Updated 3/27 After an intense several weeks involving a county audit, a board president’s resignation and a mass layoff of all staff members, Arlington Independent Media is attempting to turn a new leaf.
The beleaguered nonprofit’s board members, now the only operational staff of the longstanding public access television and radio broadcaster, sketched out a tentative path forward yesterday (Monday) while fielding questions — and occasional accusations — from members of the public.
AIM is currently awaiting the results of an audit into the shaky finances that led the organization to terminate its entire staff — including the CEO — and elect a new president and treasurer last week. In the meantime, the board plans to seek more public support in the form of fundraising and volunteer efforts — a collaboration that leaders hope to earn through a renewed focus on transparency.
No matter what, Treasurer Amanda MacKaye told a Zoom room of about 40 attendees, AIM is not going anywhere.
“The Arlington County Board is not interested in shutting AIM down. That’s not what they do,” she said. “And that’s a narrative that’s been tossed around, and we are asking you kindly to stop using that term. The only people who can shut AIM down are its members, and we are also the only people who can make AIM stick around for as long as we want.”
MacKaye announced that AIM’s “new home” will be at the Arlington Cultural Affairs building at 3700 S. Four Mile Run in Green Valley, rather than the Courthouse location that the organization previously planned to use. Efforts at the Courthouse site are currently “on pause” because AIM lacks the funds to build it out, board member Richard Archambault said.
AIM still owes about $5,000 per month in rent for the two properties and is currently in arrears.
On Friday, the nonprofit shut off the transmitter to its low-power radio station, WERA 96.7, which had been broadcasting an endless loop of lo-fi beats since Dec. 1. The station is “temporarily on hiatus,” AIM says on its website.
The organization does not intend to hire an interim CEO to replace now-former CEO Whytni Kernodle, members were told last night.
AIM notified members last week that a closed-session meeting would be taking place on Monday. Then, about three hours before the meeting started, the nonprofit sent a second email clarifying that a portion of the meeting would be open to the public.
A number of participants expressed deep concerns about the group’s finances and communications.
Thomas Schaad, a former producer and board member who has been a member of AIM since 1991, said he was “stunned” by the amount of money the organization has been spending on salaries and consulting.
“I just have to advise you that if you are serious about doing fundraising after the general meeting next time, there had better be a whole lot of answers about how that’s gonna go, or you’re not going to get people to raise any money at all,” he said.
For many members, Schaad said donating to AIM seems like throwing money “down an endless, bottomless, recurring pit.”
Board President Rhonda Snipe acknowledged the group’s financial troubles and said they were the main reason for laying off all staff members. She added that the move to Courthouse “wasn’t planned out appropriately.”
“We certainly take responsibility as a governing body, that we did not oversee the staff completing that,” she said. “We weren’t involved enough, and as a result, we just didn’t have visibility on what was really going on.”
At least one attendee was unconvinced, alleging that “the board had plenty of visibility and blocked information.”
The board expects to present more detailed plans at a special meeting next month in the Black Box Theater at the Cultural Affairs building.
“At the April 17th meeting of members, we’re aiming to have a lot more concrete answers, but it’s important to keep the community abreast as best we can of our progress,” Board Secretary Claire Seaton told ARLnow. “There will be more emails updating membership about our progress and answering common questions to come soon!”
In the near future, the board wants to host a fundraiser at its new headquarters and find volunteers to potentially start a community podcast. It also plans to stop relying on the county as its main funding source, possibly switching to a system in which the county matches private donations.
“We’re hopeful that all of you who are members and producers will join us on this journey of, kind of, relaunching,” Archambault said.