JUNE 2010 MONTHLY REPORT
√CultureWorks Grants Program Distributes Funds – CultureWorks has initiated the CultureWorks Grants Program with awards totaling $10,000 that will enable innovation in visual, performing, and literary arts. Yellow House, in partnership with Theatre in Battery Park, will use a grant of $4,000 for its outdoor Shakespeare productions that will take place in August in Battery Park and that will engage residents of that community. Art On Wheels will use $3,000 to provide art experiences for elderly persons whose structured group residences provide limited access to art. New Virginia Review will use $3,000 to develop and launch a web-based literary journal of work by middle-schoolers. The Grants Program will grow and in future rounds will also include grants to individuals.
√Concert Raises Funds for Grants – Personally funded by CultureWorks board member David Christian, the June 25 CenterStage concert by Tommy Emmanuel resulted in $9,966.75 – via ticket sales – that will be used for future grants via the CultureWorks Grants Program. The concert also recognized and thanked area arts/culture organizations and providers via special seating, stage remarks and recognition, and a printed list.
√National Networking Provides Specific Assistance – CultureWorks president John Bryan was among 1,000 arts leaders who participated in the Half-Century Summit of Americans for the Arts June 24-27 in Baltimore. Among dozens of persons who provided productive personal consultation were Jeannie L. Howe of Baltimore’s Everyman Theatre (about Baltimore’s experiences establishing arts/culture districts); Peggy Kendellen, Public Art Manager for Portland’s Regional Arts & Culture Council (about establishing public art plans); Maria Lopez De Leon, executive director of the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (about service to this segment of the community); Margot Knight, CEO of Orlando’s United Arts of Central Florida (about raising money for united grants programs); and Connie Linsler Valentine, president and CEO of the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville (about serving the corporate community).
√ Budget on Track – Thanks to fiscal generosity and partnership from organizations and individuals - along with considered budgeting and expenditures processes - CultureWorks enters its second fiscal year with no debt, with the base budget for FY2011 in hand, and with substantial progress towards its pledge to have self-sustaining revenue streams in place after its first 36 months. CultureWorks always welcomes, and can make use of, additional funding to enhance current services and to fund a waiting list of additional service areas.
√Strategic Partnership with NorthHighland in Place – CultureWorks has signed a one-year agreement with NorthHighland – a national company that provides ongoing strategic consultation regarding mission, programs, and strategies. NorthHighland is donating $50,000 in consultation, including monthly reports and sessions, in exchange for being recognized as a CultureWorks corporate strategic partner.
√Meeting the Press – During June 9-11 CultureWorks met and spoke with visiting writers from American Style, Fodors.com, Passport, National Geographic Traveler Kids, Parents, Culture & Leisure, and TrekkerTime.com who were hosted by the Richmond Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau. The itinerary included Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, CenterStage, galleries, and other venues. The focus was arts and culture in Richmond.
√Developing Regional Relationships – On July 13 CultureWorks will provide consultation to Martinsville’s Harvest Foundation and the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center about forming an organization similar to CultureWorks to provide service/leadership for that region of the state.
√Consultation for State Commission – Virginia Delegate Chris Peace has enlisted CultureWorks to provide consultation – beginning at a Commission meeting on July 28 - for the Virginia Indian Commemorative Commission that is charged with honoring the Virginia Indian with a physical monument on the Capitol grounds.
√Fish Market Continues to Raise Funds for Arts/Culture – Having now raised funds for Positive Vibe Café and Petersburg Area Art League while exhibited there, John Bryan’s painting exhibition – “Fish Market” – is now on dispaly at Hanover Tavern (during the July/August run of “On Golden Pond”) with 100% of sales being split among Hanover Tavern, Barksdale Theatre, and CultureWorks. Next: Listening Room Gallery at Ashland Coffee & Tea in September.
MAY 2010 REPORT
√Community Calendar Pilot in Place – On May 26 the Calendaring task group – now spearheaded by Katherine O’Donnell at the Richmond Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau – approved contracting TIG-Global for a multi-month pilot of the calendaring system they have built to serve Richmond region organizations that provide arts/culture. A group of 12-20 organizations will participate in the pilot period. This will expand to other organizations afterwards.
√Concert in Place to Benefit Area Arts/Culture – CultureWorks board member David Christian has funded a June 25 CenterStage concert by Tommy Emmanuel. Proceeds from tickets will be given to area arts/culture organizations via the CultureWorks Grants Program.
