Events
The Arts & Business Council of Chicago convenes a monthly morning gathering for arts administrators to discuss topics and share ideas relevant to the business of art. Breakfast Club supports leaders and staff of nonprofit arts organizations through informal peer-to-peer sharing, casual facilitated conversation, and information dissemination.
Join us Tuesday, May 1st from 8:30-9:30am.
Topic: Making Money
Say it again for the people in the back. Nonprofits can make money! The nonprofit sector often carries a stigma of unprofitable, but business planning is just as important for nonprofit organizations as it is for any business or corporation. Sustainable nonprofits don’t wait around for the next big grant or angel donor. They create several diverse revenue streams to support the organization’s financial well-being. Join Breakfast Club: Making Money to connect with peers over successes and strategies in creating mission-driven generated revenues.
A cereal bar, tea, and coffee will be provided.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Price: $5.00
Cancellation Policy:
The Arts & Business Council of Chicago reserves the right to cancel or re-schedule any Breakfast Club for which registrants will receive a full refund.
No refunds are issued for cancellations. No refunds are issued for “no shows.”
BOARD MEMBER TRAINING
Topics include:
- Structures of arts organizations and their boards—staffing, income, and programming models
- Life cycle of arts organizations, from the founding board to the working board and the governing board
- Relationship between the board and staff, and challenges posed by staffing and board transitions
Price: $150
Advance registration is required as space is limited. We will not accept walk-up registrations. For details on registering for this training, please contact Noemi Garcia at ngarcia@artsbiz-chicago.org.
Meet the Boards is a networking session for On BOARD candidates and arts organization boards to meet and learn about each other. Attendees discuss the mission and history of the organization, current and upcoming initiatives, and how new board members can contribute to the organization.
Interested organizations must fill out an arts client On BOARD application – the deadline for which is April 13, 2018.
Meet the Boards is by invitation only.
Tony Award-winning Steppenwolf Theatre Company was born from an idea a couple of former high school classmates had to produce a play in a suburban church. Four-time Grammy award-winning ensemble, Eighth Blackbird, have called Chicago home since 1996. With the right foundation in place, the growth potential for Chicago arts organizations just like yours is immense.
In Arts Administration 101, smARTscope Consultant Lisa Tylke will guide emerging arts organizations through two key pillars of stability: understanding the roles and responsibilities of a board of directors and concept development for the artistic and administrative visions of organizations. These pillars are vital for mastering the basics; understanding who you are, what you do, and how you do it.
This Learning Lab is most appropriate for emerging organizations that have:
- Unpaid or stipend-payed staff and artists
- A few sources of contributed income
- Hands-on Boards of Directors that fulfill administrative roles and do minimal fundraising
- Average budgets of $0 – $100,000
- A strong desire to grow and develop!
Price: $65
BOARD MEMBER TRAINING
Speakers:
- Michael Clark, Partner, Sidley Austin LLP
Learning objectives include:
- Non-governing boards and committees
- Laws governing nonprofit boards of directors
- Bylaws
- The role of the director: responsibilities & restrictions
- Role of the lawyer on the board
- Fiduciary duties
- Conflict of interest
- Directors & Officers insurance
- Contracts
- Strategic Planning
Price: $150
For details on registering for this training, please contact Noemi Garcia at ngarcia@artsbiz-chicago.org.
BOARD MEMBER TRAINING
Speaker: Charles Katzenmeyer, VP Institutional Advancement, The Field Museum
Learning objectives include:
- Funding landscape for nonprofit arts organizations and sector-wide trends in giving
- Defining sources of philanthropic support
- The role board members play in securing funds
- How to structure the “ask”
- Creating a donor cultivation calendar
- Identifying ways to get the “get”
Price: $150
Advance registration is required as space is limited. We will not accept walk-up registrations. For details on registering for this training, please contact Noemi Garcia at ngarcia@artsbiz-chicago.org.
A superb board member brings a wealth of time, treasure, and talent to an organization. So why do we continue to evaluate and prospect board members strictly on financial capacity? If a board of directors is to reflect the community it serves, the sector must consider more equitable models of assessment.
Arts & Business Council of Chicago Executive Director Kristin Larsen will present her innovative, point-based, assessment model for boards of directors. Larsen – with A&BC Board Governance Chair and COO of HBR Consulting, Evan Trent – will guide you through using game theory and a points-based evaluation system to reduce anxiety around giving capacities and create an equitable board of directors that is welcoming to marginalized groups.
In practice, Larsen has seen this fresh accountability system increase committee participation, mobilize current board members to prospect new members and donors, and ignite a sense of self-governance that reduces stress and time for the Executive Director. You’ll leave this lab with an action plan to define the entire scope of what your board of directors can bring to the organization and design your own point-based assessment model that’s not all about the give/get.
BVA Orientation – August 2018
New business volunteers must attend a BVA Orientation before starting on a project. We offer the BVA Orientation four times a year— winter, spring, summer and fall on Friday afternoons from 2:00 – 5:00 pm in downtown Chicago.
