Webinar: Building Your Group: How to Effectively Recruit and Manage Volunteers
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Presented by: Andy Robinson, Andy Robinson Consulting
Audience: Nonprofits

Community organizations need three kinds of resources to grow and succeed: time, money, and the leadership to use both wisely. In this webinar, we’ll discuss how to find new volunteers and develop them into a team of committed leaders. Topics include:
  • Identifying and filling the holes in your leadership team
  • Member and volunteer recruitment
  • Motivating and managing volunteers (and easing out the ineffective ones)
Webinar: Understanding the Iowa Academic Standard for the Fine Arts
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Presented by: Leon Kuehner, Fine Arts Standards Adoption Team
Audience: Artists, Nonprofits

This webinar will provide an overview of the newly adopted Iowa Academic Standards for the Fine Arts. It will include an explanation of the philosophy and implementation of these standards, which are nearly identical to the National Core Arts Standards that were launched in 2014. There will be review of the four artistic processes that unite all art forms, and how these processes look in the arts classroom. There will also be a discussion on how artists and arts organizations can incorporate the new academic standards into their educational programming.

Webinar: Urban Galleries | Activating the Void
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Presented by: Heidi Fuchtman, Youth Art Team and Chawne Paige, Waterloo Center for the Arts
Audience: Communities, Artists, Nonprofits

Vacant storefronts are an issue facing many Iowa communities – both rural and urban. They can contribute to blight in town squares and on main streets. Or they can engage people and help bring new life to a community by extending a museum beyond its ordinary walls. Learn how the Waterloo Center for the Arts, the Youth Art Team, and a local property owner partnered to activate a vacant storefront by creating an Urban Gallery in downtown Waterloo. Learn the nuts and bolts about working with property owners. Also hear stories about the artwork that was inspired by the community and created by its young artists.

Webinar: How Travel Iowa Can Promote your Community, Destination or Event
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Presented by: Shawna Lode, Iowa Tourism Office
Audience: Communities, Artists, Nonprofits

Find out how the Iowa Tourism Office team of marketing experts can connect your community, destination or event to hundreds of thousands of potential travelers. This is your chance to learn about Travel Iowa’s free marketing tools and how to be part of their integrated, multi-channel marketing strategy.

Webinar: Get Ready + Resilient
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Presented by: Jenifer Simon, CERF+ and Brett Beasley, Ceramicist
Audience: Artists

Jenifer Simon will teach you how to better protect your career, prepare for emergencies and get back on your feet after challenges through the resources available from CERF+ The Artists Safety Net. CERF+'s emergency assistance, preparedness grants, advocacy efforts and educational offerings will be discussed. You’ll also hear from Ceramicist Brett Beasley of Ames, Iowa, on how he’s using his CERF+ Get Ready grant to establish his own studio right from the start.

Webinar: Pitching Your Project to the Media
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Presented by: Michael Morain, Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
Audience: Communities, Artists, Nonprofits

So how do you get anyone besides your mom to care about your artwork? How do you get people to attend your concert or gallery opening? In this session, you'll pick up a few pointers about drafting and timing a press release, using social media, and planning events to attract more attention from reporters, the general public -- and maybe even your dear old mother.

Webinar: Grant Writing 101: It’s More Than Writing
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Presented by: Laura Rhodes, Third Sector Consulting
Audience: Communities, Artists, Nonprofits

There's more to grant writing than just "writing." Laura Rhodes is a Certified Grant Writer and former foundation program officer who will debunk the myths about grants and help demystify the grant writing process.

Webinar: Basics of the Arts Business Model
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Presented by: Andrew Taylor, American University Arts Management
Audience: Artists

Planning and launching a new arts organization or arts project, or growing a current one, demands clear thinking on a complex network of connected questions. Andrew Taylor of American University Arts Management presents a practical, plain-talking overview of business planning in the arts.

Webinar: Demystifying Public Art
Presented by: Lynn Basa, Creative Capital
Audience: Artists

Artist Lynn Basa of Creative Capital teaches visual artists how to research and apply for public art commissions. Find out whether public art is for you, how to find public art commissions and how the selection process works.

Webinar: How to Be An Awesome Board Member
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Presented by: Lori Jacobwith, Ignited Fundraising
Audience: Nonprofits

Most board members show up wanting to make a difference, but sometimes that changes. Why? It may be lack of knowledge, a boring or uninformative orientation, or a board culture that doesn’t invite new ideas and questions. Board meetings and what they focus on play an important role in being an awesome board member. The board meeting is a partnership between what the organization's staff has provided in their dashboards or reports and what the board believes is their “job.” By answering provocative questions and using the provided templates and tools, you'll learn how to support the newest or even the most savvy board members and make them feel better equipped to serve on your board.

In-Person Workshop: Basic Branding Principles
Presented by: Saturday Manufacturing
Audience: Artists, Nonprofits

Saturday Manufacturing teaches artists and nonprofits the importance of branding in a marketing plan. Learn the principles of creating your brand and how to apply it to successfully market your artistic work.

