Events

Nov
10
Wed
Learning Lab: Generating Revenue by Creating Operational Efficiencies @ Webinar
Nov 10 @ 11:30 am – 1:00 pm

With limited ability to generate NEW revenue, can you find a greater margin of profit by creating operational efficiencies?

Join us for this participatory workshop focusing on creative and innovative solutions for your business or organization to generate more earned revenue by maximizing operational efficiencies.

Topics Include:

  • Conducting an operational audit – assessing income and expense to ensure sustainability and growth
  • The role of values and organization culture in operational efficiency
  • Service areas that can be outsourced or shared to minimize expenses
  • Building Consensus and Change Management

Even before the pandemic, organizations struggled with maximizing operational efficiencies. The economic setbacks from COVID-19 including restrictions on gatherings, changes in consumer behavior (voluntary or otherwise), and severe unemployment have taken a devastating toll on our sector- further impacting earned revenue which has now made it even more imperative to revisit operations efficiencies for organizations.

Presenter: Rashmi Narsana- Founder & CEO of CGT Strategy. Rashmi is an A&BC smARTscope consultant and has 18 years of nonprofit experience in management and leadership roles. She leads capacity building strategy projects that help organizations create well-developed plans to achieve their goals through a research-informed and data-based process. Rashmi also serves as adjunct faculty at the University of Vermont, where she teaches Nonprofit Management, and Fundraising and Development.

Feb
2
Wed
Learning Lab: Navigating Your Journey at Work in the New Normal @ webinar
Feb 2 @ 9:30 am – 11:00 am

Who should attend:  Staff members and emerging leaders

During the great reshuffling and great resignation, many staff members are truly fatigued, while new hires show up energized.

How do you work alongside each other? How do you accomplish your goals or set goals when the future is unknown?

Our Content Expert Myla Skinner will explore team dynamics, empowering staff members to get what they need in a time of great flux, and help you get on the same page so that you can build resilience and re-engage with your mission.

After attending this session, you will have several tools to invigorate your work and team’s effectiveness.

Content Expert: Myla Skinner, Managing Partner, Quarter Five Consulting

Nov
29
Tue
Learning Lab 2022: Creating Cultures of Belonging in Arts Organizations @ Online
Nov 29 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am

 

At the Arts & Business Council of Chicago, we are creating a world where creativity is universally valued as a resource with limitless potential for social and economic impact. We are an arts service organization focused on serving Chicago’s cultural workers and enterprises through consulting, programming, and mentorship to ensure community vitality and an equitable creative economy. 

One of the ways in which we fulfill our mission is through our Learning Labs Program. Learning Labs provide opportunities to start new conversations about non-profit management with a particular focus on arts + culture. The goal of this program is to continue discussing solutions for challenges faced across the sector. 

 

About Learning Lab: Creating a Culture of Belonging in Arts Organizations

Learn to create cultures of belonging within your organizations, board, and communities. The session will include the most impactful recommendations for fostering belonging according to the R2P2 (Recruiting, Retention, Promotion, and Protection) model, with a special focus on the unique needs of arts organizations. Content Expert, Alida Miranda-Wolff, will leverage her experience working with institutions like the Poetry Foundation, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Hyde Park Art Center, and Steppenwolf Theater Company to provide tailored guidance to attendees on any and all of their diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging questions. 

Topics covered during the session:

  • The Intersectional Issues Arts Organizations Face in Achieving Belonging
  • Why Culture, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Matter
  • How to Diagnose Your Organization’s Inclusiveness 
  • R2P2 (Recruiting, Retention, Promotion, and Protection) Best Practices for Your Staff and Community Members
  • How to Measure the Impact of Initiatives

Price: $30

Register here

Content Expert: 

Alida Miranda-Wolff (she/her/ella) is the CEO and Founder of Ethos and author of the book Cultures of Belonging: Building Inclusive Organizations that Last, released on February 15, 2022. Alida received her certification in diversity, equity, and inclusion from Georgetown University and has eight years of practitioner experience. In 2021, Alida was a recipient of the University of Chicago’s Early Career Achievement Award.By helping organizations and the people inside of them understand their relationships with power, how to use their power responsibly, and how to share their power, she helps create the conditions for everyone to thrive at work.

 

Questions about this event? 

Email Constanza Mendoza, A&BC’s Director of Programs, at cmendoza@artsbiz-chicago.org 

Feb
22
Wed
Learning Lab 2023: Deep Listening. Human-Centered Design Tools @ Online
Feb 22 @ 10:00 am – 11:30 am

Learning Lab: How Human-Centered Design Can Help You Listen to What Your Community Needs 

George Aye, Co-Founder and Director of Innovation at Greater Good Studio, will lead participants in a deep listening session. This method is one of several being practiced during an overview of human-centered design. This session will feature a video that Greater Good Studio produced as a teaching tool for sharing how to learn design research. The behaviors modeled during the video gives learners a rich sense for how to show up and honor the lived experiences of research participants that we’re ultimately learning from. 