√Twitter in Place to Show Artists the Money – CultureWorks strategic corporate partner SFA Fine Art Services has launched “artsquawks” – a twitter platform that has one function of broadcasting opportunities for paying opportunities for painters, dancers, writers, actors, musicians, and other creators of arts/culture in the Richmond region. (SFA principal Mark Staples has provided his time/venue to host meetings of CultureWorks’ Services to Independent Artists Task Team.)
√Big Cheese Arts/Culture CEOs Network in Place – CultureWorks’ most recent quarterly “Big Cheese” social gathering took place on May 11 at CultureWorks’ offices – and continues to function as an opportunity for networking and partnership development. The Big Cheeses of 20 arts/culture organizations attended: Maymont, Gallery5, Richmond Ballet, Virginians for the Arts, Valentine Richmond History Center, SPARC, James River Ringers, Art180, Art on Wheels, Art6, Battery Park Theatre, Poe Museum, Firehouse Theatre Project, Henley Street Theatre, Historic Richmond Foundation, K Dance, Virginia Center for Architecture, Visual Arts Center of Richmond, and Young Audiences.
√CultureWorks Grants Program Underway – CultureWorks will, by July 1, 2010, award a total of $10,000 in grants to area arts/culture organizations. Proposals are being reviewed at this writing. Grants are awarded for innovation in the way projects are produced and how they reach audiences.
√Give Richmond Website Underway, Organizations Trained – On May 27 CultureWorks convened a dozen area arts/culture organizations for training for The Community Foundation’s new website that encourages philanthropy for nonprofits. Richmond Triangle Players provided the venue for the training, and The Community Foundation’s Michael Jones was the trainer. CultureWorks will continue to offer training as well as hands-on assistance for nonprofit arts/culture organizations as they register for and enter their data on the Give Richmond website. The result will be increased philanthropy for participating organizations.
√Arts/Culture District Planning Advances – At the June 2 meeting of the Arts/Culture District task group (representing various geographical arts/culture areas in the City), preliminary draft wording for a City resolution was discussed. Group members are providing written suggestions for compilation prior to the next meeting. The goal is to create a resolution that can be energetically embraced by all constituents, adopted unanimously by City Council, and that will position each ACD (arts/culture district) as a “vitality tool” for all parties. These meetings are convened/facilitated by CultureWorks and take place at alternating venues – this most recent one at Maymont.
√Fish Market Produces Funding – Having raised $4,000+ for Positive Vibe Café, John Bryan’s painting exhibition – “Fish Market” – will next open at Petersburg Area Art League (PAAL) on 6/11/2010- with all sales there being donated to PAAL. Next stop and funding recipient – July – will be Hanover Tavern.
√CultureWorks Continues to Wave Arts/Culture Banners – CultureWorks president John Bryan has current speaking engagements at West Richmond Rotary, Hands Across Richmond, Richmond Regional Planning District Commission, and Shepherd Center (two locations). The theme of speaking engagements is always to spotlight the region’s arts and culture.
MARCH AND APRIL 2010 REPORT
√CultureWorks Grants Program Underway – The newly-established CultureWorks Grants Program provides grants to individuals and to organizations with budgets under $500K. Grants are used for capacity building and for innovation in the way arts/culture projects are produced and taken to the public. The first round of grants will be awarded by 6/30/2010.
√Update re NEA Grant - The City’s “Letter of Interest” - which CultureWorks helped prepare - requesting $250K from the National Endowment for the Arts’ new grants program to leverage arts for economic development was not successful. 600 cities are eligible for these grants, and 15 will be awarded. But the process has been successful in structuring and focusing the City’s thought on how to best move forward with an arts/culture district.
√Update re Arts/Culture District - CultureWorks continues to convene gatherings of representatives of the City’s geographic pockets of arts/culture (Broad Street, Manchester, Boulevard, Main Street, etc.) in a step-by-step strategic collaboration towards a structured citywide approach to an official arts/culture district. The groups favor an overall name/brand within which there will be individual identities. Next step: June 2 gathering at Maymont with specific deliverables from task-teams.
√Give Richmond – CultureWorks continues to be one of the community partners that are assisting with the launch of The Community Foundation’s “Give Richmond” web platform that enhances philanthropy to nonprofit organizations. CultureWorks is gathering arts/culture nonprofits for a May 27 training session that will inform and enhance their participation.
