February Enrollment for Health Insurance

Jan 122012
 

On Monday, February 13, 2012 Kaiser Permanente will be accepting applications from eligible C4 Atlanta members in the Kaiser Permanente Bridge Program. Enrollment slots are limited.

Where: Academy Theatre
Time: Register for an application time HERE

Enrollment Guidelines
Individuals will be required to attend an “orientation” session BEFORE applying. There is NO cost for this session. The orientation will be offered twice on February 13, 2012 at Academy Theatre. This session is mandatory. You will not be allowed to apply without attending the orientation session.

Bridge Program Monthly Premiums*
$27.00 – Single Subscriber
$49.00 – Subscriber & Child(ren)
$55.00 – Subscriber & Spouse
$82.00 – Subscriber, Spouse & Child(ren)

*Premiums are subject to change.

Income Guidelines (max income):
 

Family
Size*		 Monthly Gross Income Annual Gross Income
1 $2,723 $32,670
2 $3,678 $44,130
3 $4,633 $55,190
4 $5,588 $67,050
5 $6,543 $78,510
6 $7,498 $89,970



Arts Day at the Capitol!

Jan 112012
 

From our friends at Georgia Arts Network…

Join the Georgia Arts Network on January 24th for Arts Day at the Capitol!

The arts community is partnering with our friends in Georgia’s tourism industry for Tourism Day at the Capitol on Monday and Tuesday, January 23rd & 24th. In these tough times, focusing on the positive economic impact of the arts as a vehicle which attracts tourism dollars to Georgia is a great way to convince skeptics of the need to invest in the arts now!

For the event, the Georgia Arts Network is partnering with: Georgia Association of Convention & Visitors Bureau, Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Georgia Restaurant Association, and the Georgia Hotel & Lodging Association.

You can find out more details about the event at the GACVB website, and you can register to attend HERE (it’s free to attend, other than the optional luncheon). Please plan to to attend the January 24th arts break-out session at 9:30am.

If you plan to attend, please register your attendance now with the GACVB and then inform the Georgia Arts Network by writing to us at contact@gaartsnetwork.org (please include the full names, email addresses, and organizations of all attendees).

You should also plan to schedule meetings that day with your local legislator; we would appreciate it if you would let us know when your meetings are, so we can facilitate coordination between arts groups in neighboring areas.

This year it is critical to speak with legislators about the need to increase funding for the Georgia Council for the Arts in order to secure that Georgia receives the full matching funds from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

Please help advocate for the arts in Georgia by attending this event and letting your voice be heard in support of the arts community! Register now!

 

Know your patrons?

Aug 292011
 

Do you know what your patrons look like? Do they donate to your company? Do they have kids? What do they like to buy?

Do you have a picture in your head? Good. Imagine that people who don’t see your shows, visit your art openings or attend your lectures are out there aimlessly wandering around waiting to learn about your organization. Imagine that those friendly wanderers look an awful lot like your current patrons. How do you reach them?

We can agree that knowing your patrons is a good idea, right? You need to know everything about your patrons because chances are you haven’t exhausted all avenues to reach and retain them.

What excites us about the Arts & Culture Census: it helps the Atlanta region’s arts community connect more meaningfully to patrons. The more avenues your organization has to reaching audiences that look, act, and behave like current patrons, the less money, time and frustration your staff will spend on marketing initiatives. Even if you know your patrons, making assumptions (without data) about all of the region’s arts consumers provides an anecdotal approach to marketing at best.

What the Arts & Culture Census is NOT: A replacement for your current ticketing system.

The data co-op is designed to augment marketing strategies for maximum impact. We get a lot of questions about Tessitura. TRG’s system is not designed to compete or replace Tessitura, or any ticketing system. It is designed to help create an efficient means to cultivate, grow and retain patrons. It is designed to foster community collaboration. You should have in place a system (whether it be software or a comprehensive marketing plan) to help you track and understand your patrons. The Arts & Culture Census allows you to not only look at your patrons, but you can get to know the habits of patrons in other disciplines, companies, regions, etc. You can also track where your patrons are spending arts bucks elsewhere. Maybe this leads to some creative marketing between two companies? Maybe it tells you that your assumptions are correct? Maybe you will be surprised!

