Creative Many Michigan, an economic development organization for the arts, culture, creative, and design industries, has been given $75,000 grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Arts Innovation and Management program.
Through the two-year initiative, Bloomberg Philanthropies is providing $30 million across more than 260 small and mid-sized nonprofit cultural organizations around the country to help strengthen their operational and programming efforts, including training in fundraising, audience development and board member engagement.
“Creative Many is at an exciting time of transition, and this program will help us accelerate the intention, influence and impact of our efforts,” says Jennifer Goulet, Creative Many president and CEO. “The opportunity to utilize the resources, networks and consultancy support to update our strategic plan and develop our Board leadership is opportune given the launch of our new brand as Creative Many and expanded focus on advancing the creative economy across Michigan and in cities like Detroit.”
The invitation-only program supports nonprofit cultural organizations based in five other cities besides Detroit, including: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. All organizations are locally or internationally recognized nonprofits that have been in existence for at least two years. The grantees are required to participate in a management training program; secure matching funds; ensure 100 percent board participation in fundraising; and maintain up-to-date information in the Cultural Data Project, an online financial and data collection platform that assists arts organizations across the country to collect, learn from and use data effectively. The grants are unrestricted so recipients can use them to address their greatest needs.
Creative Many will use the grant funds to support its strategic planning process, cultivation of board leaders, strengthening of staff capacities for business development and communications, and general operating needs.
Bloomberg Philanthropies is partnering with the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the University of Maryland to develop curricula and conduct trainings for the AIM program in each city. The comprehensive workshops engage organizations around activities that strengthen their long-term health and goals and include consultations and implementation support for arts managers and their boards.