The Summer application deadline is July 21. Apply here.
For more information about the BVA program, click here.
BOARD MEMBER TRAINING
Speaker: Megan Angle, CPA, Porte Brown LLC; A&BC Core Instructor
Learning objectives include:
- Financial oversight and safeguarding of assets and nonprofit status
- Policies: conflict of interest, whistleblower, document retention & destruction, executive compensation, etc.
- Understanding nonprofit financial statements
- Taxes including payroll and UBIT
- Filing with the IRS and other government entities
- What occurs during an audit and when you need one
- Managing cash flow
Price: $150
Advance registration is required as space is limited. We will not accept walk-up registrations.
For details on registering for this training, please contact Noemi Garcia at ngarcia@artsbiz-chicago.org.
BOARD MEMBER TRAINING
Presenter: Kristin Larsen, Executive Director, Arts & Business Council of Chicago
Panelists:
- Seth Boustead, Executive Director, Access Contemporary Music
- Erica Hawkinson, Marketing & Operations Director, Green Star Movement
- Marilyn He, Board Member, Access Contemporary Music; On BOARD Alum
- Ben van Loon, Board Member, High Concept Labs; On BOARD Alum
Topics include:
- Structures of arts organizations and their boards—staffing, income, and programming models
- Life cycle of arts organizations, from the founding board to the working board and the governing board
- Relationship between the board and staff, and challenges posed by staffing and board transitions
Price: $150
Advance registration is required as space is limited. We will not accept walk-up registrations. For details on registering for this training, please contact Noemi Garcia at ngarcia@artsbiz-chicago.org.
Meet the Boards is a networking session for On BOARD candidates and arts organization boards to meet and learn about each other. Attendees discuss the mission and history of the organization, current and upcoming initiatives, and how new board members can contribute to the organization.
Interested organizations must fill out an arts client On BOARD application – the deadline for which is August 17, 2018.
Meet the Boards is by invitation only.
BOARD MEMBER TRAINING
Learning objectives include:
- Non-governing boards and committees
- Laws governing nonprofit boards of directors
- Bylaws
- The role of the director: responsibilities & restrictions
- Role of the lawyer on the board
- Fiduciary duties
- Conflict of interest
- Directors & Officers insurance
- Contracts
- Strategic Planning
Price: $150
For details on registering for this training, please contact Noemi Garcia at ngarcia@artsbiz-chicago.org.
Leaders in non-profit organizations – board members, executive directors and everyone else – should be comfortable asking for money. But, too few of them are actively doing it.
In this fast-paced, interactive session, fundraising veterans Christopher Jabin and Charles Katzenmeyer will offer a practical framework for identifying and cultivating prospective donors, engaging them in the work of your organization, getting the meeting, and finally, making the ask.
Participants in this Learning Lab will understand how to:
- Identify prospective donors for a non-profit organization
- Build cultivation efforts that help move distant prospects toward being top prospects
- Request and structure a solicitation meeting
- Make the ask and answer potential objections
- Close a gift and begin donor stewardship
BVA Orientation – October 2018
New business volunteers must attend a BVA Orientation before starting on a project. We offer the BVA Orientation four times a year— winter, spring, summer and fall on Friday afternoons from 2:00 – 5:00 pm in downtown Chicago.
The Fall application deadline is September 29. Apply here.
For more information about the BVA program, click here.
BOARD MEMBER TRAINING
Speaker: Megan Angle, CPA, Porte Brown LLC; A&BC Core Instructor
Learning objectives include:
- Financial oversight and safeguarding of assets and nonprofit status
- Policies: conflict of interest, whistleblower, document retention & destruction, executive compensation, etc.
- Understanding nonprofit financial statements
- Taxes including payroll and UBIT
- Filing with the IRS and other government entities
- What occurs during an audit and when you need one
- Managing cash flow
Price: $150
Advance registration is required as space is limited. We will not accept walk-up registrations.
For details on registering for this training, please contact Noemi Garcia at ngarcia@artsbiz-chicago.org.
BOARD MEMBER TRAINING
Speaker: Charles Katzenmeyer, VP Institutional Advancement, The Field Museum
Learning objectives include:
- Funding landscape for nonprofit arts organizations and sector-wide trends in giving
- Defining sources of philanthropic support
- The role board members play in securing funds
- How to structure the “ask”
- Creating a donor cultivation calendar
- Identifying ways to get the “get”
Price: $150
Advance registration is required as space is limited. We will not accept walk-up registrations. For details on registering for this training, please contact Noemi Garcia at ngarcia@artsbiz-chicago.org.
BVA Orientation – January 2019
New business volunteers must attend a BVA Orientation before starting on a project. We offer the BVA Orientation four times a year— winter, spring, summer and fall on Friday afternoons from 2:00 – 5:00 pm in downtown Chicago.
The Winter application deadline is January 11. Apply here.