Webinar: Expanding Your Reach: Engaging Your Board
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Presented by: Lori Jacobwith, Ignited Fundraising
Audience: Nonprofits

Your board can be among your most powerful assets. Too often though the board doesn’t want to be involved in fundraising or views it as a daunting task. The result is that many board members do nothing or very little when it comes to fundraising. To address this challenge, your board members may need more clear direction and guidance about how they to participate so fundraising feels rewarding and an integral part of their board involvement. In this 1-hour webinar you will learn some concrete tools and techniques that can help make fundraising a rewarding experience for you AND your board.

In-Person Workshop: Record Keeping and Financial Management for Artists
Presented by: Noah Keesecker, Springboard for the Arts
Audience: Artists

In Record Keeping for Artists, learn how to track revenues and expenses, make informed projections, and gain a clearer understanding of your artistic business finances.This workshop is part of Springboard’s Work of Art: Business Skills for Artists, a professional development curriculum designed to teach business skills to artists in all disciplines — visual, performing and literary arts. Artists can take the whole series, customized combinations, or individual workshops that best suit their needs. Springboard’s Work of Art series has been taught at arts organizations, libraries and colleges in over 80 communities in the Upper Midwest.

Webinar: Legal Q & A
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Presented by: David Bright, Iowa Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
Audience: Artists

Learn about how Iowa Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts can assist artists and arts organizations in Iowa. This webinar will include an interactive Q & A with David Bright, President of Iowa Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, so bring your questions and concerns about legal topics such as copyright and trademark protection, business contracts and nonprofit formation.

Webinar: GYST Demonstration
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Presented by: Karen Atkinson, GYST-Ink
Audience: Artists

Karen Atkinson, founder of GYSTInk, or Getting Your Sh*t Together will give a demonstration on just what you need to keep track of as an artist who wants a professional career. She developed software to do just that, and will use that as a template to go over professional career strategies as well as tracking your art practice. She will cover artist statements, CV's, time management, venues for artists, business issues, tracking your work, money, insurance, galleries, alternative exhibition sites, and much more. 

Webinar: Conversations on Capitalization and Community
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Presented by: Janet Brown, President & CEO Grantmakers in the Arts and Rebecca Thomas, Rebecca Thomas & Associates
Audience: Nonprofits

Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA) defines capitalization as the resources an organization needs to fulfill its mission over time. GIA’s Conversations on Capitalization and Community is a webinar for nonprofit cultural organizations and funders to discuss what it means to be well-capitalized, achieving financial health and vibrancy within the local marketplace. Goals for Conversations on Capitalization and Community are to:
  • Elevate knowledge of capitalization for nonprofits and their funders
  • Provide shared vocabulary that granters and grantees use to inform and transform grant making and nonprofit financial practices
  • Provide insights into having effective dialogues between funders and grantees
  • Facilitate discussion with funders and nonprofits about their community’s capital drivers, their institutional values and practices, and the ways that each entity fits into the arts eco-system
  • Create a greater sense of complementary practice and camaraderie for a stronger, healthier arts and culture ecosystem
Webinar: Grant Seeking Basics for Organizations in the Arts
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Presented by: Foundation Center
Audience: Nonprofits

Gain an introduction to the world of foundation fundraising. This introductory webinar provides an overview of the funding research process for those seeking grants from foundations, corporations and grant making public charities. The webinar covers:
  • What an organization needs to have in place before it seeks a grant
  • What you need to know about grant makers and how nonprofits are supported
  • How to identify funding partners
  • Resources for your grant seeking efforts
Webinar: Grant Seeking Basics for Individuals in the Arts
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Presented by: Foundation Center
Audience: Artists

If you are an individual artist and looking to mount an exhibition, produce a performance, conduct research, or successfully complete any arts project, it’s likely you are looking for funding. This webinar will help prepare you for this funding search and application process. During this webinar, you will:
  • Learn how to identify funders supporting individual artists
  • Explore the option of fiscal sponsorship
  • Gain an understanding of the many paths to funding for individual artists
Webinar: Rural Arts Marketing
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Presented by: Adam Thurman, Author of the Mission Paradox
Audience: Communities, Artists, Nonprofits

All of us who work in the arts are unified by a common goal, to connect an audience to the work. Effective marketing is a vital step to achieving that goal. The challenge is that we are all trying to market in a world where time, money and audience attention is all limited.

When you market art in a rural area, or for a rural audience, you face additional challenges when it comes to building and maintaining an audience. This webinar is designed to focus specifically on the unique issues and opportunities available for those who produce art in rural areas. The session will help you develop a marketing process that fits your artistic goals, makes the most of your resources and thrills your audience.

