Compliance and other services

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Compliance Toolkit

What ArtsPool staff does

We will keep track of your compliance requirements through our Compliance Toolkit and work with you to improve your compliance health on a regular basis.

What member staff does

You have access to view your compliance requirements and status at any time through the Compliance Toolkit, though we handle the work of updating the Toolkit on your behalf.

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Templates, Google Drive

What ArtsPool staff does

We will keep digital files of your corporate policies (Conflict of Interest, Records Retention, Fiscal Controls, etc.) and employment policies (nondiscrimination, anti-harassment, etc.) and provide you with templates for many common policies upon request. We also provide a template for tracking the adoption and update status of various required policies, recommend an adoption timeline, and monitor it throughout the year. You will share access to these files at all times.

What member staff does

We do not enforce policies or manage their adoption, so you will need to provide us with final Board-approved versions of your policies so that we can keep up-to-date records and better assist you in managing your compliance. Please note that it is a best practice to have your policies reviewed annually by a lawyer or knowledgeable Board member and annually reapproved by your Board.

If you have a question about your policies, we'll try to help you answer it and recommend further expertise as needed, but the content of policies should be determined in consultation with your Board.

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Google Drive, the ArtsPool app

What ArtsPool staff does

We can assist with any forms or documents which do not require legal or accounting advice and can recommend legal and accounting contacts. We currently only provide this support for Federal and New York State requirements, though we can process payroll in all 50 U.S. states. Any non-Federal requirements of jurisdictions outside of New York State (e.g. registrations for doing business or hiring employees in other states, sales tax filings, etc) will require separate support outside of ArtsPool.

What member staff does

You are responsible for working with a lawyer or accountant on any Federal or NY State filings that require professional advice, as well as for any non-Federal registrations or filings in jurisdictions outside of NY State.

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Not applicable

What ArtsPool staff does

We do not provide any legal services or advice, but we are happy to recommend legal contacts.

What member staff does

You should retain appropriate paid or pro bono counsel to advise on any matters that require legal expertise (e.g. contracts, corporate policies, employment law, etc).

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BeyondPay, Xero, Google Sheets, DataArts website

What ArtsPool staff does

We prepare the financial and workforce data sections of the annual DataArts survey as required by funders and can pull those DataArts reports as needed for grant applications.

What member staff does

Because we don't have details on the non-financial aspects of your operations, you will still need to enter all programmatic, demographic, or other non-financial data and submit the survey to DataArts.

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Google Drive, Grants Gateway website

What ArtsPool staff does

We update your New York State Grants Gateway Document Vault and organizational profiles annually to maintain your prequalification for NYSCA or other New York State agency grant applications. One of your ArtsPool service team members will serve as a Grantee Delegated Administrator for your organization and maintain the Grants Gateway Document Vault. We also provide financial data for the Grants Gateway contracting process if you receive a New York State grant or contract.

What member staff does

Though we handle the prequalification process and provide financial data for contracts, you will still need enter all data related to New York State grants and contracts in the Grants Gateway and make any final approvals and/or submissions. You are also responsible for providing you ArtsPool service team with the information the need for the annual maintenance of your Document Vault.

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Google Drive, Guidestar, and Better Business Bureau websites

What ArtsPool staff does

If requested, we will enter up-to-date financial information in your Guidestar profile and complete Better Business Bureau Charity Accountability Reports.

What member staff does

You are responsible for providing all non-financial data, strategic/programmatic narratives, etc. and making any final approvals and/or submissions.

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DocuSign

What ArtsPool staff does

We can process employment documents for digital signature up on request, but we only spot check these documents for obvious issues (glaring typos, non-agreement of language, etc.). We can also provide templates and best practices information on employment offer letters and independent contractor agreements, but we rely on you to provide employment documents that are substantively complete.

We can also process other bulk documents for signature, such as Conflict of Interest disclosures, grantee award letters, panelist agreements, etc., provided these documents can be templatized to work with our digital signature system.

What member staff does

You and/or their legal counsel should carefully review any contracts or other documents prior to submission to your ArtsPool service team for signature processing. For documents other than employment documents, you will need to work with your ArtsPool service team to templatize these documents to facilitate digital signature processing.

We do not scour contracts or other documents for financial terms, so you are responsible for clearly noting the payment schedule on documents related to revenue or expense. We do not verify who is an authorized signatory, so you should always provide the full and accurate list of signatories and their email addresses when requesting digital signature.

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Xero, Google Drive

What ArtsPool staff does

We do not manage contracts on behalf of members, but we can assist with the contracting process for government grants, foundation grants, or other types of contracts by providing documents and data related to your workforce and finances or by processing these documents for digital signature. We can process copyright and licensing fees when requested if we are provided with the signed contracts and any additional documentation received from the contracting party (invoices, etc).

What member staff does

You are responsible for signing and managing your own contracts as well as the relationships with your counterparties. You are also responsible for requesting the release of payment or the generation of invoices on any contracts related to revenue or expense, including copyrights or licensing agreements.

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DocuSign, Google Drive

What ArtsPool staff does

We not manage your Board and we generally do not communicate directly with Board members except as outlined in our Member Board relations guidelines. We process Conflict of Interest Disclosures for Board members annually and can process Unanimous Written Consents or Board Pledges upon request, provided that these documents can be templatized as noted in the Digital signature processing section above. We also board minutes from members during the audit and provide them to the auditors.