Content Expert: George Aye, Co-Founder and Director of Innovation at Greater Good Studio

George Aye believes that design can lead to positive behavior change. Before co-founding Greater Good Studio, he spent seven years at global innovation firm IDEO before being hired as the first human-centered designer at the Chicago Transit Authority. Since founding Greater Good, he has worked across multiple social issues, including autism, criminal justice, education, public health, and health care. He has facilitated discussions with small executive leadership teams and workshops with 150+ participants to help uncover hidden opportunities for innovation. George is an adjunct full professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Price: Pay What You Can ($15-$35)

Apr
26
Wed
Learning Lab 2023: Brand Strategy & Storytelling For Arts Nonprofits @ Online
Apr 26 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am

Learning Lab: Brand Strategy And Storytelling for Arts + Culture Nonprofits 

Brand strategy is no longer optional for the arts.   

Mission statements are aspirational, yet they are not enough – they are not decision-making tools and are rarely unique or memorable. In this session, we will make a case for articulating an organizational purpose that can help you make big and small decisions, create team alignment, make your funders understand why you are unique, and communicate to your audiences what they can expect from you. 

Content Expert: Jennifer Martindale, Marketing and Branding Professional

Jennifer has worked with global brands, innovative nonprofits, and founder-led companies. Her expertise includes consumer goods, multi-unit retail & restaurants, arts & entertainment, automotive, government, and professional sports. She believes brands can use their platform to help shift culture. She worked at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Leo Burnett, and Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, before joining the Chicago Cubs as Senior Vice President of Marketing

Aug
30
Wed
Learning Lab: Roadmap to Enacting Pay Equity and Transparency in Nonprofits @ Online
Aug 30 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am

Learning Lab: Roadmap To Enacting Pay Equity and Transparency in Nonprofits

Enacting pay equity is not as expensive as it appears. From posting salaries in job offers and creating organizational policies to talking about money and fair compensation from a place of justice, this Learning Lab will tackle crucial aspects of understanding and navigating pay equity and transparency. 

 

Price: Pay What You Can ($15 – $35)

Content Expert: Elsa Hiltner, Organizer and Consultant for Pay Equity & Associate Director of Programs at Lawyers for the Creative Arts.

Elsa Hiltner has worked for over 15 years as a freelance artist and arts non-profit administrator, including as director of development for Collaboraction Theatre Company and as Associate Director of Programs at Lawyers for the Creative Arts. Her essays on labor and pay equity have inspired systemic change in the theatre industry. Her Theatrical Designer Pay Resource has been used nationwide to promote pay transparency and start conversations around pay equity. She is a co-founder of On Our Team, which successfully organized pay transparency on the job sites of Playbill, BroadwayWorld, and the League of Chicago Theatres.

Oct
25
Wed
Learning Lab: Proposal/Grant Writing, Building a Successful Case @ Online
Oct 25 @ 10:00 am – 11:30 am

At the Arts & Business Council of Chicago, we are creating a world where creativity is universally valued as a resource with limitless potential for social and economic impact. We are an arts service organization focused on serving Chicago’s cultural workers and enterprises through consulting, programming, and mentorship to ensure community vitality and an equitable creative economy. 

One of the ways in which we fulfill our mission is through our Learning Labs Program. Learning Labs provide opportunities to start new conversations about non-profit management with a particular focus on arts + culture. The goal of this program is to continue discussing solutions for challenges faced across the sector. 

About Learning Lab: Grant Writing, Building a Successful Case for your Project

Support for nonprofit arts organizations and art makers in Chicagoland drastically increased last year and is expected to continue growing until the end of this year. Grant amounts from the city and state are larger, their terms are more flexible, and the application process is less rigid. When it comes to private foundations, a similar case is happening. 

However, even if there are more funding opportunities, the chances of getting funds will largely depend on the applicant’s ability to effectively build their case and present a successful grant application. 

In view of this exciting scenario, the Arts & Business Council offers a Learning Lab on Grant Writing where participants will gain insights into communicating effectively with prospective funders.  

During this workshop, attendees will get tailored advice on building a case for their project or organization. This session focuses on philanthropic foundation and government grants for arts organizations, although some underlying principles around proposal writing apply to individuals.  

Content Expert: TBD

Topics covered during the session 

  • Brief History of Nonprofit Funding 
  • Anatomy of a Grant Application, with a focus on narrative, timeline, budget, and impact/evaluation 
  • Case Studies: Critically Examining Writing Samples 
  • Creating Your Case: Share your Elevator Pitch  

Topics not covered 

  • Identifying relevant government and private foundation funders 
  • Types of foundations and other funders 
  • Types of proposals and submissions
  • Application for research grants 

 

We encourage participants to prepare a one-paragraph pitch for a project they want to get funded.  

 

Price: Pay What You Can ($20-$35)

Content Expert: TBD

 

Questions about this event? 

Email Constanza Mendoza, A&BC’s Director of Programs, at cmendoza@artsbiz-chicago.org 

Jan
1
Mon
To Be Announced
Jan 1 – Dec 31 all-day