For nearly 40 years, the Arts + Business Council (ABC) has operated programs that connect business and technology volunteers with arts organizations. Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic, ABC sees a continuing need for arts organizations to connect with business and technology volunteers, but also a new urgent need for arts organizations to learn technology tools and tactics to transform their programs and operations to be more virtual and equitable.

To most effectively serve the arts community, and develop a new partnership that benefits the sector, ABC will transition its business and technology volunteerism efforts to the Philadelphia Foundation’s Key Skills Hub. In bolstering the Key Skills Hub, this partnership will enable not only ABC’s existing community to take advantage of the Philadelphia Foundation’s capacity and digital platform, but will also allow ABC to direct new incoming requests from arts organizations and volunteers to the Foundation in a more timely fashion.

ABC will also launch a new 5-week professional development program, Digital Drawingboard, which will provide approximately 30 leaders in the creative economy with the resources and skills needed to enhance their organization’s digital presence and reimagine their offerings for virtual engagement. At the same time, this program will share tactics and techniques from Philadelphia’s diverse arts leaders, and specifically explore how to develop virtual programs and operations that engage and amplify Black and brown voices.

Through these two efforts, ABC will strengthen the connection between the technology and arts communities, help bolster the arts community in these difficult times, and engage these communities in important discussions about access, equity, and social justice.

The new Digital Drawingboard program is made possible with support from the Comcast Foundation, Philadelphia Foundation, CapTech Consulting, Pariveda Solutions and Your Part-Time Controller.

Best,

Diana Lind
Executive Director
Arts + Business Council

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