Whose Business Is The Arts?

Throughout 2016, the Lehigh Valley Arts Council has been gathering data for the Americans for the Arts national economic impact study, Arts & Economic Prosperity V. Once every five years the Arts Council participates in this research by collecting information from cultural nonprofits and their audiences in the counties of Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton. Thanks to your participation, we were able to provide nearly 100 organizational surveys and 800 audience surveys from the Lehigh Valley. Americans for the Arts will analyze the data over the next several months and provide our region with its own detailed report in June 2017. At that time, the Lehigh Valley Arts Council and the Lehigh Valley Partnership will co-host the Whose the Business is the Arts? public forum to release the results to the community and address challenges of mutual concern. You are invited to serve on the planning committee for creating the agenda for the Whose Business is the Arts? Public Forum. The first meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 23, 2017, from 4:00 to 5:30pm, in the 2nd Floor conference facility in the Butz Corporate Center, 840 Hamilton Street in Allentown. Please RSVP your intention to attend to rforte@lvartscouncil.org by January 18, 2017. I look forward to working with you.

About the Lehigh Valley Arts Council The Lehigh Valley Arts Council is the region’s central voice for the arts, promoting arts awareness and advocating its value while strengthening access to the arts for all citizens in our community. The Arts Council’s mission is to promote the arts; to encourage and support artists and their development; to assist arts organizations; and to facilitate communication and cooperation among artists, arts organizations, and the community. Services include arts research and advocacy, professional development seminars, publications, and cooperative regional marketing initiatives.

Jingle Bell Bingo Coming In December To West End Fire Company (Stowe)

Lehigh Valley Arts Council Joins Americans For The Arts’ National Study Of The Economic Impact Of Spending By Nonprofit Arts And Culture Organizations And Their Audiences

Allentown, PA — The Arts in the Lehigh Valley mean business—and jobs. That is the message being delivered today by Lehigh Valley Arts Council who announced it has joined the Arts & Economic Prosperity® 5, a national study measuring the economic impact of nonprofit arts and culture organizations and their audiences. The research study is being conducted by Americans for the Arts, the nation’s nonprofit organization advancing the arts and arts education. It is the fifth study over the past 20 years to measure the impact of arts spending on local jobs, income paid to local residents, and revenue generated to local and state governments. As one of nearly 300 study partners across all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Lehigh Valley Arts Council will collect detailed financial data about our local nonprofit arts and culture organizations such as our theater and dance companies, museums, festivals, and arts education organizations. “Many people don’t think of nonprofit arts organizations as businesses,” said Mike Stershic, President of Discover Lehigh Valley, “but this study will make clear that the arts are a formidable industry in our community—employing people locally, purchasing goods and services from local merchants, and helping to drive tourism.” Lehigh Valley Arts Council will also collect surveys from attendees at arts events using a short, anonymous questionnaire that asks how much money they spent on items such as meals, parking and transportation, and retail shopping specifically as a result of attending the event. Previous studies have shown that the average attendee spends $24.60 per person, per event, beyond the cost of admission. Those studies have also shown that, on average, 32 percent of arts attendees travel from outside the county in which the arts event took place, and that those cultural tourists typically spend nearly $40 per person—generating important revenue for local businesses and demonstrating how the arts drive revenue for other businesses in the community. Surveys will be collected throughout calendar year 2016. The results of the study will be released in June of 2017. “Arts are key to the economic development in the Lehigh Valley and have never been more important,” says Randall Forte Executive Director of the Lehigh Valley Arts Council. “Hundreds of creative industries, nonprofit cultural organizations, and thousands of individual artists of all disciplines—dance, musical, theatrical, visual, literary and media arts—are invested in our community.” The 2010 economic impact study of the Lehigh Valley’s nonprofit arts industry revealed a $208 million industry—providing 7,114 full-time jobs and generating $21 million in state and local taxes annually. “Our Arts & Economic Prosperity series demonstrates that the arts are an economic and employment powerhouse both locally and across the nation,” said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts. “Leaders who care about community and economic vitality can feel good about choosing to invest in the arts. Nationally as well as locally, the arts mean business.” Complete details about the fiscal year 2010 study are available atwww.AmericansForTheArts.org/EconomicImpact. Americans for the Arts’ Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 study is supported by The Ruth Lilly Fund of Americans for the Arts. In addition, Americans for the Arts’ local and statewide study partners are contributing both time and a cost-sharing fee support to the study. For a full list of the nearly 300 Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 study partners, visit www.AmericansForTheArts.org/AEP5Partners.

***

About the Lehigh Valley Arts Council The Lehigh Valley Arts Council is the region’s central voice for the arts, promoting arts awareness and advocating its value while strengthening access to the arts for all citizens in our community. The Arts Council’s mission is to promote the arts; to encourage and support artists and their development; to assist arts organizations; and to facilitate communication and cooperation among artists, arts organizations, and the community. Services include arts research and advocacy, professional development seminars, publications, and cooperative regional marketing initiatives.