√National Arts Advocacy Day – On April 12/13 CultureWorks president John Bryan was one of 450 arts leaders from 44 states who met with elected officials in Washington D.C. to encourage federal support for the arts. One of Bryan’s meetings was with four staff members of Representative Bobby Scott whose district includes the Richmond region.
√Virginia Legislators - Over the past two months CultureWorks president John Bryan had individual meetings with and started relationships with 11 of the 18 members of Virginia’s senate and house whose districts are in the Richmond region: Sam Nixon, Rosalyn Dance, Christopher Peace, Jennifer McClellan, Manoli Loupassi, Jimmie Massie, Delores McQuinn, Donald McEachin, Joseph Morrissey, John O’Bannon, and Betsy Carr. Bryan also met with Walter Stoch’s aide, Karla Boughey.
√Website Blog – CultureWorks president John Bryan has now converted his ongoing “CultureWorks Happenings” updates to a personal blog that waves the banners of arts/culture persons/places/programs/happenings that he encounters.
√Update re Arts & Cultural Funding Consortium – Chesterfield County’s final budget has eliminated their financial contribution to the Consortium, but the other jurisdictions continue to have it in their budgets (Richmond’s portion being far greater than the others).
√Philanthropy from CultureWorks Board Members – Although it is not a formal policy, the CultureWorks board has determined that philanthropy from individual board members – according to individual financial abilities – is vital as one signal of personal commitment to the importance of CultureWorks’ mission. At this writing 26 of CultureWorks’ 28 board members have committed to making personal financial gifts for CultureWorks’ operations during calendar year 2010. (The other 2 board members will soon have an opportunity to confirm their philanthropy.) This newly established CultureWorks revenue stream – board giving – is a significant percentage of CultureWorks’ operations budget.
√The Big Cheese – CultureWorks continues to host quarterly social wine/cheese gatherings for CEOs of nonprofit arts/culture organizations, and now there’s a name for the gatherings: Big Cheese. The only agenda is of course to be a catalyst for productive relationships and partnerships among arts/culture organizations. Next Big Cheese: May 11.
√Update: Services for Individual Artists – CultureWorks has applied for a grant to help engineer/launch a website that will post opportunities for individual artists to make money. After the grant decision in June, CultureWorks will move forward. A task team of independent artists and others determined that this initiative should be CultureWorks’ top priority among possible ways to serve independent artists. The goal remains to have the website in place by the end of 2010.
√Fractured Atlas – On April 8/9 CultureWorks hosted a Richmond visit by Adam Natale of NYC’s Fractured Atlas – a nonprofit organization that provides a range of services to artists and arts organizations. Richmond artists who were at meetings with Natale have asked that CultureWorks form a partnership with Fractured Atlas to make the services available here. We are moving forward with that to be in place by the end of 2010.
√Disability Workshops – CultureWorks board member Jim Rothrock who is the state’s Commissioner for the Department of Rehabilitative Services has agreed to provide a series of workshops for arts/culture nonprofit organizations regarding their interactions with, services to, regulations regarding, and partnerships with the disability community. The goal is to provide the first workshop in fall 2010.
√Roster of Performance Venues – The Alliance for the Performing Arts is developing a roster/inventory of performance venues in the Richmond region, and CultureWorks will provide it, along with ongoing updates, on its website. This is in response to the continual need for space by the region’s many performance organizations. The goal is to have an initial roster posted on the website by the end of 2010.
√Update re CultureWorks Board Membership – CultureWorks’ 28-person board includes new member William H. Luke, GM, Packaging, MWV (formerly MeadWestvaco). Among Bill Luke’s interests is Baroque music. He is a “J.S. Bach fanatic” and is particularly fond of his organ works.
√Fort Lee – On April 28 CultureWorks president met with Fort Lee history museum officials (Quartermaster Museum, Army Women’s Museum) regarding possible synergies with Richmond’s museums and regarding significant forthcoming expansion of Fort Lee’s museums footprint. This was an initial meeting for the CultureWorks/Fort Lee relationship; specific involvements are yet to be determined.
√Update re CultureWorks Staffing – On May 17 VCU graduate student in Urban Planning Carrie Allen will begin work (15+ hours per week) as a pro bono CultureWorks intern. Her responsibilities will include directing the CultureWorks Metrics Program (measuring strength of arts/culture in the Richmond region). The first Metrics will be released publicly on 11/30/2010.
