Full-day artsVest Sponsorship Training Workshops are taking place across Saskatchewan this month to provide tools for cultural organizations to help secure and nurture long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships with local businesses.
In addition to providing tools for mutually beneficial partnerships, the workshops, open to all small and mid-sized cultural organizations, will cover artsVest application procedures and guidelines.
Both new and previous participants in the artsVest program must attend an artsVest workshop in order to be eligible for pre-approval for matching funds. Organizations may attend any Saskatchewan workshops.
In North Battleford the workshop will be held at the Chapel Gallery, Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Lunch will be provided. Attendees must RSVP for this workshop by June 19 to Linda Payeur, artsVest Saskatchewan program manager, at [email protected]@businessforthearts.
ArtsVest is a national matching incentive and sponsorship training program created by Business for the Arts. In Saskatchewan it is delivered with funding support from the Government of Saskatchewan and Canadian Heritage. The program is designed to spark corporate engagement in arts and culture and build strong ties between public, private and cultural sectors.
It will operate in Saskatchewan from 2013-15, providing free sponsorship training workshops and a total of $330,000 in matching incentive grants for each of the two years.
According to Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Kevin Doherty, in the past year, artsVest's second year in Saskatchewan, 33 cultural organizations partnered with 221 businesses, $899,776 in new private sector investment was generated from $350,000 in matching funds, and this resulted in an influx of nearly $1.3 million to the cultural economy.
"The economic and social benefits of these relationships contribute to a vibrant and growing arts, culture and heritage sector, supporting our growing economy and enhancing our enviable quality of life," he said.
Battlefords Community Players (BCP) was one of these successful organizations, signing partnerships with 25 local businesses who agreed to invest well over $70,000 in cash, materials and services towards a co-operative building venture for local theatre. The project was featured in "artsVest Success Stories" in the May issue of the national Business for the Arts e-newsletter.
