For today’s journal, I want to talk about Symphony Space as a non-profit organization. This entry is strictly based on my opinion while I work there.
Before I started working at Symphony Space, I didn’t get a chance to think about what non-profit organization is, how it works, how it’s ran, etc. In fact, I didn’t know anything about the field before looking for an internship last winter. I didn’t know how much money a graphic designer make, what kind positions(in a company) a graphic designer can aim, how to write a cover letter, what kind of job I will be doing, and what I will learn from internship. After a few months working there, I learned not just skills and how to work as a designer, but what kind of jobs are there in the field, especially a in-house graphic designer in a non-profit organization.
During weekly all-staff meetings, I learned that many non-profit performing art organizations can’t be ran just from ticket sales, but donations. They highly depend on donations from people who appreciate the organizations work. For example, Gala Show is one of the biggest donation event an organization can have. A ticket for a Symphony Space Gala show cost about $400 in 2018. One of the Silent Auction item’s starting price was $1500 which ended up being sold for about $3000. Other than the Gala Show, there are donations from the board members.
Weekly meetings taught me a little bit about how a non-profit organization can survive in capitalistic society.