√CultureWorks Brand-Building, Relationships – CultureWorks president John Bryan continues to invest time on building relationships and waving the banner of the importance of arts/culture. He was one of the 100 persons who went on the Chamber’s April 21-23 InterCity Visit to Raleigh, will be a member of the forthcoming Leadership Metro Richmond class, was a presenter for the March 14-16 Annual Conference of the Virginia Association of Museums held in Richmond, is a participant in the Virginia African American Museums and Historic Sites Network (most recent meeting March 13 in Richmond), will be (along with CultureWorks board chair Brooks Smith) a presenter for The Shepherd’s Center on May 13 and 17, a presenter at West Richmond Rotary on June 2, and a presenter for HandsOn Greater Richmond on July 24.
√Fish Market – On May 3 an exhibition of new artworks by CultureWorks president John Bryan opened at Positive Vibe Café. The exhibition will travel for two years, spending a few weeks each at different venues in the Richmond region, and donating 100% of all sales for arts/culture in the region. The exhibition has four primary goals: spotlight the nonprofit venues that host the exhibition, spotlight a few never-before-used spaces for artists to exhibit their works, raise money for arts/culture, and continue to build the CultureWorks brand. At the May 3 opening reception art purchases totaled $4,000+, all of which is donated to Positive Vibe Café. Also at the May 3 reception the principal of Positive Vibe formed productive relationships – including one that will result in a series of Positive Vibe exhibitions of artworks by disabled persons. SFA Fine Art Services – a CultureWorks strategic corporate partner – donated the production of limited-edition fine art prints of the original paintings that are being exhibited.
√Volunteer Appreciation – CultureWorks continues to recruit and make productive use of volunteers who work on the various task teams and committees that accomplish many of the action steps related to the Richmond Region Cultural Action Plan and listed in these monthly reports. On March 17 – in recognition of the one-year anniversary of the publication of the Plan – CultureWorks hosted a party at Gibson’s to thank and recognize more than 150 working volunteers as well as the donors who funded the Plan.
√Update/Appreciation re CultureWorks Funding – CultureWorks continues to operate in the black, has no debt, and is on track for philanthropy to fully fund its operations for the coming fiscal year. Altria and Dominion are CultureWorks’ Leadership Financial Partners and provide not only money but also involvements and energies of key personnel. Other funding comes from Bank of America, E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, The Community Foundation Serving Richmond and Central Virginia, Union First Market Bank, SunTrust, Ukrop Foundation, Virginia Commission for the Arts, Wachovia Wells Fargo Foundation, Windsor Foundation, Richmond City, Henrico County, Hanover County, Chesterfield County, as well as individual persons. The CultureWorks operations expenditures are lessened significantly by the donation of pro bono services by CultureWorks’ Strategic Corporate Partners: Lake Anna Winery, Data Network Services, and SFA Fine Art Services.
FEBRUARY 2010 REPORT
√ Metrics Completed – A volunteer committee has completed its work identifying a set of criteria that can be measured annually and that, as a group, are a measure of the strength of arts and culture in the Richmond region. A first annual measurement will take place in 2010. Committee participants: Cathy Boe (Virginia Historical Society), Gordon Dixon (Altria), Carmen Foster (Virginia Museum of Fine Arts), Peggy Baggett (Virginia Commission for the Arts), Dennis Winston (artist), Kelli Springs (chair), Mike Upchurch (Fuzzie Logix).
√ Grants Guidelines Developed – A volunteer committee has completed its work developing guidelines, criteria, eligibility and application procedures for the CultureWorks Grants Program which is expected to begin in 2010. Grants will be available to 501c3 organizations with budgets less than $500,000 and to individual persons. Grants will be awarded for two areas of focus: capacity building, and innovation. Innovation refers to the ways that arts and culture are produced and presented to the public. Complete information will be posted on the CultureWorks website in spring 2010. Committee participants: Gordon Dixon (Altria), Charles Piper (BCWH), Susan Davis (The Community Foundation), David Fisk (Richmond Symphony), Amanda Robinson (Gallery5), Ted Ukrop (Valentine Richmond History Center), Chris Sterling (Virginia Community Development Corporation), Scott Horchler (SunTrust), Adele Johnson (One Voice Chorus), Brock Vaughn (Bank of America), Caron Sterling (CultureWorks).