For more information about the BVA program, click here.
BOARD MEMBER TRAINING
Presenter: Kristin Larsen, Executive Director, Arts & Business Council of Chicago
Topics include:
- Structures of arts organizations and their boards—staffing, income, and programming models
- Life cycle of arts organizations, from the founding board to the working board and the governing board
- Relationship between the board and staff, and challenges posed by staffing and board transitions
Price: $150
Advance registration is required as space is limited. We will not accept walk-up registrations. For details on registering for this training, please contact Noemi Garcia at ngarcia@artsbiz-chicago.org.
Nonprofit organizations are born from creative ideas and passions for social good. To execute your mission and create real impact, you need to have a business plan. A business plan is your guide to defining your organization’s identity, developing solutions to your problems, and setting and measuring goals. You don’t need an MBA to run a successful organization, but you do need a plan to manage finances, be accountable to your vision, organize your team, and generate revenue and control expenditures to keep your ideas and passions alive. “Building the Nonprofit Business Plan” will help you do just that!
Instructor: Irv Michaels, Founder – Michaels Consulting, Ltd.
Click here to read Irv’s bio.
Learning objectives include:
- Define your identity in the marketplace and your “problem worth solving”
- Gain a clear understanding of your product / service and its relevance in the market
- Explore financial aspects of the plan: developing generated revenues and necessary expenses
- Learn the importance of setting goals, measuring results and responding to inevitable changes
Presenter Bio:
Irv Michaels majored in accounting at college where his interest in the arts grew. His first job post-college was at Chess Records, where he worked as an administrator and nascent record producer. This led him to the intersection of traditional and creative businesses. He practiced at a local CPA firm, attaining senior partner status, serving entrepreneurial businesses. He 1986, Irv founded Michaels Consulting, Ltd., providing financial, business development, technology and human resources advice to graphic design firms, architecture firms and other creative organizations. The firm’s focus is to help creative businesses thrive.
Certifications: C.P.A.; Strategic LivePlan (business planning application) Expert Advisor; QuickBooks ProAdvisor; TSheets Pro Certified
Memberships: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants; Illinois CPA Society; Chicago Creative Coalition; Art Institute of Chicago; Business Solutions Network
BOARD MEMBER TRAINING
Learning objectives include:
- Non-governing boards and committees
- Laws governing nonprofit boards of directors
- Bylaws
- The role of the director: responsibilities & restrictions
- Role of the lawyer on the board
- Fiduciary duties
- Conflict of interest
- Directors & Officers insurance
- Contracts
- Strategic Planning
Price: $150
For questions about this training, please contact Noemi Garcia at ngarcia@artsbiz-chicago.org.
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BOARD MEMBER TRAINING
Speaker: Charles Katzenmeyer, VP Institutional Advancement, The Field Museum
Learning objectives include:
- Funding landscape for nonprofit arts organizations and sector-wide trends in giving
- The role board members play in securing funds
- How to structure the “ask”
- Creating a donor cultivation calendar
Price: $150
Advance registration is required as space is limited. We will not accept walk-up registrations.
For questions about this training, please contact Noemi Garcia at ngarcia@artsbiz-chicago.org.
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Tuesday, April 2 from 9:00am – 12:00pm
Wednesday, April 3 from 9:00am – 12:00pm
QuickBooks Online gives you many ways to improve your accounting efficiency and choose the processes and reports that are most important to your nonprofit organization. This hands-on Learning Lab will show you tips and shortcuts that’ll help you cut down on time spent working, while maximizing the accuracy of your accounting.
You’ll learn:
- Overall settings and structure
- User access
- Memorized and automated transactions
- Banking downloads and account reconciliations
- Clients vs. vendors
- Detail vs. summary transactions
- Payroll setup, timesheets, and processing
- Importing options to reduce data entry (i.e. from third-party payroll, PayPal, etc.)
- Exporting data
- Financial reports and notes
- Audit preparation and attachments
And more! This Learning Lab is limited to 10 people. Registration will close once capacity is reached. Attendees must be available for both sessions.
Instructor: Yvonne Afable
Managing Partner, Accounting
Afable Consulting
Click here to read Yvonne’s bio.
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Presenter Bio:
Yvonne P. Afable is the Managing Partner of Accounting Services for Afable Consulting LLC, a firm providing accounting and technology support to not-for-profit organizations and small businesses. She earned her Bachelor’s degrees in Accounting & Finance from DePaul University and is a Certified Management Accountant. After starting her career in public accounting, she decided to focus on the nonprofit industry and joined the management staff of American College of Surgeons and Rotary International.
For the past 18 years, she’s been consulting with nonprofit organizations and small businesses, helping them understand and tell their financial story. Using Intuit/QuickBooks and Sage products, she and her team offer services to meet each client’s needs: accounting system set-up and training, bookkeeping services including payroll processing, audit preparation, financial reporting and analysis, and documentation of fiscal policies and procedures.
