December 1, 2009
Filed under: A&BC News
Just what the world needs, another holiday-season homily, right? Wrong—so I promise to be brief and to-the-point.
This time last year, the staff and business-based volunteers of A&BC were acutely aware of our unique obligation to help arts organizations address what was clearly an accelerating economic downturn in our sector. Not that we had all the answers, or could be of much use in cases where arts groups were facing immediate fiscal crises. But rather than succumb to a sense of helplessness, we took our cues from the never-say-die Chicago businesses and arts organizations we connect with every day – “keep doing what you do, just better and smarter.”
For us in 2009, that meant quickly revamping our monthly “Business Essentials for the Arts” workshop series in order to focus on “the art of resilience.” We addressed new, more relevant topics included board-driven fundraising strategies; diversification of revenue sources; and the creation of marketing plans with low or no-cost audience building approaches—enriched website content, substantive e-marketing and opportunistic social media and digital PR strategies.
Doing it “better and smarter” also meant partnering with other prominent arts services organizations for a town-hall-style meeting intended to settle nerves and emphasize the arts sector’s common purpose. It also involved the expansion of On BOARD to include a second annual training/placement cycle—we’ll situate close to 35 business professional on arts boards in 2009, the most ever. Similarly, it included expansion of our business volunteer recruiting efforts, resulting in a significant increase in the number of consultants available to arts organizations. Furthermore it led to a more inclusive definition of “project-ready” arts organizations that can benefit from consulting engagements through our Business Volunteers for the Arts service.
All in all, we’ve never been busier serving the Chicago-area arts sector as we pursue our mission of harnessing the strength of the business volunteer community to help make our culture-rich city a great place to work and live. As we close2009 and look to next year, new volunteers continue to be trained for arts consulting projects alongside talented veterans. Another series of timely and relevant workshops is in the making. The On BOARD program proceeds apace. And we’re planning to roll out a free advisory service to arts organizations seeking quick answers on administrative or organizational issues (more on that in the spring).
Reasons, we believe, to be of good cheer this holiday season!