√ Top Priority Determined for Services to Independent Artists – A volunteer committee has determined the single top priority service for CultureWorks to provide to independent artists: an ongoing web listing of persons and organizations that want to purchase, award, hire, and present the products of individual artists (painters, dancers, musicians, writers, etc.). A sub-committee is now planning the architecture for such website. The expectation is for this to be launched in 2010. Committee participants: Emma Lou Martin, John Bryan, Sheri Oyan, Andrea Olson, Linda Hollett-Bazouzi, Diane Clement, Jenni Kirby, Mark Staples, Jonathan Austin, Jack Winn, Liz Kellinger, Jack Risley, Paul DiPasquale, Linda Hollett, Rick Toscan.
√ Expertise Provided Regarding Arts/Culture Districts – On January 26-27, 2010 CultureWorks hosted a Richmond visit by arts/culture district expert Theresa Cameron who met with a statewide audience, with the Richmond public, and with a breakfast gathering of 25 invitees. No Richmonders have first-hand experience establishing or developing formal arts/culture districts, but Richmonders have now been able to learn details from an expert. The breakfast gathering has initiated a productive conversation that is continuing. Breakfast attendees: Jack Berry (Convention/Visitors Bureau), Jack Berry (Venture Richmond), John Bryan (CultureWorks), Norman Burns (Maymont – representing Museums on Boulevard group), Theresa Cameron (D.C.), Suzette Denslow (Mayor’s Office), Chris Dovi (STYLE), Katrina Fontenla (Curated Culture board chair), Rachel Flynn (City Planning), Tammy Hawley (Mayor’s Office), Amy Howard (UR), Ashley Kistler (VCU Anderson Gallery), B.J. Kocen (Glave Kocen Gallery, West Main Street), Glenda Kotchish (ArtWorks – Hull Street), Angela Lehman-Rios (RTD), Bill Martin (Valentine, head of Richmond Region Cultural Action Plan), Bob Mooney (CenterStage), Christina Newton (Curated Culture), Kay Peninger (St. John’s Church – Church Hill), Amanda Robinson (Gallery5), Charles Samuels (City Council), Brooks Smith (CultureWorks board chair), Caron Sterling (CultureWorks), Rick Toscan (VCU Arts), Jim Ukrop (CenterStage, First Market Bank), Katie Ukrop (Quirk Gallery). “Thanks again for putting this together and great job on igniting a spark!” – B.J. Kocen, principal, Glave Kocen Gallery. “Thanks for pulling the group together.” –Jack Berry, president, Venture Richmond
√ Admissions Tax on Complimentary Tickets Abolished – On January 25, 2010 Richmond City Council voted to abolish the 7% tax that organizations are required to pay on complimentary tickets to their events. (The 7% is applied to the value of equivalent for-sale tickets.) The abolishment of this tax (in place since the 1940s) allows organizations to now make strategic use of complimentary tickets without having to pay those taxes. (Last year, for example, the Richmond Ballet paid more than $10,000 in taxes on free tickets.) It is expected that this will result in more persons attending more events in the City and thus spending more money on parking, dining, and other things, thus increasing the City’s net tax revenues. Councilmember Doug Conner and Virginia Auto Dealers Association president Johnny Cates led the effort to abolish this tax. ”BRAVISSIMO!! Many thanks indeed for all your work!” – David Fisk, executive director, Richmond Symphony. “Many, many thanks for your work on this effort.” – Marcia Thalhimer (immediate past president, Richmond Symphony board). “We would have had no chance without your guidance.” – Johnny Cates, president, Virginia Auto Dealers Association
√ Better Business Bureau Relationships Established – On January 20, 2010 CultureWorks convened a first-time meeting between leaders of 501c3 arts/culture organizations and Better Business Bureau leaders (Central Virginia BBB president Tom Gallagher and national executive Art Taylor). This meeting resulted from a December article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch that listed local 501c3 organizations that “Do Not Meet Standards” of the Better Business Bureau – a list that included worthy, respected organizations and that precipitated calls to those organizations from some of their major funders. The January 20 meeting resulted in the BBB and arts/culture organizations understanding one another better – especially regarding the BBB’s 20 Standards for nonprofits. CultureWorks has now received follow-up comments and recommendations from the attendees, and on February 5, 2010 will discuss those with BBB so that its 20 Standards can be even more helpful in waving the banners of worthy arts/culture organizations. Organizations that attended the January 20 meeting: Richmond Concert Band, Virginia War Memorial, Richmond Ballet, Henley Street Theatre, Virginia Holocaust Museum, Virginia Historical Society, James River Writers, Virginia Association of Museums, Visual Arts Center of