We’ve been having powerful and important discussions with a key segment of our membership, our high-end custom builders, regarding the Artisan Home Tour. We’ve discussed together that the Artisan Home Tour is of, by and for the builders.
But what does that actually mean and how does that statement, of by and for the builders, relate to the broader mission and vision of BATC? I’ve been thinking a lot about that as we close out 2015.
It means first and foremost that our tours are literally owned by you—our members. BATC members have owned the Parade of Homes tour for more than 60 years, and they’ve nurtured, protected and grown that brand successfully for the good of the entire industry. So we’ve got a pretty good track record. We want to carefully nurture, grow and protect the Artisan Home Tour for the benefit of our members and industry as well, today and for the next 50 years and beyond.
That’s really the key here—our motivation in owning any of our assets is slightly different than that of a typical business. While for a typical business, profit is the primary motive, such is not the case for BATC. Our calling is to grow this industry overall and to create an environment in which our members can grow their businesses.
Don’t get me wrong, we do want to make money on our events even as a nonprofit. We need to be financially responsible. But it’s not goal one. And whatever profits we do generate, we drive back into this industry. Every dollar raised in any BATC activity is used toward our mission—helping our member businesses grow through marketing, advocacy and industry connections, and toward our vision to be the leading voice for builders and remodelers.
Those dollars drive our public policy efforts, where we seek to minimize the regulatory burden on our builders, create open markets and keep government in check so you can grow your business. Those dollars drive our industry connections where our members participate in education, awards programs, networking events and leadership training, all of these are the glue that holds our industry together. Those dollars drive innovation and reinvestment in the Parade of Homes and Artisan Home Tour, from technology to creative design to brand protection and promotion. Those dollars drive our BATC Foundation, whose good works not only affect positive change in the world, but create a wonderful halo over our industry for lawmakers and policy makers to ponder.
Everything we do here at BATC is of, by and for the builder. In short, we exist to make the business environment and opportunity better for you. Our leadership is passionate about this cause. Our staff team is passionate about this cause. And what I’ve come to realize even more clearly over this past year, is that our entire membership is passionate about this cause.
Your Board has worked very hard over the past year to fulfill our mission and vision. For me, it’s been an action-packed year of big issues and big decisions for BATC. What gives me goosebumps is that every action we took was of, by and for the builder. You can’t get more powerful and true than that.