When It Comes to Marketing, Your Gut Is Still Not Smarter Than Your Head

A more audacious goal…

C4 Atlanta is an arts service organization. We have goals for the ENTIRE arts community. It is our hope that this service will encourage a standard of marketing accessible to all budget sizes, disciplines and audiences. The more we share information, support each other and raise awareness as a community, the more we are visible within the entire Atlanta ecosystem. The more we are all elevated to success, the stronger we all become.

Join us

Not only will your membership allow you access to the Arts & Culture Census, but you will also be supporting community-wide social innovation initiatives. It has been a tough couple of years for many of us in the arts community. When I was laid off, my world was turned upside down. So I understand that paying membership isn’t necessarily on the top of your to-do list. But I am asking you to invest in the long term. To look ahead at the possibility of greatness. I believe that a strong recovery comes with the right long-term investment. I believe in an Atlanta community where the arts are at the forefront of innovation. Join C4 Atlanta.

Interested, but you need more info? Email Jessyca@c4atlanta.org

– Jessyca Holland, Executive Director

P.S. – Direct mail is still relevant.

Young Adults Prefer Offline Marketing Offers

Direct Mail vs. Social Media Marketing & Email

 

Acknowledgements for 2010

Dec 302010
 

Starting a nonprofit is not an easy task. Starting an arts nonprofit is an even more difficult feat. We would be remiss if we did not take a moment to thank the dozens of individuals who gave us advice, encouragement and love (thanks, parents of C4 staff!) in 2010.

The C4 Action Team would like to thank our board of directors, donors, family members, friends, and the following community members for their time and talents in 2010 (Please forgive us if we left out your name… We talked to a lot of people!):

Jon Abercrombie, Common Focus
Alex Adan
Chris Appleton, WonderRoot
Ivan Betts, Turner Broadcasting
Jessica Booth, Fulton County Schools
Rabbi Rachael Bregman, The Temple
Joanna Brooks, Brooks and Company Dance
Stephen Brown, MSL Group
Kim Campbell, Hub Atlanta
Dave Charest, Astoria Performing Arts Center
Claire Christie, PushPush Theater
Tripp Cook
Sally Corbett, Arts Professional
Lisa Cremin, Metro Atlanta Arts Fund
Mickey Desai, Non-Profit Snapshot
Amy Ellis, MailChimp
Lazarus Epicurus, Culinary Artist
Ron Evans, Group of Minds
Amir Farokhi, GeorgiaForward
Sally Flocks, PEDS
Liz Frazier, Just Voices
Peggy Freedman, Independent Bookkeeper
Flora Maria Garcia, MAACC
Jill George, Kaiser Permanente
Joe Gfaller, Alliance Theatre
Bill Gignilliat, ArtsGeorgia
Gwyn Grafe, Global Crossing
Virginia Hepner, Young Audiences
Sherry Heyl, Concept Hub
Shelby Hofer, PushPush Theater
Claire Horn, Core Performance Company
Maigh Houlihan, Atlanta Photography Exhibit
Mark Hubbard, Renew Social Ventures
Adam Huttler, Fractured Atlas
Erica Jameson, MINT Gallery
Chris Johnson, ifPeople
Nicole Jones, Public Broadcasting Atlanta
Margaret Kargbo, National Black Arts Festival
Justin Karr, Fractured Atlas
John Kloecker, Raymond James Financial Services
Kathleen Kurre, Techbridge
Matt Lehrman, Alliance for Audience
Will Lester, TRG Arts
Tina Lilly, Georgia Council for the Arts
Clayton Lord, Theatre Bay Area
Stacey Colosa Lucas, Georgia Shakespeare
Chris Mackie, Open Health Tools
Rachel May, Synchronicity Theatre
Dorian McDuffie, Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs
Terence McFarland, LA Stage Alliance
Jay Morris
Lisa Mount, Artistic Logistics
Adam Natale, Fractured Atlas
Adisa Nickerson, Georgia Boy Choir
Josh Phillipson, Metro Atlanta Arts Fund
Val Porter, The Foundation Center
Barbara Pyle, Captain Planet Foundation
Aileen Reed
Keif Schleifer, K S Arch Design
Douglas Scott, Full Radius Dance
Kamal Sinclair, Strategic Arts
Priscilla Smith, Eyedrum
Lara Smith, Actors Express
Douglas Smith, Theatre Development Fund
Bryan Spinsby, Inworks
Nikki Strickland, North Fulton Drama Club
Daniel Summers, Center for Puppetry Arts
Matt Tanner
Melonie Tharpe, Bolster Consulting
Lance Weatherby, ATDC
Otis White, Civic Strategies
Lisa Wilson
Susan Winter
Dan Wykoff, Veritas Financial Services
Joe Zacherman, Lifeline Center for Child Development