Webinar: Tax Prep for Artists
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Presented by: Ken Sturgis, CPA
Audience: Artists

This session covers basic tax law that every artist should know.
  • How do I handle sales tax?
  • Can I deduct that meal?
  • How about a home office/studio?
  • What is this mileage log thing that everyone is always talking about?
Webinar: Real Life Budgeting for Artists
Presented by: Choreographer Andrew Simonet, Creative Capital
Audience: Artists

Led by choreographer Andrew Simonet, this ArtUp provides a practical look at budgeting for artists. It discusses misconceptions about money, four ways to improve your financial life this week, establishing life-long principles, determining your hourly rate and creating a realistic project budget.

Webinar: Fiscal Sponsorship
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Presented by: Theresa Hubbard, Fractured Atlas
Audience: Artists

Theresa Hubbard, Program Specialist for Fiscal Sponsorship at Fractured Atlas, designed this webinar for anyone who is interested in using fiscal sponsorship to fundraise including both individuals and emerging organizations. The session is designed to explore the benefits of Fiscal Sponsorship and to use Fractured Atlas’s fiscal sponsorship program as a fundraising tool. The session includes an overview of fiscal sponsorship and how to apply, use the tools within the program, and how to get started with fundraising.

In-Person Workshop: Do-It-Yourself Websites for Makers and Artists
Presented by: Scott Kubie, Independent Designer and Content Strategist
Audience: Artists, Nonprofits

A web presence should support you and your business, not the other way around. Learn how to get what you need on the web done — on your own, and for not a lot of money. You'll go home with simple strategies, practical worksheets, and just enough knowledge to create a DIY website with minimal fuss and maximum impact. Participants will work directly with an experienced web content strategist who has guided both big businesses and independent makers through the process of planning, creating, and launching their websites and online marketing campaigns.

Webinar: Kickstarter How-To
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Presented by: Victoria Rogers, Kickstarter
Audience: Communities, Artists, Nonprofits

Kickstarter is a new way to fund creative projects, available to everybody. From feature films to public murals and objects launched into outer space, creatives have funded a diverse set of projects, building community as they share stories. Over 71,000 projects have been successfully funded on Kickstarter. Victoria Rogers, Local Partnerships at Kickstarter, shares best practices regarding how to create a successful campaign.

Webinar: 10-Step Budgeting Process for Nonprofit Organizations
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Presented by: Phil Hatlie, Senior Loan Officer and Financial Specialist for Propel Nonprofits
Audience: Nonprofits

The success and usefulness of your budget largely depends on the process used to create it. You will take away a proven 10-step budget process that will get everyone involved and ensure that your budget reflects your organization’s mission, strategic plan, and programmatic priorities.

Webinar: Community Artists: Community Assets
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Presented by: Jennifer Drinkwater, Artist and community arts specialist at Iowa State University
Audience: Communities, Artists

The myths surrounding artists are as wild and varied as artists themselves. In this webinar, Artist and Iowa State University Community Arts Specialist Jennifer Drinkwater dispels these myths, explores why local artists are so valuable to your community, and looks at how to effectively support and partner with your creative community. Drinkwater provides several inventive case studies of out-of-the-box community projects that use artists to address civic challenges.

Webinar: Murals & Other Ways to Introduce Public Art into Your Historic Downtown
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Presented by: Paula Mohr, Cheryl Peterson, and Laura Sadowsky, Iowa State Historic Preservation Office
Audience: Communities

Public art can enliven a downtown, help celebrate a town’s history, and allow residents and visitors to see a commercial area in a new light. This ArtUp focuses on how to incorporate public art into a downtown area while being sensitive to historic preservation and aesthetic considerations. The discussion includes technical aspects, ordinance language and best practices.

Webinar: Public Art Possibilities
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Presented by: Jen Krava and Aki Shabata, Forecast Public Art
Audience: Communities, Artists, Nonprofits

What are ways that public art can benefit communities? We'll talk about global examples of public art, their benefits, and how communities can begin the conversation around developing public art plans.

Webinar: Access Planning and YOU!
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Presented by: Ms. Betty Siegel, Esq., Director of the Office of VSA and Accessibility, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Audience: Nonprofits

This webinar walks participants through a step-by-step process of developing an access plan and provides tools to assess what you do and don’t have, methods for developing sound policies, and ways to get buy-in from the disability community and your colleagues.

Webinar: RFQ How-To
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Presented by: Jen Krava and Aki Shabata, Forecast Public Art
Audience: Communities, Artists, Nonprofits

Ready to find an artist for your public art project? We'll talk about how to formulate a call, market it to artists and facilitate an equitable selection process.

Webinar: Creating an Internship Program for the Modern Student
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Presented by: Matthew Beyer, Museum Education Coordinator, State Historical Museum of Iowa
Audience: Nonprofits

Learn how the State Historical Museum of Iowa's internship program, led by a former intern, grew and developed into a strong, formal program with multiple offerings available per semester. Session participants will learn how they can create an internship program, develop relationships with local colleges and universities, and meet the needs of the modern student.