Assembly for the Arts

Crowdfunding

Simply put, crowdfunding is “fundraising that relies on social media and the internet to raise small amounts of capital from large numbers of individuals.”

The great advantage of this tool is that not only can you reach out to a small number of individuals that you know personally; you can also expand your reach to anyone on the web. The online funding platform offers a mechanism for accepting cash donations to your project immediately onsite. Crowdfunding is a good way to garner a large segment of interest for a specific project or a series of projects that may be cost-prohibitive for artists to try to fund alone. It is also a great way to connect with other artists and to create a new group of individual supporters for your work.

Each crowdfunding platform is a little different. There are both discipline-specific and general crowdfunding sites that offer innovative ways to address the funding needs of artists. Before you decide to post your project for funding, do some research on the site and become familiar with any restrictions and/or guidelines that exist. Make sure you understand how their funding platform works and what your obligation to funders will be if your project is funded fully. Some sites offer partial funding and others will not pay artists at all unless the total amount of the funding goal is reached, so set your funding amount accordingly. It is also good practice to follow a few projects currently posted on the site. By following projects posted you will be able to observe first-hand how successful each project was in terms of reaching supporters and meeting stated financial goals. You can also gain a lot of knowledge from other projects listed and described, which can go a long way to help you craft and post your own successful project idea or concept.

While more are listed in our directory, there are a few leading sites to consider as you begin research:

As you design your project page you will be asked to post a description of the project. Include details about the work, your passion for the work or any other pertinent persuasive information to help pitch your idea. Remember that not everyone will be familiar with you or your artwork so it is important to be descriptive, clear and engaging.

You may also be asked to offer goods or services to potential investors as rewards for making a donation at various levels to your specific project. These may include being listed as an investor on the website or in film credits, receiving a signed poster or t-shirt from an event, receiving copies of a DVD or another memorable item from a production like a signed photo or still. Think about ways to benefit both the investor and your work as you determine the most appropriate take away for the support of your project. Whatever you choose to share it should be related to the project in a significant way and serve as a “thank you” to the investors and sponsors supporting your work at each level of contribution.

Once you have posted your project, build a strategy for getting the word out and nudging your contacts to contribute. As mentioned above, start with your inner network of friends and family, and move outward. Remember to ask for a donation and share the details of the project with others. Be creative and tactful about sending reminders or updates, and use social media to its fullest advantage. Showcase your personality and creative ideas. Post links and updates on your funding goal, the names of new donors, and/or photos on your Facebook page or other site to keep interest in your project during the time it is posted.

Integrate crowdfunding into your overall funding strategy. Use the number of investors and amounts they offered as leverage for additional grants or loans. Frame your pitch for those who are unfamiliar with the platform. Share information on investors who have supported you, committed to your idea and offered financial support for your project.

by Assembly for the Arts

Cleveland artists seek lifeline in Covid relief money

Source: The Land

Abstract:

March 2020: The world came to a juddering halt.

While many of us found ways to reorient our lives by summer, making an office out of the living room or trading in our corporate uniforms for delivery driver tags, the creative sector stood upon the precipice of loss and wept. And now, as the world is finally trying to get moving again, Cleveland artists have a chance to breathe life back into the city.

The cost? With just a thin slice of the city’s federal rescue plan, the arts community could get the jump start it needs, says one local group.

“It’s a whole array of creative workers who make up a collective $2.9 billion industry in Northeast Ohio,” said Jeremy Johnson, CEO of Assembly for the Arts. “We believe the artists deserve a piece of the Covid-related pie.”

Read the Full Article

by Assembly for the Arts

Workbench Series Archive

View materials and watch videos of 2022 WorkBench Sessions.