I Believe in the Arts – Rep. Simone Bell

Dec 102010
 

Simone Bell from C4 Atlanta on Vimeo.

Rep. Simone Bell believes in the arts! Consider giving to C4 Atlanta this holiday season. Believe in our mission to build a foundation of research, technology and education for a sustainable, creative economy in the Atlanta region.

This is just the first video in our series we humbly call, “I Believe in the Arts.” Stay tuned for more…

Entrepreneurship in the Arts

Sep 142010
 

We are really excited to be offering the Entrepreneurship in the Arts seminar with Kamal Sinclair. Kamal and I began talking about offering a class similar to this two years ago. She has taught this course material in between that time at SCAD and through other organizations as well, but we really wanted to offer it to the C4 Atlanta community.

If you are working on a career in the arts, this class is for you. Kamal not only talks the talk, she walks the walk. She’s been the struggling artist-slash-administrator AND she has been apart of widely successful productions as well (uh, hem…STOMP to name just one). She is quickly becoming a rock star arts entrepreneur herself. Also, she is just a cool person to know.

Artists make great entrepreneurs. It’s true. But often we have not been given the tools to put all of our creativity into a context that can help us earn a living. This class will not only inspire you to pursue (and refine) your goals–it will also give the tools to do so.

I hope to see you in class! To register Click Here

The Guts of C4 Atlanta

Jun 142010
 

The Guts of C4 Atlanta

This is our BUSINESS MODEL coming together. Oooohhh. See how it glows. One day, it will get it's wish and become a real boy...uh, a real Business PLAN.

Okay. You want to know what we are up to–more specifically, what is it that we plan to offer AND how is that different from other organizations. Well, it is simple. It is true that we do serve the arts–we support artistry. Our services are designed to answer one HUGE problem for all artists and arts organizations: sustainability. By providing resources that help support artistry (access to insurance, collective bargaining, expert training opportunities, partnerships in K-12 education, technology innovation & a philosophy of social responsibility) C4 Atlanta contributes to the cultivation of a healthy arts ecosystem.

Jessyca & Lyre Work on The Business Model

How is that different from what others might be offering?

Research & Development – artists and arts organizations often do not have time to invest in honing in on the next technology, business or educational trend. C4 Atlanta does…that is what we do. We research. We keep up with national and local trends in arenas other than just the arts. Combine that with feedback from the people whom we serve, and we have a constantly changing network that saves artists time and money. We figure out the best routes for implementation and evaluation of services for an entire ecosystem.

C4 is somewhat like a social service program for the arts community. Our programs are interventions that help individuals and organizations create and sustain a business. However, we also believe in community. We believe in the intrinsic and extrinsic value of art.

Still Working On the Business Model

Joe & Lyre. Still Working On the Business Model

Just Around the Corner…

We envision a community where the arts are not some separate appendage from the rest of society; rather, it is an integral component of responsible citizenship–it is a measure of the health of the community.

