland RCs, also attended.
Here’s an overview of the agenda for the weekend. This agenda is set by the Producers, designed to orient new and returning leads about the upcoming year.
Friday arrival & overnight
Saturday presentations & breakout sessions (9am-6:30pm)
Sunday presentations (9am-10:30am)
In addition to discussing things like resources and budgets, the day also included time for each department to review 2018’s After Burn Reports (ABRs), which are reports written by last year’s leads that summarize important learnings and recommendations for how to improve over last year.
The Precipitation Northwest board presented 2 different sessions - one on Saturday morning about their organization, recent updates and developments, and a chance to address some questions that came up from (or since) last year’s event. The second session was on Saturday afternoon, and was all about finances --- specifically about how the Producers and Department Leads work together to propose both individual department budgets AND an overall event budget request to the board, which the board then reviews and approves.
In addition to a wide range of important event production discussions, there were two sessions on Saturday that the board was particularly excited about. First, the Producers prepared a short history lesson about the Portland burner scene and the precursors to what we now know as SOAK. This was a wonderful opportunity for everyone to hear about the legacy and history of our vibrant Burner community!
The second session of note was an open discussion with the Leads about their thoughts about the future of SOAK. This rich and passionate conversation gave all in attendance (board, Producers, Leads, and RCs) a chance to share their ideas and dreams for not only the SOAK event, but also for the broader Portland burner community. The board would like to thank all those who shared their thoughtful and creative ideas - this sort of feedback is extremely helpful when considering how they can continue to serve the community.
A special thanks to KosherBacon who volunteered his time to prepare and organize meals for the team over the entire weekend, and RC Tzara who joined us for the weekend to share ideas and wisdom!
Overall, Precipitation Northwest left the weekend inspired by and grateful for the hard work and dedication displayed by everyone who help makes SOAK happen, and deeply appreciates the opportunity to be working alongside such passionate and dedicated volunteers!
Post-Event Report: Annual General Meeting
On Sunday, 1/20/19, Board of Precipitation Northwest held its first Annual General Meeting (AGM). The AGM was held from 4pm-6pm at the Burner Barn and was also broadcast online via Zoom link. The event was promoted on Precipitation Northwest’s website, on their Facebook page, and also on the Portland Burners Facebook page.
In addition to all 7 of the current Board members and the Q&A moderator, there were approximately 15 people who attended the meeting in person, with an additional 5 people joining online.
The full presentation is available here, but in summary, the Board spent 1 hour presenting on the following topics:
A general overview of the structure of the Board and how the Board functions
Introductions of 3 new Board members who joined starting January 1 (Sarah, Dale, and Danielle)
A brief overview of financial and business responsibilities as a 501c3 nonprofit
How the the Board interacts with the production teams of Precipitation Northwest events (namely SOAK and BurnOut)
How the Board interacts with SOAK LLC
How the Board interacts with Portland’s Regional Contacts (RCs), who are the Burning Man Organization’s (BMORG’s) appointed volunteers (Click here to learn more about the BMORg’s RC program and about the RC selection criteria)
Known issues, concerns, and questions that about the organization
In addition to the above topics, there was a moderated 45 minute Q&A session that was facilitated by Sarah Nordbye Brice. Attendees online and in-person were invited to write down questions for the Board during the session. These questions were collected and reviewed during a break, and as many questions as possible were answered in the time allotted.
The meeting was a success, and the Board plans to hold these more frequently (at least 1x a year, if not more!) to allow for more opportunities for the community to address concerns, ask questions, share ideas, and give feedback about their ongoing work.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to join, and for the thoughtful and passionate feedback that was shared!
The Board sees this AGM event, and the upcoming Town Hall event on February 16, as important opportunities to continue to improve communication, increase transparency, and foster collaboration with the community about the work they do.
A special thanks to our Q&A session moderator Sarah Nordbye Brice, and the Burner Barn Manager KosherBacon for helping us set up!
Board Personnel Update
Happy New Year to our beloved community! We have two updates to share with you.
Welcome to Our New Board Members: Danielle, Sarah, and Dale
For the last two months, we have been in the process of recruiting new members to join our all-volunteer Board of Directors. Adrian, Harry, Ryan, and Amelia composed our recruitment committee and interviewed several qualified candidates in December 2018.
We are thrilled to welcome three new members to our Board starting in 2019: Danielle Parks, Sarah Honeycutt, and Dale Lucht. All three will serve at minimum one 3-year term, lasting from January 2019 through December 2021.
