Business Volunteers for the Arts® (BVA) recruits skilled Chicagoans, trains them in nonprofit practice, and matches them with nonprofit 501(c)3 arts, cultural, and creative organizations in need of business, management and/or operational assistance.

Our BVA consultants are thoroughly vetted, highly-qualified individuals who have subject-matter expertise and a demonstrated commitment to the arts.

READY FOR A PROJECT?

Our BVA consultants work in groups of 2-5 and lend their abilities in a variety of business-related project areas, including:

Time commitment is dependent on the nature of the project, with most projects lasting between 2-6 months. Arts Partners and consultants agree on an anticipated completion date–as well as outcome–prior to the project start.

BVA Projects are recommended to nonprofits that are navigating a specific challenge or organizational transition in any of the areas listed above.

If you are looking for professional development workshops in the areas of marketing, communications, research, grant writing, or project management, our Learning Labs might be a better option. If you are seeking board governance training, we encourage you to explore On BOARD®.

If you have doubts about whether or not your organization might benefit from participating in the BVA program, you can reach out to Executive Director Kristin Larsen, at klarsen@artsbiz-chicago.org or schedule a meeting with her.

A&BC does not provide the following services: Executive Searches, IT, Website Development, Fundraising and Contributed Revenue Planning, or Legal. However, these agencies offer some of these services to nonprofit organizations at no or low cost:

• IT – Fast Forward
• Legal – Lawyers for the Creative Arts 
• Fundraising & Contributed Revenue Planning
  • Forefront
  • Taproot
  • The Bridgespan Group

SUBMITTING A PROJECT PROPOSAL

When reviewing proposals, we prioritize BVA applications that:

1. 1. Primarily serve individuals and organizations that have been historically excluded from capacity-building programs.
   2. Leads to larger sector-wide learning
   3. Additionally, we take into consideration the population and geographic area(s) that your organization serves, the racial and gender composition of your organization’s leadership, and how your project fits in with the existing BVA Project portfolio as well as the other proposals submitted. Therefore, not all project proposals can be accepted. Projects may be deferred to the next round.

You can consult a sample proposal application A&BC’s team put together for prospective arts partners.

GET READY TO APPLY

Before filling out the BVA application form, we encourage you to have a copy of:

• IRS Letter Issuing Tax-Exemption
• Declaration of General Liability Insurance
• Current or Most Recent Operating Budget
• List of Staff and Board Members

The estimated completion time is 20 – 30 minutes.

PLEASE NOTE:

• Organizations must have proof of General Liability insurance coverage to participate in BVA.

Processing Fee (effective April 1, 2022)

Fees are based on the gross operating revenue of the nonprofit’s current budget.

RECENT ART PARTNERS SERVED

QUESTIONS?

For more information, contact Kristin Larsen at klarsen@artsbiz-chicago.org or 312-372-1876, ext. 101