Arts Growth Circle
A Capacity Building Program for Emerging to Small Arts Organizations in Sacramento
Seeking Arts Growth Circle Participants
Applications Due February 19, 2010
About the Sacramento Arts Growth Circle
How to Apply
Important Dates
At-A-Glance
Partners
About the Sacramento Arts Growth Circle
The Sacramento Region Community Foundation, in partnership with the Center for Cultural Innovation and the Nonprofit Resource Center, is pleased to announce its next round of arts capacity building efforts.
The economic crisis has had a significant impact on the Sacramento region. Unemployment has exceeded double digits for almost a year. The housing crisis has resulted in a rapidly declining tax base, leading to major cuts in state, city and county funded programs such as child welfare, services for the elderly, law enforcement and, of course, the arts.
In the past two years, informal town hall meetings of arts organizations found the following needs among arts organizations:
- Organizational development, especially in board engagement
- Donor development – corporate sponsorships down significantly, must find other sources
- Understanding how to use new media
- Partnerships to boost ticket sales and create artistic ventures
Additionally, Advancing Sacramento Arts, the Foundation’s own arts initiative has taught us the following:
- Marketing is key not only to programming but to survival, a message echoed by Michael Kaiser of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
- Volunteers lead the majority of arts organizations, with staff and board wearing many hats
- Arts organizations are eager to learn and experiment, work together and cross-promote each other’s work
- Many wish to expand their boards’ role in fund development
- Some arts organizations have plans and are poised, with guidance and resources, to implement those plans
The reality of the economy has forced everyone to think and work differently. The time to both build and reframe capacity in order to map out a new paradigm of working, raise money, and still deliver high quality programming has never been more important than it is now.
Our Response: Arts Growth Circle
Advancing Sacramento arts in this new economy will require creative thinking, exploration of new ideas, and a willingness to be open and learn by our participants. The Arts Growth Circle will take on a multi-level approach of engagement by seeking individuals who represent emerging to small arts organizations that meet the following criteria:
- A genuine interest in learning something new and different to improve your organization
- Open to new ideas and exploration of their applications to your organization
- May be at a crossroads…of intentional growth or possible threats to sustainability
- Interested in being part of a dynamic and thoughtful network of Sacramento arts organizations
- Willing to be mentored by previous Advancing Sacramento Arts participants
- Diligent in your attendance and participation
The Foundation and its partners define “emerging to small arts organizations” as those organizations with operating budgets of $250,000 or less.
The Arts Growth Circle will meet as a learning community once a month, from March to June, with the goal of expediting learning together in a timely fashion. Workshops will run from 9:30am-2:30pm, and will be facilitated by expert trainers from the Center for Cultural Innovation and the Non Profit Resource Center.
Program Goal
Our goal in the Arts Growth Circle is to help insure sustainability and establish the groundwork that will allow emerging to small arts organizations to grow in this new economy.
Program Objectives: What you will learn
- To reach a higher level of strategic engagement with your boards, your donors, and your audience;
- To effectively raise your arts profile through brand management, marketing, and use of new social media and other tools;
- To develop a stronger fund development skills set and utilize tools that can serve as a foundation for organizational sustainability; and
- To partner with your peers in the arts community through shared learning experiences and networking opportunities.
Opportunity: Your Chance To Implement!
Upon completion of the Arts Growth Circle, participant arts organizations will earn an opportunity to apply for an “encouragement grant” from the Foundation, which will offer you the chance to apply learned skills and knowledge from the Arts Growth Circle program through seeking opportunities that your arts organizations need now.
Potential Outcomes
In this engagement, arts organizations will learn how to set specific and achievable goals that can propel you towards sustainability. Indicators of successful outcomes may include a new marketing strategy to increase audience, reaching 100% giving by board members, developing a web-based strategy or strengthening infrastructure.
How to Apply
We are looking for a minimum of 2 staff and/or volunteers who represent emerging to small Sacramento arts organizations with operating budgets of up to $250,000 to apply.
In no more than 3 pages, please submit a narrative answering the following questions:
-
Organization Case Statement
- Please describe your arts organization and its mission, including how long the organization has been in operation, and its current role in the community.
- What has been the greatest impact on your organization in this economy?
- What are the current organizational and management challenges and your ideas or strategies for overcoming them?
- Please tell us about the two people representing your organization and their respective roles. Include how long each of them have been there and what their vision is for the organization. Include CVs or Bios in the application (CVs or Bios will not count towards the three page limit).
- What knowledge, skills, or experiences will you provide and share with the other participants in the group?
- How do you intend to apply what you have learned from the program?
About You
All Arts Growth Circle applications must be submitted electronically. Paper applications will not be accepted.
Submit Your Application Now!
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Important Dates
| Date | What |
|---|---|
| Feb 19th | Deadline to Apply |
| March 24th | Dinner Orientation: Guest Speaker TBD and Meeting Circle members |
| March 25th | Goal-setting and planning: getting "unstuck" and ready to learn, change, and grow |
| April 29th | Fund and Revenue Development: understanding the key ingredients to implementing an effective fund development strategy, with an emphasis on donor engagement |
| May 27th | Marketing and Social Media: gaining an understanding of the marketplace and applying “digital” skills necessary to implement a cause-related brand strategy using social media and other tactics |
| June 24th | “Cluster” Counseling: a new and innovative application of on-the-spot TA with on site consultants |
| TBD | Legal Symposium Brown Bag Luncheon |
Arts Growth Circle At-A-Glance
About the Partners
The Arts Growth Circle Capacity Building Program is supported by a grant from the Kresge Foundation, whose mission is to influence the quality of life for future generations in six fields of interest: health, the environment, community development, arts and culture, education and human services.
The mission of the Center for Cultural Innovation is to promote knowledge sharing, networking and financial independence for individual artists and creative entrepreneurs by providing business training, grants and loans, and incubating innovative projects that create new program knowledge, tools and practices for artists in the field.
Sacramento-based Non Profit Resource Center’s mission is to enhance the resources and improve the management of nonprofit organizations, primarily within California's northern Central Valley and Sierra Nevada regions.
The Sacramento Region Community Foundation is an advocate for quality of life, dedicated to connecting people who care with charitable causes. An effective steward of the region’s charitable assets since 1983, the Foundation’s mission is to serve as a leader and trusted partner in expanding philanthropic activity and enhancing its impact for the betterment of our communities. From charitable funds established by individuals, families, businesses and organizations, the Sacramento Region Community Foundation awards grants and engages in leadership activities to address a wide variety of current and long term community issues.
Funded by the James Irvine Foundation, the Advancing Sacramento Arts initiative at the Sacramento Region Community Foundation, has three goals: to develop a permanent fund for the arts, to nurture the next generation of arts givers, and to establish the Foundation as a strategic philanthropic partner and leader in arts giving and sustainability.
Contact Us
If you have questions or require more information please contact Amit by email at amit@sacregcf.org or by calling 916-921-7723
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