Sarah, Dale, and Danielle are excited to get started and get to know more local Burners in their new role - click here to read their bios! You can also meet them, as well as our other board members (Ryan, Ariel, Harry, and Adrian) at our upcoming Precipitation Northwest General Meeting on Sunday, January 20th or at Burning Man Portland Town Hall on Saturday, February 19th.
Retiring Board Members: Amelia & Becca
At the end of every board member’s initial 3-year term, each member can choose whether they want to continue to volunteer and serve on the board or if they are ready to retire.
After serving productive 3-year terms, both Becca and Amelia have both chosen to retire as of December 2018. Amelia served as Precipitation Northwest's inaugural board President in 2016 and 2017, and served on the Development and Finance Committees. Becca was our Board President in 2018 and participated in the Programs Committee, and also served as the Board's event liaison to our volunteer Producers for both SOAK and BurnOut. We will miss both Becca and Amelia, and are grateful for their dedicated contributions over the years!
Upcoming Event: Precipitation Northwest General Meeting
In response to recent Facebook conversations, questions from the community, and an ongoing effort for us to increase transparency, communication, and understanding about what Precipitation Northwest actually does, we have decided to host a public event on January 20th at the Burner Barn.
This info session / meeting / event will be moderated, and will be an opportunity for us to…
Talk about the Board’s structure and operations
Introduce the community to our incoming and current board members
Answer questions from the community about the organization and what it does
This event is free and open to the public, and will be held at the Burner Barn (6425 SE Lambert St., Portland, OR.) Please note that the meeting room is up a flight of stairs and is unfortunately not wheelchair accessible.
For those who cannot attend in person, we will post a link for you to listen in remotely on our Facebook event page.
Seeking Qualified Board Members
The Board supports the work of Precipitation Northwest and provides leadership, oversight, and strategic governance to the organization and greater community. Board members currently oversee certain programs and projects within the community. The board does not produce events or manage general operations, but have important legal and fiduciary responsibility for Precipitation Northwest. Board members have the opportunity to:
Develop and implement Precipitation Northwest’s strategic plan.
Review the outcomes of projects produced by PNW and evaluate their impact towards the organization's mission.
Review agendas and supporting materials prior to board and committee meetings.
Approve Precipitation Northwest’s annual budget, auditing reports, and material business decisions; keeping informed of and meeting all legal and fiduciary responsibilities.
Assist the board chair in identifying and recruiting other Board Members.
Partnering with other board members to ensure that board resolutions are carried out.
Serving on committees or task forces and taking on special assignments.
Representing PNW to stakeholders and acting as an ambassador for the organization.
Ensuring Precipitation Northwest’s commitment to a diverse board and staff that reflects the communities that Precipitation Northwest serves
QUALIFICATIONS
Ideal candidates will have the following qualifications:
A commitment to and understanding of the mission of Precipitation Northwest and the diversity of the community.
Extensive professional experience with executive leadership in business, government, philanthropy, or the nonprofit sector.
Specific experience with non-profit accounting and legal support, fundraising, program development, human resources and volunteer management.
Knowledge of how to internet, including Google Drive and other productivity apps.
Commitment to a minimum term of 3 years.
An affinity for persuading, convening, facilitating, and building consensus among diverse individuals.
Personal qualities of integrity and credibility.
Engagement with Precipitation Northwest activities and events.
Must play well with others.
Must not serve as either a SOAK or BurnOut Producer or Lead during their term on the board
Time Commitment: 8 to 20 hours per month. Minimum: 2 hours monthly for board meetings, plus about 1-2 hours a week for to-dos, emails, etc. At busy times, you can expect up to 20 hours a month depending on how many committees you are on, if you are an officer, and any outside events or trainings.
SERVICE ON PRECIPITATION NORTHWEST’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS IS WITHOUT REMUNERATION, EXCEPT FOR ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT, TRAVEL, AND ACCOMMODATION COSTS IN RELATION TO BOARD MEMBERS’ DUTIES.
STANDARDS OF CONDUCT
Under the Oregon Revised Statute for nonprofits, Chapter 65, each board member must meet certain standards of conduct. These standards are typically described as Duty of Care, Duty of Loyalty, and Duty of Obedience. For additional information please see ORS Ch. 65.
INTERESTED?
Applications and nominations will be accepted for consideration through November 18, 2018. To apply or nominate someone, please email Board@precipitationnw.org.
For applications, please include your resume or CV, cover letter, and three professional references with the Subject line “Board Recruitment.”
For nominations, please include the person’s full name and an email address to contact them with the Subject line “Board Nomination.”