I first want to thank all of the Fractured Atlas members who took our annual survey — all 1,196 of you.  We had about 11% of our membership take the survey, which gives us an outstanding sample to work from.  We’re still working through some of the direct comments you left for us (we’ll respond as soon as possible!), but we wanted to summarize and respond to a few points that came up repeatedly.  If you took the survey (or even if you didn’t!), I encourage you to read below:

1 - A lot of you expressed that you didn’t know about a lot of the programs and services we already offer — and we’re glad that some of you were made aware of our full range of services as a result of taking the survey!  I encourage both new and longtime members to visit our website as often as possible.  We’re constantly adding new services, so be sure to subscribe to our blog (even if you’re only reading the headlines) to stay abreast of what we’re offering.  Since many of our new members have expressed that they would like a “Fractured Atlas orientation session,” we’re hoping to add online videos and/or guides in the near future that will provide quick overviews of our programs.  Unfortunately, with 11,000+ members living across the country, it’s incredibly difficult to do in-person “Welcome to Fractured Atlas” sessions that would be available to everyone.  However, our staff members frequently attend conferences and other gatherings and we would be incredibly excited to meet you if we’re in your area — check our blog to see where we’ll be next.

2 - Though most everyone realizes that we are a national organization, many feel that we have a “New York mindset.” Those of you who noted this raise a good point.  Yes, our sole office is in New York City and about 40% of our membership resides in that area.  But, this is no excuse for why we can’t be as inclusive as possible.  We want every single Fractured Atlas member to feel that they are a part of our community — one that includes folks from every state (except North Dakota!) and artistic discipline.  Our staff is made up of people from all over the country, so we’ll work together to ensure everyone feels included and accepted.

3 - On the same point of being inclusive, many of you noted that you feel that we do not care about, or are not interested in, your work. Let us first apologize for this.  Sometimes, we get caught up in the administrative side of things — that’s what our programs and services are all about.  We also want everyone to understand that we do not curate, judge, or critique work.  It’s simply not our place to do so; we want all artists and organizations to be able to use our services.  Even if you are applying to our Fiscal Sponsorship program, we never judge your work at any time.  And so, when our members try to tell us about their work, we sometimes stop them mid-sentence because we don’t want them to think that we curate/judge.  It’s clear, though, that this makes us seem completely uninterested.  This is far from the case.  We are EXTREMELY interested in what you’re doing — and we’re especially proud of our members’ work.  Though it’s virtually impossible for our 13-person staff to see the work of 11,000+ members, we want you to keep us abreast of what you’re doing.  Add us to your mailing lists, note upcoming events when you send us an email, and let us know any important (art)work-related updates you have.  As noted above, we can get stuck in the weeds of administration at times, and this helps us break free.  We love learning about our members and we love seeing that you’re able to successfully produce your work by using our services.  So please, let us know about these successes; we’ll be sure not to cut you off mid-sentence from now on!

Beyond our annual survey, we always welcome your thoughts, comments, ideas, questions, etc. at any time of year.  In the survey, many of you expressed things that could be easily cleared up with a call or email to our office.  Here is our contact information, but the best way to reach us is at support@fracturedatlas.org.  We check this email address more frequently than our own personal inboxes and we’ll always try to respond within one business day.  If you don’t hear from us within 2-3 business days, then something is wrong (the email was probably lost in the ether or the staff member it went to is out of the office), so please follow up with a call to 212-277-8020.

And, since you’re probably interested, the randomly-selected winner of the $100 Amazon.com gift certificate was Valerie Livingston from Long Island City, NY — member since September 2009.  Congrats, Valerie!

Thanks again to everyone for taking our survey…. Your responses will help us serve you better.