Yvonne serves as Treasurer on the board of Kartemquin Educational Films and teaches the Financial Management course at the School of Art Institute and Zumba at LA Fitness, South Loop. She resides in Chicago, with her partner, Jose-Albin D. Afable. They have three children (Nicole, Gabrielle, and Justin) and two dogs (Kona and Kai).
BOARD MEMBER TRAINING
Speaker: Megan Angle, CPA & Manager, Porte Brown LLC
Learning objectives include:
- Financial oversight and safeguarding of assets and nonprofit status
- Policies: conflict of interest, whistleblower, document retention & destruction, executive compensation, etc.
- Understanding nonprofit financial statements
- Taxes including payroll and UBIT
- Filing with the IRS and other government entities
- What occurs during an audit and when you need one
- Managing cash flow
Price: $150
Advance registration is required as space is limited. We will not accept walk-up registrations.
For more information, or accessibility accommodations, please contact Noemi Garcia at ngarcia@artsbiz-chicago.org.
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Business Volunteers for the Arts® (BVA) connects skilled professionals with arts and cultural organizations in need of management assistance. Are you ready to join our pro bono consulting program and lend your professional abilities? Apply in time for our next volunteer orientation!
Orientations are offered in the winter, spring, summer and fall. Individuals wishing to join must submit a volunteer application, and participate in an introductory interview, prior to an orientation.
Application Deadline: Friday, April 12. Apply here.
For more information on the BVA program, click here.
What function does the annual budget play in your organization? What decisions should a board make in setting or approving an annual budget? Although budgeting is a central duty for many boards, the answers to these questions can vary between organizations and different perspectives can lead to confusion and conflict. This Learning Lab will explore several frameworks for organizational budgeting and practices that can make the budget a more useful tool for planning and accountability throughout the year. This will include the processes of creating, approving, monitoring, and amending a budget.
Who should attend:
- Executive Directors & Finance Staff
- Board Members & Finance Committee Members
What you’ll learn:
- How board and staff can create, approve, monitor, and amend a budget;
- How your budget can be used as a tool for planning, reporting, control, and accountability; and
- Who among board and staff hold responsibility for these functions.
Instructor: Corrigan Nadon-Nichols / Corrigan Consulting
Click here to read Corrigan’s bio.
For more information, and accessibility accommodations, email Braden Cleary at bcleary@artsbiz-chicago.org or call 312.372.1876 x 105.
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Presenter Bio:
Corrigan helps people create healthy organizations where they can achieve their shared goals. He has assisted dozens of groups through initial formation, start-up, growth, and recovery phases. He provides training and consulting for boards to improve financial, management, and governance systems that suit the unique context and goals of each organization.
A superb board member brings a combination of time, treasure, and talent to an organization. So why do we continue to evaluate and prospect board members strictly on financial capacity? If a board of directors is to reflect the community it serves, the sector must consider more equitable models of assessment.
By considering the entire scope of what an organization’s board of directors contributes in a year, organizations can ignite a sense of self-governance that increases committee participation and reduces stress on the Executive Director – all while meeting or exceeding board contribution goals.
In this workshop, you will learn:
- To streamline your board of directors’ roles and responsibilities in the organization’s annual work plan;
- To reduce board anxiety around giving capacities and prospecting new donors in their networks;
- To create a framework for an equitable board of directors that is welcoming to marginalized groups (socioeconomic, gender identity, race, accessibility, etc.); and
- To design a points-based assessment model that’s not all about the give / get
Presenters: Kristin Larsen / Arts & Business Council of Chicago
Joel Farran / Arts & Business Council of Chicago
Click here to meet the presenters.
For more information, and accessibility accommodations, email Braden Cleary at bcleary@artsbiz-chicago.org or call 312.372.1876 x 105.
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Meet the Presenters:
Kristin Larsen rejoined the Arts & Business Council of Chicago in 2017 after serving as Director of Programs in the early aughts. Prior to returning to A&BC, Kristin was Executive Director of Stage 773 (2013-2017), a performance venue in Lakeview and Executive Director of Remy Bumppo Theater Company from 2002 to 2012. From 1995 to 2000 Kristin was a business representative with Actors’ Equity Association after many years of being an Equity Stage Manager. Kristin has her BFA in production management from The Theatre School, DePaul University and her MA in facilitating organizational effectiveness in the arts from DePaul University’s School for New Learning. Kristin serves on Americans for the Arts Private Sector Council, The Actors Fund Central Region Advisory Council, Pivot Arts Advisory Council and volunteers with DePaul’s Alumni Sharing Knowledge program and the Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee. Kristin is an active member of the Unitarian Church of Evanston.
Joel Farran is the Chair of the Board of the Arts and Business Council of Chicago. Farran is the former Chief Brand Officer of Health Care Service Corporation.
Business Volunteers for the Arts® (BVA) connects skilled professionals with arts and cultural organizations in need of management assistance. Are you ready to join our pro bono consulting program and lend your professional abilities? Apply in time for our next volunteer orientation!
