FIGMENT is run through the FIGMENT Project 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. FIGMENT has a fairly unique management structure. Here are some of the roles that are played at FIGMENT at a global level.
Board of Directors – As a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, FIGMENT Project has a Board of Directors who meet a few times a year about overarching legal and financial issues. The Board of Directors includes several main FIGMENT “staff” as well as several co-founders and others who can contribute at a high-leadership level.
Governance Council – In addition to having a Board of Directors, the not-for-profit organization (FIGMENT Project) has a Governance Council that includes a variety of FIGMENT leaders and founders. The Governance Council meets a few times each year as an advisory body.
Global Administration – The Administration (or Admin) team is a leadership group within the FIGMENT team that deals with administrative and management tasks as they relate to all FIGMENTs in different cities. This includes managing the start-up of new cities, dealing with the website and marketing materials, and financial and legal issues.
On a city-by-city level, we refer to the following groups of people:
Core Team – In cities with a smaller event/team, everyone on the team is highly involved and knows each other. As the event grows (for example, in NYC’s case), each team may be led by an individual (ex: Curatorial, Production, Communications). Those team leaders can meet more frequently to make sure that internal communication is clear; we refer to that group as the Core Team. While most core team members lead their own teams, core team may include key individuals who fly solo. Additionally, other team members may be invited to join Core Team meetings on an as-needed basis. The Core Team is typically led by a single Lead Producer.
Staff – FIGMENT is run by an entirely volunteer “staff.” We refer to all people who are on the organization chart for any FIGMENT event as “staff”; that is to say anyone who has a job, role, or is “responsible” for something. NYC has upwards of 100 “staff,” while cities that are creating events for the first time may have a dozen. Most staff roles involve a time commitment during the months leading up to the event.
Volunteers – We use the term “volunteers” to refer to shift-specific volunteers; these are people who may be able to help out at the event or during set-up or breakdown, or people who you can ask for assistance on particular projects. These people are not responsible for having a set role in a long-term sense but may have a role for a few hours or a day.
Artists – FIGMENT artists are sometimes the most recognized people at FIGMENT and often get a huge amount of the public recognition for FIGMENT. Always remember to thank your artists (profusely!) – they are giving freely of their time, talents, and materials/equipment.
Artist Helpers – One thing that can be very confusing is that many artists will bring their own crew of people to help set up their projects. When an artist’s own crew checks in, that crew of people may simply say they are “volunteers;” you may want to confirm whether they already have a project they are volunteering with. We try to make sure that all artists are self-sufficient for their own set-up and breakdown, although we recognize that we often need to direct day-of event volunteers to help artists.
Participants – Unlike most other similar events, we want to include those who attend the event in the list of people who “create” FIGMENT. Simply by participating, people are helping to create their own FIGMENT experience as well as experiences for everyone else. People cannot, should not, come to FIGMENT and expect to be entertained (those are “spectators,” which is just a bad word), but they should come expecting to create, develop, enjoy, entertain, celebrate… participate.