Ingrained in our business plan is transparency. C4 Atlanta works with the community to find solutions to problems and to track trends and issues affecting the arts ecosystem. We do not see a hierarchy of organizations, sectors or people. That is out modded thinking. Networks (or image a series of webs) are how we learn, communicate and interact with one another.

In the spirit of transparency, I am posting a link to our guts…our wiki. This wiki contains brainstorms, notes and specific outlines about C4 Atlanta tasks. Feel free to comment, ask questions or add to the mix. You will not be able to edit, but there is a field for you to leave your thoughts. NOTE: keep in mind that some of the service we have outlined are short term goals, but many are long term that carry with them particular dependencies. Internally, we have goals for one month, three months, one year, and so on.

Enjoy! Here is the link to our Wiki: http://c4atlanta.pbworks.com

Beanie. He would rather be chewing on Jessyca's shoes.

Field trippin’

Jun 082010
 

Last week, the C4 team journeyed to Memorial Drive in Atlanta to visit Wonder Root. Wonder Root is more than just a building. They provide a place and a mission for artists in Atlanta to unite around. According to their website, this is the Wonder Root mission: “WonderRoot is an Atlanta-based 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization committed to uniting artists and community to inspire positive social change.”

Their community center offers a place for artists of different disciplines (film, visual and music) to create art. On our tour, the C4 team was greeted by Omotola Ajibade (or Tola for short). Tola guided us through Wonder Root’s community center: the sound studio, a room full of film editing equipment, a darkroom, a ceramic studio… The space reminded me of the old Dr. Who–the building is far more expansive than it looks from the outside (sorry for the old-school geek-out).

Field Trip to Wonder Root: Tola, Lyre & Jessyca (Joe took the photo)

After our tour, Tola, Lyre, Joe and I all sat down to talk about arts in Atlanta. We discussed the philosophy behind an arts service organization (like C4). Service organizations are defined more by who we serve than by how we serve. C4 serves the arts community. I think we all felt that room for collaboration is wide open among arts peers.

Real quick about collaboration: I am very familiar with this word. It is now a buzz word in education, arts, nonprofits, and other sectors. It is a way to stretch dollars. Good. I get it. However, what we need to distinguish quickly within the arts community is true collaboration verses cooperation. Very different. In my experience, most of the so-called collaborative experiences have really been just nice cooperation. Not always a bad thing, arts disciplines (and arts service nonprofits) need to retain some autonomy to stay relevant. Otherwise, we begin to water down individual organization’s strengths.

Now I will return to the Wonder Root story. Thank you for indulging me.

Whether your are a seasoned professional or you would like to dabble in a new adventure, I would suggest looking into a Wonder Root membership. It is not a lot of money, and you get access to their resources. It is on my “to do” list. My husband and I would like to use the darkroom. I have been wanting him to teach me how to develop film, old-school way, for about 10 years now…

For more about Wonder Root, check out this article from Creative Loafing.

Out and About

May 312010
 

Joe, Jessyca & Lyre visit people each week to collect feedback about the Atlanta Arts community. Sometimes we stop to eat lunch in between meetings.

Joe, Lyre & Jessyca visit a place to grab some grub in the Emory Village

Lyre vs. Jessyca

After a bite to eat, Lyre and Jessyca like to see “who blinks first!” So far it is a tie…

Meetings of Minds

May 242010
 

I love talking to people. In particular, I love talking with people. Face to face.

The C4 team has been doing a lot of this lately…uh, meetings that is. And we are just getting started. We are gathering great feedback from artists and arts leaders. We have even met with consultants, Artistic Directors and technology leaders.

You see, we want this to be a community effort. We want YOU to help us shape this organization. If you want to meet with us to explore ideas for collaboration, programs, meetings, education, technology, whatever you fancy, pick up the phone or shoot us an email.

We look forward to hearing from you soon…really soon. Actually, we are working on a business phone line. :)