Orientations are offered in the winter, spring, summer and fall. Individuals wishing to join must submit a volunteer application, and participate in an introductory interview, prior to an orientation.
Application Deadline: Sunday, July 7. Apply here.
For more information on the BVA program, click here.
What is public relations? There are many different responses to this question, but arts and culture leaders should be most concerned with managing their organizations’ public image and reputation.
Whether you are connecting with media outlets, community members, or target audiences, a strong public relations plan can help increase your name recognition. By strategically communicating your mission your organization can build audiences and generate revenue like never before.
In this workshop, you will learn to:
- Define public relations and understand how it affects your business;
- Increase your brand recognition by using low cost (and no cost!) public relations tools;
- Implement strategies to develop target audiences for your organization; and
- Create credibility by managing your image and reputation.
Presenter: Vanessa Abron / Agency Abron Public Relations
Click here to read Vanessa’s bio.
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Meet the Presenter:
Vanessa Abron is a public relations professional with expertise in securing positive media coverage for brands in national and local media outlets such as Good Morning America, Extra, The Insider, The Huffington Post, The Breakfast Club, the Associated Press, and ABC News to name a few. Some of her past client work includes, but aren’t limited to, Aflac, Illinois Lottery, Chicago 2016, Pringles, Adidas, Salesforce.com, ComEd, American Optometric Association, Mercedes-Benz, Nike, Interscope Records, Def Jam Recording, Virgin Records and Reebok. Vanessa’s experience represents a broad range of public relations initiatives in a variety of industries, making her a valuable asset to any campaign. She accredits her success on her passion for continuously building positive relationships with a broad spectrum of individuals combined with her steadfast commitment to ensuring that the media, community and the client all receive mutually beneficial rewards from any project.
BOARD MEMBER TRAINING
Presenter: Kristin Larsen, Executive Director, Arts & Business Council of Chicago
Topics include:
- Structures of arts and cultural organizations and their boards
- Life cycle of nonprofit organizations, from the founding board to the working board and the governing board—board governance, staffing and structure, income generation, and programming models
- Expectations of board contributions of time, talent, and treasure
- Relationship between the board and staff, and challenges posed by staffing and board transitions
This training also features a panel of an arts administrator leaders and On BOARD alumni.
Price: $150
Advance registration is required as space is limited. We will not accept walk-up registrations. For questions about this training, please contact Noemi Garcia at ngarcia@artsbiz-chicago.org.
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Leaders in non-profit organizations – board members, executive directors and everyone else – should be comfortable asking for money. But, too few of them are actively doing it.
In this fast-paced, interactive session, fundraising veterans Christopher Jabin (Dragonfly Advisors) and Charles Katzenmeyer (The Field Museum) will offer a practical framework for identifying and cultivating prospective donors, engaging them in the work of your organization, getting the meeting and finally, … making the ask.
Participants in this session will understand how to:
- Identify prospective donors for a non-profit organization
- Build cultivation efforts that help move distant prospects toward being top prospects
- Request and structure a solicitation meeting
- Make the ask and answer potential objections
- Close a gift and begin donor stewardship
Presenters: Christopher Jabin / Dragonfly Advisors
Charles Katzenmeyer / The Field Museum
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Presenter: Megan Angle, CPA & Manager, Porte Brown LLC
Learning objectives include:
- Financial oversight; policy creation and compliance; and safeguarding of assets
- Policies: conflict of interest, whistleblower, document retention & destruction, executive compensation, etc.
- Achieving financial accountability
- What occurs during an audit and when you need one
- Managing cash flow
- Taxes including payroll, UBIT, and changes to GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles)
- Maintaining nonprofit status through tax compliance – filing with the IRS and other government entities
Price: $150
Advance registration is required as space is limited. We will not accept walk-up registrations.
For questions, please contact Noemi Garcia at ngarcia@artsbiz-chicago.org.
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Business Volunteers for the Arts® (BVA) connects skilled Chicagoans with arts, cultural, and creativecommunities in need of management assistance. Are you interested in joining our pro bono consulting program and lending your abilities? Apply!
Application Deadline: Sunday, October 13. Apply here.
For more information on the BVA program, click here.
Orientations are offered in the winter, spring, summer and fall. Individuals wishing to join BVA must submit a volunteer application, and participate in an introductory interview, prior to attendance.
Merriam Webster defines “Engagement” as “something that engages;” “the state of being engaged;” an “emotional involvement or commitment;” or “the state of being in gear.” Each facet of this definition speaks to a critical component of board engagement and knowing how to create the right mix of engagement opportunities for your board can be challenging. This session will help you understand where your board’s engagement-sweet spot is in relation to its evolutionary status and the work you need it to accomplish going forward.
