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Wednesday, September 11, 2019

“COMPETITIVE FOR REGION” Traverse City Film Festival Seeks Director of Development; “Just Great Movies” Needs More Money

“TCFF seeks to hire its first-ever full-time Director of Development, a dynamic role with leadership opportunities and the ability to grow not only professionally but also the organization as a whole. Reporting to the executive committee of the Board of Directors, the DoD will be the main architect of a new, multi-tiered development strategy that will help TCFF further its mission both within Traverse City and across the region. You will be responsible for vital revenue streams including individual donors, corporate and foundation support, sponsorships, and grants – simultaneously maintaining historic giving and growing the program overall. You will strategize, execute, and analyze fundraising activities, manage the development budget, and activate the Board around development. As the Director of Development, you will be the organization’s main cheerleader, evangelizer, and outward-facing champion – building affinity across constituiences [sic] that lead to real, tangible impact through annual, major, and principal giving.”

Six months after its founder, Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, accused former Executive Director Deb Lake of “unauthorized uses” of $262,000, the cash-starved Traverse City Film Festival is seeking a Director of Development.

In her response to Moore's allegation, Lake stated:

“I write to address the two allegations made by Mr. Moore in his email to the TCFF community dated March 3, 2019: (1) that an unnamed employee allegedly directed $198,020 of temporarily restricted funds without board authorization or approval, and (2) that the same unnamed employee conducted a benefit for a community member without the authorization or approval of the board of directors of the Traverse City Film Festival. 

While I appreciate Mr. Moore’s cagey reference to an “unnamed employee,” it is clear, based on his statements, that the unnamed employee is me. Mr. Moore’s allegation that $198,020 of temporarily restricted funds were used by me in my position as the former Executive Director of the Traverse City Film Festival is correct. The funds were used to pay TCFF’s bills because the TCFF was faced with a budget shortfall and general lack of funds in 2017.” 

The position description, currently advertised on Indeed.com and the festival's site, reveals the Development Director will report “to the executive committee of the Board of Directors”, headed by Moore, whose personal proprietary claim regarding Traverse City's State Theatre often adorns his Twitter account. (He thinks it's his, folks.)



Just before this year's festival, Moore diverted attention from the previous year's financial debacle, by claiming credit for raising $60,000 at the Founders' Picnic—an amount Moore erroneously claimed would put its 2019 financials “in the black”. By the time the festival's 2019 financials are made public (in November 2020), we will have forgotten all about that boast.
  
Joe Beyer, Lake's replacement, abruptly left after 21 days as Executive Director. Beyer now serves as the Executive Director of Michigan Legacy Art Park

This year's Traverse City Film Festival was headed by Managing Director Susan Fisher, and Creative Director Meg Weichman.

According to the position description, the new Director of Development can expect a salary commensurate with experience, and “competitive” for the region.

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