Workbench Sessions \| 2022 Schedule
Session	Partner	Date	Link
Capitalization for Grantmakers and Nonprofits	GIA	January 11	learn
Accessibility Opportunity: Arts + Culture Partnership + Shared Virtual Communities	Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities	January 20	view recipients
Healthcare is not a Privilege	The MetroHealth System	March 10	view resources
Fiscal Sponsorship 101		April 14	watch
Business Basics for Creatives	SCORE Cleveland	May 4	watch
Marketing Basics for Creatives	SCORE Cleveland	May 18	watch
Community CORE: The Superhero Project	Lisa Kollins	July 21	watch
Legal Help Needed: Better Call VLA and Legal Aid	Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts; Legal Aid	August 11	learn more
A Conversation with W.A.G.E.	W.A.G.E.	November 3	WAGENCY

Context

In learning from Cleveland’s arts and culture communities, Assembly has seen the need for practical support, professional development and connections rise to the top as priorities for creative workers – from financial sustainability, accounting and health insurance to accessibility, equity practices and legal assistance.

Assembly worked in partnership with The George Gund Foundation and Grantmakers in the Arts to host an initial workshop focused on financial resiliency and capitalization for both grantmakers and nonprofit organizations.

With that and the observed priorities for creative workers, Assembly has devised Workbench Sessions: Useable Tools for Creative Workers

Who benefits?

The ultimate goal of this program is to boost the professional bandwidth and resiliency of our area creative workers and, in turn, grow the effectiveness of greater Cleveland’s arts and culture sector and creative industries. Stronger arts and culture means thriving residents, vibrant and safer neighborhoods, more effective education and community well-being.

Additionally, the financial impact of COVID on artists and arts groups has been well documented. But even prior to the pandemic, small- and medium-budget nonprofits lacked sufficient financial cushions to do long range planning, weather unexpected emergencies, or beef up for expansion. Assembly is well-positioned to provide support and resources to our creative communities that address these issues.

By hosting this series of programs, Assembly for the Arts will gain more insight into future programming and uncover areas of deep need for the arts community.

Financial Sustainability for Creatives

While the overall Workbench Sessions are intended to address the needs of the full creative community, a specialized, separate track of entrepreneurship coaching will be offered for small to mid-size organizations, artists and small creative businesses. Participation will prioritize BIPOC communities, BIPOC-led organizations, and organizations devoted to development equitable business practices. This work is supported by Huntington Bank’s Entrepreneur In Residence program.

Community CORE: Creatives Offer Resources for Everyone

Community Core Sessions

Assembly recognizes that there are hundreds of untapped experts in our arts communities who are living, working and waiting to share their knowledge. That’s why we’re excited to launch Workbench: Community Core. An extension of the Workbench Sessions, Community Core feature arts community presented topics and conversations. We see the value in creating a flexible, community-centered space and platform for our local artists, business owners, nonprofit professionals and entrepreneurs to Teach, Connect and Provide their knowledge to the public using the virtual webinar format.

Topics can be

Knowledge-based; rooted in your expertise as part of the arts community and supportive to others
Collaborative in style, seeking the feedback of the community
Broad-reaching and beneficial for anyone in the arts community

Topics cannot be

Partisan political presentations or lobbying efforts
A sales pitch or event promotion
A lecture on a personal viewpoint

Submit your idea now!

All Community Core presentations will be hosted on Assembly’s Zoom platform, supported by staff and promoted in our communications channels. Our regular Workbench Series will continue, with Community Core as a supplement depending on community interest and appetite.

by Assembly for the Arts

Artists for ARPA: Just Two Percent

Source: CAN Journal

Abstract:

For decades, the City of Cleveland, has had a scarce commitment to the support of the arts and cultural sector. In particular, the creative workforce—the individual people who actually do the creating– has been exceedingly undervalued. Those are people hit hard by the COVID crisis. Currently the arts sector, coordinated by Assembly for the Arts, is asking Cleveland City Council to approve Mayor Justin Bibb’s recommendation that $10 million dollars of American Rescue Plan Act funds be invested in the arts, including the creative workforce. That is two (2) cents out of each of the $511 million that Cleveland has to spend. Two percent.

