Weathering the storm

Sturdier than the mail carrier making his/her way through rain, snow, sleet, and hail are the arts!
Check out the article in the arts section of today's Chicago Tribune.

Enjoy Leap Day this week!

Your friends at DanceWorks Chicago

SMART Growth Grantee Orientation - Wed, Feb 29 from 3:30 - 4:30pm

The Arts & Business Council is hosting an orientation on Wed, Feb 29 from 3:30 – 4:30pm at 70 East Lake Street, THIRD FLOOR conference room to clarify the role between CCT and A&BC.  Please RVSP to Katie Kurcz at kkurcz@artsbiz-chicago.org by Wed, Feb 15.  It will be an opportunity for A&BC to review our services that are available that may help you achieve your Year 1 proposal goals and develop next steps for Year 2.

Also, save the date for Mon, March 19 from 9:30 - 11:30am at CCT’s office (111 East Wacker Drive, Suite 1400).  The aggregate results from the smARTscope assessment tool indicated this was a common lagging area for this cohort of organizations.  The training will be led Brian Worrall, Director of the Annual Fund & Development Services at MCGAW YMCA.  We will be sending out a quick survey to get your feedback on what would be the most valuable focus for this training.  More details will be coming shortly.    

New Plan to Enhance Chicago Culture - Community Invited to Plan

The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) is asking residents, cultural organizations and community groups for their input in developing the 2012 Chicago Cultural Plan. The plan will deliver a set of recommendations to support the arts and artists throughout the city, as well as enhance economic growth and Chicago's reputation as a global cultural destination.

Chicagoans can easily participate in shaping the plan and can submit their ideas through social media, town hall meetings and public forums. The plan will provide a list of recommendations and serve as a blueprint for the future of Chicago's arts and culture community.   The strategies of the plan will also help implement key goals such as extending the arts into the neighborhoods.

Public engagement will play a key role. Town Hall meetings will be held in four locations beginning February 15 and continuing on February 16, 18 and 21. To participate in the conversation, attend one of the following meetings:

                Wednesday, February 15: Columbia College from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

                Thursday, February 16: Nicholas Senn High School from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

                Saturday, February 18: DuSable Museum from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

                Tuesday, February 21: National Museum of Mexican Art from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

To learn more, visit www.chicagoculturalplan2012.com.

Board Building - The Nominating Committee's Role

An interesting article from the Arts Consulting Group.  Check it out!  http://artsconsulting.com/pdf_arts_insights/insights_feb_2012.pdf. 

The Joyce Awards 2013

NEW! After 10 successful years, the Joyce Awards are changing the way communities interact with art again. In recognition of the fact that art is happening everywhere, all the time, the Joyce Awards will now support the commissioning of new work from diverse artists no matter where they choose to work—in the gallery, on the stage, in the church, the schoolyard, the prison, the community center.

Beginning in 2013, the Joyce Awards program will open its application process, so that any nonprofit organization, not solely art institutions can apply to commission work and create a project with an artist of color. Annually, a minimum of four awards of $50,000 each will be granted. http://www.joycefdn.org/awards

Webinar on Jan 31 & Mar 1 - Metrics Don't Bite! Engergize Your Nonprofit with a Meaningful Metrics Program

Someone at your nonprofit may occasionally sneak a peek at Facebook Insights or Google Analytics. But you should be doing so much more. This webinar will show you how to take full advantage of the power of metrics to advance your nonprofit's goals. A huge, valuable storehouse of information awaits once you learn these simple steps to unlock the most meaningful metrics and put them to work for you!

This 90-minute webinar is packed with actionable steps that nonprofit managers can easily understand and implement. Within a month, you can become a superstar and number-crunching hero to your co-workers by printing out rich sets of data that will help shape internal programs and inform your communications program and development decision-making.

In this session, you'll learn:

• How a metrics program will benefit your nonprofit
• Simple steps to set up a metrics program
• The critical importance of keywords to your online presence
• How to map metrics to your nonprofit's goals
• How your nonprofit can rise to the top of search results on Google, Bing & elsewhere
• The essential metrics tools you should be using
• A hands-on demo of what your site ranks for today
• A hands-on demo on how to use Google's Keyword tool
• A hands-on demo inside Google Analytics, including traffic referrals, keywords and "hot spots" on your home page
• A hands-on demo inside Facebook Insights
• How to use open data to create map mashups, word clouds and online visualizations 

By the end of the webinar, you'll understand which metrics can help you achieve your organizational objectives. This is an interactive class, so please come prepared to ask questions about your specific needs.

BONUS! In addition, we’ll provide these downloadable color handouts for you to share with your team!

1. 10 Free Metrics Tools for Actionable Analytics
2. Sample Keyword Tracker 
3. Getting the Most Out of Google Analytics 
4. Getting the Most Out of Facebook Insights

Note: This webinar is completely different from CharityHowTo’s “Facebook Insights and Google Analytics” webinar and will take a deeper dive into strategy, keywords and creating a metrics program.

Presented by J.D. Lasica J.D. Lasica is a social media strategist, consultant and author who has helped clients like Goodwill and TechSoup Global advance their missions using social tools. He is founder of Socialbrite, a learning hub & national consultancy that works exclusively with nonprofits. J.D. has spoken at or given workshops at South by Southwest, BlogWorld Expo, Harvard, Stanford, MIT, NYU, UC Berkeley, the Cannes Film Festival and elsewhere, and his strategy webinars at CharityHowTo continue to be a hit. He has over 15,000 followers on Twitter – and he wants to help you put metrics to work for your nonprofit!

Testimonial: "JD's presentation (on strategy and metrics) made it critically clear that social media is essential to NPOs not only for survival, but also to thrive. JD has provided invaluable resources here!" – Karyn Noel, former Director of Finance at San Francisco Conservation Corps

Jan 31 2-3:30pm CST http://www.charityhowto.com/upcoming_info.php?vid=385 

Mar 1 2 - 3:30pm CST http://www.charityhowto.com/upcoming_info.php?vid=397

How to Do Art in Public Spaces - Jan 26

A CREATIVES AT WORK FORUM MODERATED BY TRICIA VAN ECK

Date: Thursday, January 26

Time: 6:00 pm 

Location: Chicago Cultural Ctr, 5th Fl.

Creating art in public spaces, whether it's visual art, music, street theater or another creative endeavor, can be a challenge. This panel discussion moderated by Tricia Van Eck will offer Chicago's creative community insights into the experiences of artists who have successfully navigated the public realm to organize cultural performances and projects. Panelists include Nathan Mason, Curator of Special Projects with the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture; Lou Mallozzi, Experimental Sound Studio; and Carron Little, Walkabout Theater Company and the Museum of Contemporary Art.