The Private Sector Network of Americans for the Arts, which includes organizations like Arts & Business Councils and Business Committees for the Arts, works to promote the message that business sector support for the arts is integral to the success and longevity of the arts. This support is also essential in building communities in which the business sector can thrive. This post is one of two that highlights five such organizations that are celebrating monumental anniversaries in 2015 and have spent decades building these vital arts and business partnerships.

Celebrating 30 years are the Arts & Business Council of Chicago, the Arts & Business Council of Miami, the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts, and the New Hampshire Business Committee for the Arts. The Arts & Business Council of New York, which spearheaded the arts and business partnership movement in the United States, is celebrating its 50^th year of fostering and building closer ties between business and the arts in the New York City area. These extraordinary organizations look back on their history and shared with us their mission, work, and goals for the future.

Arts & Business Council of New York
Arts & Business Council Inc. was created in 1965 by a group of business leaders from the New York Board of Trade, with the purpose of creating closer ties between business and the arts. In 2005, Arts & Business Council Inc. merged with Americans for the Arts; ABC/NY is both a division of AFTA and still its own, separately incorporated nonprofit.

Through its Diversity in Arts Leadership (DIAL) intern program, ABC/NY has placed hundreds of college students from diverse backgrounds in arts management internships and paired them with business mentors for a summer full of cultural activities and personal and professional growth. The Emerging Leaders of NY Arts (ELNYA) network, is a peer-managed program providing young professionals in the first decade of their careers with opportunities to develop the contacts, skills, and knowledge they need to advance to senior leadership positions.

Throughout a yearlong calendar of professional development, ABC/NY provides vital support and training to arts organizations enabling them to develop skills to strengthen their organizations. ABC/NY’s latest initiative expands upon its Business Volunteers for the Arts® (BVA) program, which placed over 1200 skilled business volunteers at arts organizations between 2007 and 2014. In the expanded scope, ABC/NY offers consulting and matchmaking services on a digital platform for artists/arts organizations to connect with the business sector and utilize the assets of one another. A suite of employee engagement opportunities–ranging from team volunteering to arts in the workplace–promotes a deeper level of engagement that can lead to mutually beneficial, long lasting partnerships. Looking forward, ABC/NY strives to continue building meaningful partnerships between the arts and business communities.

–Amy Webb, Director of Arts & Business Council of New York

Colorado Business Committee for the Arts
This year marks the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts’ (CBCA) 30^th Anniversary. CBCA has a proud legacy of advocating for the arts, championing corporate philanthropy, and convening both the business and cultural sectors to advance Colorado’s creative vitality. Through its advocacy and research efforts, CBCA communicates the positive effects of supporting the arts while honoring innovative partnerships, philanthropy, creative businesses, and leadership. Additionally, at CBCA’s Annual Business for the Arts Awards, businesses and individuals are recognized for their exemplary partnerships and engagement with the arts.

CBCA also offers professional development opportunities such as their Leadership Arts program, a 9-month program that educates, inspires, and equips individuals to serve on nonprofit arts boards–increasing civic engagement. Through the Behind the Scenes program, CBCA offers members sneak peeks inside organizations and facilities and offer opportunities to attend special exhibits and performances. CBCA will continue to focus on advocacy, research, training, and arts engagement to promote the arts in both the business and cultural sectors.

–Deborah Jordy, Executive Director of the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts

New Hampshire Business Committee for the Arts
The New Hampshire Business Committee for the Arts was formed by leading businesses thirty years ago to educate, motivate, and recognize business support of and participation in the arts; advocate for the value of the arts in economic, social and community development; and facilitate people and projects that enhance engagement in the arts.

The New Hampshire Business Committee for the Arts has continued several of its programs that began with its inception 30 years ago. These programs include the Business in the Arts Awards, Lawyers for the Arts New Hampshire, and matching business and community leaders to boards of cultural organizations. NHBCA has evolved over the years to initiate and participate in various programs with other nonprofit business and arts organizations statewide to represent the inclusion of the arts. Partners such as the NH Charitable Foundation, the NH Center for Nonprofits, the Business and Industry Association, NH Public Radio, and NH Public Television have come together to support the arts across the state. Projects the organization has either initiated or participated in include Arts in Healthcare, Art, Culture and the Law, the NH Creative Economy Network, and The MacDowell Celebration.

The organization continues to be led by an outstanding board comprised of the CEOs of its member businesses and the executive director who was engaged thirty years ago to help found the organization.

–Joan Goshgarian, Executive of the New Hampshire Business Committee for the Arts

Congratulations to the Arts & Business Council of New York, the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts, and the New Hampshire Business Committee for the Arts!

Check back soon to see features on the Arts & Business Council of Chicago and the Arts & Business Council of Miami, also celebrating 30^th year anniversaries.