Read the Full Article

by Assembly for the Arts

Nathalie Bermudez

An artist and fellow neighbor in Clark-Fulton, Stockyards and portions of Brooklyn Centre, and Tremont.

Follow the artist

Two Cents for Arts & Culture

Commit 2% of the $500 million+ Cleveland is receiving in federal ARPA funds to Arts & Culture!

Covid has hit the creative sector hard. An ARPA investment of $10 million helps protect and brings jobs to EVERY neighborhood. We are creative businesses. We are cultural nonprofits. We are individual artists and so much more. We remain anchors for neighborhoods all over the city. ARPA funds will protect one of our greatest assets that is central to Cleveland’s economy and identity.

Artists for ARPA

Led by creative people, for creative people, we’ve created 18 unique and vibrant postcards, featuring artists of all disciplines in all 17 Cleveland City Wards. Take a look through the art below.

Right now, we have the opportunity to acquire more funding for our Creative Workers. Our city has received $511 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, a pandemic support program enacted by President Biden. We need your help in asking Cleveland City Council to dedicate $10 million of these dollars to our Creative Workforce. This is only 2% of the ARPA funds Cleveland received – that’s only 2 cents on the dollar!

Let’s flood City Hall with powerful postcard messages! Attend an ARPA Postcard Party on Feb 24 or March 3 and Tweet + Email your City Council Member today.

We’re making progress

Recently, Mayor Bibb included a recommendation in his transition report to allocate $10 million to arts and culture. This is an exciting step, but we must help Cleveland City Council understand why their vote in favor of this recommendation is a smart choice. Your voice matters.

Assemble Now

Contact Jasmin Santana in Ward 14

Tweet Now

Office Phone Number: 216.664.4238

Download the map

Attend a Postcard Party

Happy Dog, Thursday, February 24, 4:30-6:30

RSVP

Sankofa Fine Arts, Thursday, March 3, 4:00-6:00

RSVP

by Assembly for the Arts

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb unveils 85 goals - some big, some small - for first 100 days

Source: Cleveland.com

Excerpt:

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb on Monday identified 85 goals for his first 100 days in office – a wide-ranging set of priorities for how the city delivers basic services, addresses public health and safety, and lays the groundwork for some of Bibb’s more ambitious, longer-term plans.

The mayor also unveiled an online tracker, at mayor.clevelandohio.gov, to show the city’s progress toward achieving those goals and to provide a way for residents to hold him accountable to his promises.

Bibb’s priorities were developed off the work of an 80-plus person transition team, comprised of leaders in business, community organizations, non-profits and government, and tasked with identifying early recommendations for Bibb’s new administration.

Deploy $10 Million of ARPA Funding for the Arts in Cleveland Neighborhoods.

Cleveland’s arts and culture sector was critically impacted during the pandemic. The unprecedented financial damage rose to $146 million and impacted 5,000 jobs in Cleveland-area cultural nonprofits alone. Focus funds on local artists and creative neighborhood place-building to uplift and empower residents.

Read the Full Article

by Assembly for the Arts

Christa Ebert

An artist and fellow neighbor in Ward 17: West Park, Kamm's Corners, and Puritas

About the artist

Musician and mixed media artist Christa Ebert performs as Uno Lady, a one-woman choir, and composes songs with her voice, nature sounds, and electronic tools. Using her four-octave singing range, she constructs sonic worlds with dream-like vocal layers and looping ethereal tones. Also as a video artist, she creates nature inspired stop-motion music videos to accompany her compositions. Christa has recorded and produced six releases, including the most recent mindfulness album and film series, GROUNDED. Her unique talent has been acknowledged with various awards, including residencies and fellowships with Ellis-Beauregard Foundation, Foundation House, SPACE’s Urgent Art Fund, Chateau Orquevaux, Creative Workforce Fellow, Akron Soul Train, and Panza Foundation.