Featured Member Project

Featured Member

Arts & Business Council of Chicago's smARTstart online resource center

How do you start up a theater company, choral society, or art center? Guiding by passion alone can be a difficult road, but that is where many leaders find themselves when thrust to the helm of a burgeoning nonprofit arts organization. To fill the void, Arts & Business Council of Chicago created smARTstart, an online resource center for small or new arts nonprofits. The planning guides were compiled from advice provided by legal experts, business volunteers, and experienced nonprofit executives to create a series of best practices for arts leaders.

smARTstart links to original, up-to-date content from authorities like BoardSource and Alliance for Nonprofit Management, rather than replicating existing resources. From marketing plans to tax audits, the information covers a broad range of issues with a variety of critical perspectives. The clean interface and clear language makes smARTstart easy to use whether in reference to a specific question or as a comprehensive primer.

Though developed in Chicago, smARTstart could be used as a resource anywhere in the country. In rural communities or local arts organizations with few or no full-time staff, finding business and legal advice can prove difficult. Even arts organizations in areas with a wealth of resources often lack the funding it takes to seek such advise from experts. smARTstart delivers information at the cost of only an Internet connection, and is available anywhere at anytime. Based on, and inspired by, Cincinnati Fine Arts Fund Arts Services Office’s Virtual Arts Incubator, smARTstart is made possible through a grant from The Albert Pick, Jr. Fund.