Richmond, JAMinc, Cultural Arts Center of Glen Allen, American Civil War Center @ Historic Tredegar, Virginia Center for Architecture, SPARC, Art on Wheels, Gallery5, Maymont, Historic Richmond, Maymont, Firehouse Theatre Project, Richmond Children’s Museum. “I found the meeting very informative.” - Jim Barrett, president, Richmond Concert Band. “I thought it was very worthwhile.” – Margo Carlock, president, Virginia Association of Museums. “A HUGE THANK YOU for initiating the conversation and educating all of us. Thanks for all you have done to bring attention to the issues and to educate all of us.” –Mary Jane Hogue, executive director, Historic Richmond Foundation. “I found the meeting informative and appreciate your making it happen.” – Ginger Bower, president, Virginia Center for Architecture
√ Arts/Culture Documented in African-American Churches – As a result of a 2008 questionnaire that confirmed that many African-Americans in the Richmond region experience arts/culture in their churches, CultureWorks has now completed a documentation of ongoing arts/culture activities in 35 African-American churches in the Richmond region. The purpose of this research was for CultureWorks to be somewhat knowledgeable about this particular array of arts/culture, and to make this information available for other organizations that are interested in enhancing diversity in arts/culture.
√ Cultural Action Plan Update Presented – On January 12, 2010 CultureWorks was one of the presenters for a public meeting, held at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, to discuss and report on the progress of the Richmond Region Cultural Action Plan. Other presenters included Jo Kennedy (CEO Visual Arts Center, Education Committee), David Fisk (executive director Richmond Symphony, Creativity in the Workplace Committee), Jack Berry (CEO Richmond Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau, Calendaring Committee) and Bill Martin (executive director Valentine Richmond History Center, leader of the overall Plan). The next public meeting is scheduled for 6:00 pm on April 6, 2010 at the Visual Arts Center.
√ Appreciation Planned for Volunteers and Funders – On March 17, 2010 CultureWorks will host a party (5:30-7:00 p.m, Gibson’s) to thank the approximately 200 volunteers who have participated on the committees and task teams that continue to carry out the action steps and recommendations of the Richmond Region Cultural Action Plan. This is in concert with the one-year anniversary of the Plan’s publication. The Plan’s funders will also be thanked at the event. “Really appreciate you putting this together.” – Bill Martin, executive director, Valentine Richmond History Center
√ Donor Edge Initiated – CultureWorks is one of the 501c3 organizations that are participating with The Community Foundation’s initial launch of Donor Edge – a web-based interactive database designed to increase awareness of, and philanthropic support for, the Richmond region’s 501c3 organizations. In June/July 2010 Donor Edge will be available to all nonprofits, and CultureWorks will assist in recruiting and assisting arts/culture organizations for their involvement.
√ Convening of Board Chairs Evaluated, Next Step Determined – Comments have been positive regarding CultureWorks’ December 1, 2009 party exclusively for chairs of 501c3 arts/culture boards – attended by 44 organizations. CultureWorks has now met with representatives from The Community Foundation and the Partnership for Nonprofit Excellence which will partner with CultureWorks for a next step: a 2010 gathering of board chairs along with the chair of a nationally prominent organization – hopefully in May, June, or July 2010. One modification has resulted from follow-up comments: the invitation list will extend also to incoming and outgoing board chairs. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has offered to donate its new board room as the site for the next gathering. “I’ll look forward to support this effort as well as all that CultureWorks leads.” –Suzanne Hall, Chief Communications Officer, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1/8/2010
√ Assistance for Small Performance Organizations Initiated – CultureWorks has initiated plans to coordinate a marketing consortium for the region’s small (budgets under $250,000) performing arts organizations. CultureWorks president John Bryan will be present an all-day workshop for small organizations provided and organized pro bono by Richmond Ballet managing director Keith Martin on Saturday, February 20, 2010, and subsequent to that will extend the marketing consortium offer. Small organizations often do not have adequate resources, personnel, or expertise to do effective marketing. The goal of the consortium is to enable a stronger and more effective voice for reaching their audiences, thus increasing attendance, philanthropy, and general visibility.