Your ArtsPool Financial Maintenance Lead can participate in Finance Committee meetings at your request, but we do not attend general Board meetings.

What member staff does

You are responsible for managing their Board matters in collaboration with your Board members. Whenever we process a document on behalf of your Board, you should confirm that Board contact information is accurate and that the documents are complete and up to date. You should inform us of Board meetings as they are scheduled and provide us minutes of Board meetings as soon as is feasible after each meeting.

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DocuSign, Google Drive

What ArtsPool staff does

We process Conflict of Interest Disclosures for Board members and key persons (Executive Director, etc.) as part of the annual audit, with your approval. We process these via our digital signature system and rely on you to handle any disclosures from Board members who cannot use the digital signature system. We provide these signed disclosures to your auditor as a standard part of the materials we share.

If a transaction comes up that could pose a conflict of interest question, we may flag it as a potential disclosure, but it is not part of our scope of services.

What member staff does

Though we ensure that Conflict of Interest Disclosures are sent out at the beginning of the audit, you are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of Board contact information, confirming the cover note, and ensuring that the disclosure form template is up to date. If a Board member does not respond to the Conflict of Interest Disclosure request before it expires in the digital signature system, you are responsible for following up with the Board member, collecting the disclosure form, and sending it to us.

We do not enforce Conflict of Interest Policies, so if a question comes up, you should contact your auditor for advice.

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Google Drive, Xero, BeyondPay

What ArtsPool staff does

We will provide financial and/or payroll data to support your insurance renewals or applications at your request, and we will flag any issues that we notice in the course of its work, such as an expected renewal invoice not received. We can also provide information on our own relevant experience with similar issues regarding insurance and/or connect you with peers on these topics.

We do not request insurance certificates or interact directly with your broker(s), but we can provide training and troubleshooting for these requests.

What member staff does

You are responsible for interfacing directly with your brokers for advice on coverage, insurance certificate requests, and insurance policy renewals. For renewals, you should provide us with a request for the information required by the broker with enough lead time to allow us to fulfill the request. Once we provide the information, you are responsible for filling out and submitting any forms provided by the broker and providing us with the new policy documents. We do not provide advice on coverage, so you should work directly with their broker to determine your needs.

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Google Drive, Xero, ArtsPool app

What ArtsPool staff does

We will help you set up and use Google Drive for digital records, and we can provide information on best practices for retention. We manage work papers for your organization that we generate in the course of our services and provide systems for you to deliver requested documents to us, but we are not responsible for the full scope of your records retention.

What member staff does

You are responsible for your records retention and must distribute retention policies to your staff and ensure that such policies and practices are enforced.

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1Password

What ArtsPool staff does

1Password is a highly secure password sharing system where we store all of the passwords that we need for our work together. Passwords are only shared with ArtsPool staff on a need-to-know basis through this encrypted, cloud-based system. Nothing is stored on personal computers, communicated by email, or transmitted in unencrypted format.

What member staff does

You have secure access to passwords through a 1Password account that is paid for by ArtsPool (additional accounts may be purchased at a discount under our business account if desired). You should update credentials stored in 1Password as changes are required, so that your ArtsPool service team does not lose access to systems. To ensure the security of your accounts, we ask that you never send passwords to anyone via email.

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The ArtsPool app, Google Drive, Google Hangouts, Slack

What ArtsPool staff does

We provide a variety of communications platforms for us to communicate directly with your staff in order to provide our services, e.g. the ArtsPool app, Google Drive/Docs, Google Hangouts, email, phone, etc. However, we cannot mediate among your staff/departments regarding budgetary disputes or any other internal conflicts that may arise on these platforms in the course of our services. For more information on how to communicate with us, see the Membership communication guide.

We also provide the ArtsPool Cabana Slack community for members to talk directly to each other.

What member staff does

You should use ArtsPool's preferred communications platforms when communicating to us about work we are doing on your behalf, as outlined in the Membership communication guide. You should also manage any internal communications, conflicts, or disputes that may arise while working with us.

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Various

What ArtsPool staff does

We provide training on software systems that we select or develop for use in providing our services. We provide this training during member onboarding, during major systems changes, and at moments of turnover in key staff positions (Executive Director, etc), but we rely on our Help Center documentation and members themselves to train new staff on how to use our systems.

We provide technical support for issues relating to software that we use in the course of our services.

What member staff does

We do not provide IT support services (wifi/server issues, printing problems, issues with member software/hardware, etc.), so you need to source an appropriate vendor to support this aspect of your operations. You should also ensure that your staff are trained to work with us in our systems, either by training them directly or by directing them to documentation in our Help Center.

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Various

What ArtsPool staff does

We will train your staff in our systems and processes at onboarding. We may also provide training when there is turnover in member staff positions positions which interact heavily with our systems, e.g. new staff who interact with the your budget. For all other staff, we provide written documentation via our Help Center.

For training required by regulatory agencies (i.e. Sexual Harassment Prevention required by New York City or State), we will provide resources but not conduct training.

What member staff does

You are responsible for ensuring that your staff are trained in how to work with us and for requesting additional training as necessary for any new staff who work in mission critical areas such as payroll or budgeting. You are also responsible for ensuring that your staff receive any training required by regulatory agencies.