Outside of the executive director, Quickdraw’s employees haven’t traditionally been hired based on their management experience. Our programming and production directors have to have an expansive knowledge of animation, from the tools that go into making it to the past and present landscape of independent animation.
RAMP has helped us to quickly and affordably give our employees a much more thorough understanding of the management side of their jobs. It has helped them to understand the different factors that affect our ability to meet our mission, to learn how to think about projects in a more well-rounded way and to talk about those projects in ways that are understandable to our funders. Given how much we do with a small staff and modest budget, having that extra management skill set is incredibly valuable for our sustainability.
Honestly, the projects haven’t been as valuable for us as the mindset that goes into them. We’re still working on implementing one of them, but to me, the value is more in the way that our RAMP employees can contribute more to all of our other projects and activities once they’ve gone through the process with their own project proposals.
Quickdraw offers our staff an annual allotment for professional development, and since I’ve started, we’ve had two staff members take part, and I’d strongly encourage others to do the same. The cost is very reasonable, and we consider it a worthwhile investment. It enhances their ability to manage their portfolios and to plan and execute projects, and ideally prepares them to eventually step up into higher positions in the organization. I have no regrets about using Quickdraw funds to cover those costs.
Visit Quickdraw Animation Society's website for more information about the wondrous work they do, and visit our RAMP page for more information about how to enroll. Applications for our 2017 RAMP program are due June 19th.
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