Participants in this session will learn:
- Phases of development of nonprofit arts, cultural, and creative organizations
- How a board of directors typically functions at each phase of development
- Tailored engagement strategies for boards at each phase of development
- To motivate board growth
Presenter: Lisa Tylke / Illuminant
Founder and principal consultant with Illuminant, a consulting practice specializing in evaluation, organizational development, planning, governance and fundraising, Lisa has worked in the non-profit sector since 1987. Her background in arts, education and association management informs her consulting work which focuses on the areas of organizational development, assessment, strategic planning, board development and fundraising. As a consultant, Lisa has served over 40 nonprofit organizations. She has conducted independent evaluations of grant giving programs at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and The Chicago Community Trust as well as grant review for The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation and Prince Charitable Trusts. In addition to her consulting work, Lisa has served as Executive Director for the Chicago Dance Coalition, Director of Arts DuPage for the DuPage Foundation and Chief of Staff for the UFHI Foundation. In 2018, Lisa joined Giving Tree Associates as an adjunct consultant working with their team on fundraising, planning and assessment projects. In 2011 and 2014, Ms. Tylke served as a member of the University of Chicago Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies, Civic Knowledge Project team of instructors supporting its Board Leadership Certificate. In her volunteer life, Lisa serves on the board for the Glen Ellyn Children’s Resource Center a literacy organization providing out-of-school educational enrichment services for low-income, immigrant and refugee families living within Illinois School Districts 41 and 89
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Presenters:
Patricia Marx, Attorney, Quarles & Brady LLP
Cris Beilstein, Consultant
Learning objectives include:
- Laws governing nonprofit boards of directors
- The role of the director: responsibilities & restrictions
- Bylaws
- Understanding the importance of Directors & Officers insurance
- Duty of Care, Duty of Loyalty, and Duty of Obedience
- Conflict of interest
- Executive leadership responsibilities
- Committees and non-governing boards – associate, auxiliary, advisory
- The importance and process of strategic planning
Price: $150
For questions about this training, please contact Noemi Garcia at ngarcia@artsbiz-chicago.org.
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BOARD MEMBER TRAINING
Speakers:
Charles Katzenmeyer, VP Institutional Advancement, The Field Museum
Jonathan VanderBrug, Policy & Research Director, Arts Alliance Illinois
Learning objectives include:
- Funding landscape for nonprofit organizations and sector-wide trends in giving
- The role board members play in securing funds
- Identifying prospects and creating an “ask”
- Creating a donor cultivation strategy
- Understanding current cultural policies and advocacy tips and resources
Price: $150
Advance registration is required as space is limited. We will not accept walk-up registrations.
For questions about this training, please contact Noemi Garcia at ngarcia@artsbiz-chicago.org.
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Business Volunteers for the Arts® (BVA) connects skilled Chicagoans with arts, cultural, and creative communities in need of assistance. Are you interested in joining our pro bono consulting program and lending your abilities? Apply!
Application Deadline: Friday, January 17, 2020. Apply here.
For more information on BVA, click here.
Orientations are offered throughout the year. Individuals wishing to join BVA must submit a volunteer application, and participate in an introductory interview, prior to attendance.
Topics include:
- Structures of arts and cultural organizations and their boards
- Life cycle of nonprofit organizations, from the founding board to the working board and the governing board—board governance, staffing and structure, income generation, and programming models
- Expectations of board contributions of time, talent, and treasure
- Relationship between the board and staff, and challenges posed by staffing and board transitions
This training also features a panel of arts administrators and artists from Little Village who will address emerging issues like governance practices, recruitment efforts, the importance of board diversity, fundraising, and more.
Presenter: Braden Cleary / Director of Arts Services / Arts & Business Council of Chicago
Panel: William Estrada / Artist / Werdmvmnt Studios
J. Omar Magana / Founder & Executive Director / OPEN Center for the Arts
Price: $150
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Art for art’s sake is a thing of the past. The arts, cultural, and creative sector (including institutional funders) is shifting to uplift civic causes in the communities it serves. Organizations working at intersections like arts and youth development, arts and health, and arts and veterans’ affairs are leading the way in using creativity and culture to improve the social and economic lives of their constituents.
In this session we will discuss:
- why artmakers are partnering with existing social service agencies
- how artmakers are operating in divested communities where resources are scarce
- the importance of arts, culture, and creativity in “non-arts” organizations
- how you can thread social practice into your artmaking
Panelists: Calvin King / Founder and Executive Director / Free Lunch Academy
Cate Fox / Senior Program Officer / The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Lauren Krieg / Senior Program Officer / Albert Pick, Jr. Fund
Registration: $65
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Panelist bio: Calvin King III is a local Chicago business consultant and accomplished playwright with over 30 completed works for the stage. Calvin was very active in theater and writing for the stage during college. After becoming a father, educator, and youth pastor his creative work began to naturally center itself around children and youth. He set out to find ways he could use entertainment in an educational way to help coach and mentor young people to become the absolute greatest version of themselves, one choice at a time. Serving as the Founder and Executive Director of the non-profit Free Lunch Academy, Calvin has developed innovative teaching arts programs where children participate in their own learning and develop better social skills while having fun. Through mentoring his teaching artist staff and partnering with other organizations in the community, Calvin has made it a goal of the organization to eradicate bullying worldwide by October 1, 2025.
Panelist bio: Cate A. Fox is a Senior Program Officer at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. At the Foundation, Cate oversees: Culture, Equity, and the Arts and Community Capital awards as part of her work with the Chicago Commitment team.
Previously, Cate served as a senior consultant at The Alford Group, a consulting firm to the nonprofit community. Over seven years with Alford she helped nonprofit organizations, including those in the arts, evaluate programs, assess organizational strength, conduct strategic planning, and increase fundraising. Cate also worked with the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. to revise its international programs and structure.
Cate received a Master of Arts degree in Peace and Development Studies with first class honors from the University of Limerick (Limerick, Ireland), and a Bachelor of Arts cum laude from Hollins University (Roanoke, VA).
Panelist bio: Lauren Krieg is the Senior Program Officer for the Albert Pick Jr. Fund, a private foundation that supports Civic Engagement, Education, the Arts, and Violence Prevention Programming and Healthcare Access for Children and Youth. Lauren is also the Vice President of Iris Krieg and Associates, a philanthropic advisory firm that provides grant management and consultation services to foundations and individual donors. Through this role, for more than eleven years, she has worked for several other Chicago foundations supporting the arts and a variety of other issues. Lauren has served on the Steering Committee of the Arts Work Fund for Organizational Development since 2008 and has been a strong advocate for the use of arts as a tool for improving communities and people’s lives in both traditional and unique ways.
Lauren earned a Bachelor of Arts degrees from Bryn Mawr College in Spanish and Cultural Anthropology and a Master of Education degree in Educational Leadership from Framingham State College.
Topics include:
- Laws governing nonprofit boards of directors
- The role of the director: responsibilities & restrictions
- Bylaws
- Understanding the importance of Directors & Officers insurance
- Duty of Care, Duty of Loyalty, and Duty of Obedience
- Conflict of interest
- Executive leadership responsibilities
- Committees and non-governing boards: associate, auxiliary, advisory
- The importance and process of strategic planning
Presenters: Braden Cleary / Director, Arts Services / Arts & Business Council of Chicago
Patricia Spiccia Marx / Attorney / Quarels & Brady
Cris Beilstein / Consultant / Elevation Collaborative
Price: $150
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PLEASE NOTE: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO SAFETY CONCERNS SURROUNDING COVID-19.
Saturday, March 14, 2020, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 S. South Shore Dr.
Do you need help getting your organization or creative enterprise to the next level? Are you unsure how to grow your business, expand your creative practice, or get things done? Get your business-related questions answered at our next Think & Do Tank!
The Arts & Business Council of Chicago (A&BC) connects skilled Chicagoans with creative people, creative communities, and creative businesses through Think & Do Tanks – half-day business consulting events and resource hubs designed to address the immediate needs of community-based art makers. Through Think & Do Tanks, and guidance from Business Volunteers for the Arts®, you’ll have the opportunity to tackle the questions and challenges of most importance to you.
What Happens at a Think & Do Tank?
Participants engage Business Volunteers for the Arts®—skilled Chicagoans, consultants, and subject matter experts in the areas of business planning, strategic planning, board governance, marketing, communications, human resources, accounting, and more—via one-hour, in-person consulting sessions. You choose your meeting time (1-4 consulting hours, per event) and area of consulting focus. Expect to walk away with actionable advice, concrete recommendations, and the essential knowledge needed to get things done!
Every Think & Do Tank includes community area-specific activities, networking, and a welcoming space for dialogue. A&BC staff will also be on-site to offer advice, connect you with programs, provide referrals, and help you navigate additional service providers.
Get Help In:
- Concept & Development Planning
- Board Governance
- Financial Management
- Income Generation
- Audience Development & Marketing
- Staffing & Structure
- Facilities
- And more!
Who Should Attend:
- Chicago-area artists, creatives, culture-makers, and artist-entrepreneurs;
- Community groups, collectives, and organizations (whether you’re a nonprofit or not!)
- South Shore-area residents, organizers, activists, and change agents!
Consultations are free the day of this event. To reserve a meeting time in advance of the event, register here. Open to all. Walk-ins welcome.
For more information, email us at info@artsbiz-chicago.org.
This Think & Do Tank is presented in partnership with the City of Chicago Park District’s Arts & Culture Unit (ACU).
About Think & Do Tanks
The Arts & Business Council of Chicago (A&BC) offers Think & Do Tanks as part of the 77 Communities Initiative, a realignment of resources to prioritize supporting creative enterprises in divested communities. These half-day business consulting events and resource hubs, presented in partnership with the City of Chicago Park District’s Arts & Culture Unit (ACU), serve to engage artist-entrepreneurs, creatives, and groups where they are – in community. All Think & Do Tanks are open to the public.
This Learning Lab has reached capacity. To be placed on a waitlist, please contact Braden Cleary, Director of Arts Services at bcleary@artsbiz-chicago.org or (312) 372 – 1876 ext. 105.
As of January 1, 2020, Illinois employers must provide sexual harassment training to all full-time and part-time equivalent employees on an annual basis in order to be compliant with Illinois employment law. This includes nonprofit organizations! The Arts & Business Council of Chicago has engaged the Illinois Department of Human Rights to deliver compliance training to our clients.
Participants will engage in a series of thoughtful discussions and exercises about the different perceptions of appropriate and inappropriate conduct. Participants will learn about the two types of sexual harassment, i.e.quid pro quo and hostile work environment, as well as issues including third-party and bystander sexual harassment. The training will encourage employees to report sexual harassment and help build a culture of respect.
Due to limited capacity, this training is only open to current clients of the Arts & Business Council of Chicago. If you have questions about your client status, please contact Braden Cleary, Director of Arts Services at bcleary@artsbiz-chicago.org or (312) 372 – 1876 ext. 105.
Registration: Free
Presenter: Marcio Mendoza / Human Rights Trainer / Illinois Department of Human Rights
PLEASE NOTE: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO SAFETY CONCERNS SURROUNDING COVID-19.
Thursday, March 19, 2020, 6 – 8 p.m.
Osito’s Tap, 2553 S. Ridgeway Ave.
What’s better than making new connections, sharing ideas, and having a local beer?
Meet us at Arts & Drafts, a quarterly networking event for Chicago’s arts, cultural, creative, and business communities. Each event brings together a unique mix of people and companies, under one roof, for one night only. If you believe in the power of the arts, want to make a difference in our city, or simply feel like getting to know Chicago a little better, this mixer’s for you!
Arts & Drafts is a casual opportunity to network, expand your circle, meet up with friends, and make new ones. Do you have a question about the Arts & Business Council of Chicago, our 77 Communities Initiative, or Business Volunteers for the Arts? Swing by and get it answered!
FREE to attend and open to all. Come for the networking, stay for the reposado.
For more information, email Kenneth Franco at kfranco@artsbiz-chicago.org or call 312.372.1876 ext. 102.
Happy Hour pricing will be available between 6 – 8 p.m.
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Parking
A parking lot can be found next to Osito’s Tap (accessible from Ridgeway). Metered parking can also be found off 26th Street and Ridgeway Avenue.
Special thanks to Osito’s Tap and owner Mike Moreno.
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About Arts & Drafts
Arts & Drafts is a quarterly networking event for Chicago’s arts, cultural, creative, and business communities. Each event brings together a unique mix of people and companies, under one roof, for one night only. The goal: To encourage new partnerships and relationships.
Future Dates:
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About Osito’s Tap
Osito’s Tap, established in 2019, is a speakeasy-style bar focused on the art of craft spirts, craft beer, and craft cocktails. This community-oriented space, set inside a historic grey stone building, was once the front to an underground bookie joint and, during the early 1900’s, home to a Bohemian bar for Czech immigrants. Today’s incarnation of the bar brings in a modern Latin flair and blend of the Little Village neighborhood’s rich cultural history, giving customers a unique experience filed with exotic and rare drink offerings. Osito’s Tap is a grant recipient of the City of Chicago Neighborhood Opportunity Fund.
Topics include:
- Financial oversight; policy creation and compliance; and safeguarding of assets
- Policies: conflict of interest, whistleblower, document retention & destruction, executive compensation, etc.
- Achieving financial accountability
- What occurs during an audit and when you need one
- Managing cash flow
- Taxes including payroll, UBIT, and changes to GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles)
- Maintaining nonprofit status through tax compliance – filing with the IRS and other government entities
Presenter: Megan Angle, CPA / Manager / Porte Brown LLC
Price: $150
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Acquiring land, renovating buildings, and purchasing large supplies are huge projects that take careful planning. A capital campaign is a fundraising process that aims to raise enough money to make any of these facility-related purchases. Running a successful capital campaign is a surefire way for nonprofit organizations to own space in the community they serve and create community wealth as an anchor institution.
In this session we will discuss:
- Understanding the feasibility of reaching a high-impact fundraising goal in your capital campaign;
- Business planning and lending processes;
- Marketing and communications strategies to advocate for donations to your campaign;
- And getting to the finish line! How will you know if you were successful?
Presenter: Tracy Lewis / CEO / Lewis & Associates LLC
Registration: $65
Lewis & Associates LLC. intentionally & purposefully supports small businesses, nonprofits and government agencies, with strategic planning community engagement and project management consultation services. Lewis & Associates is lead by Tracy Lewis, who is a Detroit native with a passion for urban spaces, sensory experiences and politics. Tracy has a Masters in Public Administration from Wayne State University and has worked in communities of color for the past 12 years on a variety of community and economic development projects.