***

Lehigh Valley Arts Council 840 Hamilton Street, Suite 201 Allentown, PA 18101 610-437-5915 / operations@LVArtsCouncil.org www.LVArtsCouncil.org / www.LVArtsBoxOffice.org

Olde York Street Fair Packs Downtown York City

Benefitting non-profits and showcasing local artists was the fair’s original goal 40 years ago and remains so today.

The 40th Olde York Street Fair sprawled over several blocks Sunday afternoon, stretching between Pine and Pershing streets east and west and King and Philadelphia streets north and south.

Pop-up stands lined the streets and they clustered around Continental Square.

Some vendors sold the typical wares: food, clothes and jewelry. But others sold unique crafts and represented local businesses

Read more: http://www.ydr.com/local/ci_28089011/olde-york-street-fair-packs-downtown-york-city

Wolf Brings Urban Policy Expertise

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s next governor knows all about distressed cities.

Gov.-elect Tom Wolf spent 12 years as president of Better York, a nonprofit bent on revitalizing the city of York. In that role, he worked closely with a nationally prominent urban expert who promotes regional solutions for urban woes.

As he prepares to take office Jan. 20, Wolf said he wants to lead a statewide discussion about how the future of older cities such as Scranton, inner ring suburbs and the surrounding townships are interrelated.

“What I bring to this is a real appreciation for what cities do,” he said in an interview.

Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/wolf-brings-urban-policy-expertise-1.1803039

TriCounty Celebrity Auction

Fundraising Gala To Support Local Nonprofits

TriCounty Community Network and the Sunnybrook Foundation invite you to join a new committee to develop a large-scale fundraising gala to support local nonprofits.

Wednesday, August 14^th, 10:00am – 11:30am

Sunnybrook Ballroom in Pottstown

Registration Required.  Please email:  register@tcnetwork.org

Lansdale Will Be Pilot Location For Revamped Montgomery County Human Services Delivery System

Location of Lansdale in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  And of course, Pottstown and Norristown are getting one too.

HATFIELD TWP. — Lansdale Borough will serve as the home for one of Montgomery County’s four new locations as part of its revamped human services delivery system.

Josh Shapiro, chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, made the announcement Thursday afternoon during a systems change workshop hosted by the North Penn Community Health Foundation.

Shapiro told a collection of nearly 70 representatives of local nonprofit organizations that the facility in Lansdale — as well as Norristown, Pottstown and Willow Grove — are on track to launch in April, then be rolled out throughout the county.

The locations of each office have yet to be identified, though they will be announced shortly, according to Shapiro.

Read more:  http://www.timesherald.com/article/20130329/NEWS01/130329374/lansdale-will-be-pilot-location-for-revamped-montgomery-county-human-services-delivery-system#full_story

Lehigh Valley Economy Boosted By Thriving Nonprofit Arts Sector

Lehigh Valley’s nonprofit arts community pumps $200 million annually into the region’s economy

The two tickets to a live opera rebroadcast at Allentown Symphony Hall were just the first things Jane Wells Schooley spent money on Thursday evening. Before the show, she and her granddaughter had dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant. They planned to get dessert at Rita’s Italian ice afterward.

Still, Schooley, of Lower Nazareth Township, considered the outing an excellent value.

“To be able to expose a young person to opera without spending $200!” she whispered as the curtains parted to a full-screen, high-definition view of the pit orchestra at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. “We are extremely fortunate to have the arts that we have in the Lehigh Valley.”

Fortunate indeed — and in more than one sense. The Valley’s many nonprofit arts and cultural organizations do more than provide diverse entertainment and intellectual stimulation. They also boost the local economy as patrons like Schooley, eager to take advantage of the region’s relatively inexpensive offerings, open their wallets before, during and after the main event.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-lehigh-valley-arts-impact-20120721,0,3268839.story

The Gallery School Of Pottstown Partners With The Pottstown Regional Public Library

Pottstown, PA – The Gallery School of Pottstown Partners with the Pottstown Regional Public Library

On Saturday, August 13 from 6 – 9pm, Pottstown will be hopping! Two important Pottstown organizations–the non-profit Gallery School of Pottstown and the Pottstown Regional Public Library—will be hosting a joint fundraiser. The Books and Brushes Beef and Beer will feature local food and businesses and benefit the programs and ongoing operations of the community art school and the library.

The theme for this event is “local.” Popular Pottstown restaurant Grumpy’s will be catering, and the fundraiser will be held at the Ballroom on High, a great downtown venue.  The Ballroom, at 310 E. High St. next to the Farmer’s Market, is also the home to SwingKats. Pottstown’s own radio station WPAZ will be creating the soundtrack for the event, so bring your dancing shoes!

Tickets are only $20 and include hot roast beef sandwiches, pasta and veggie salads, beer and soft drinks, and homemade desserts. There will also be vegetarian wrap sandwiches available. Guests can purchase their tickets online at www.galleryonhigh.org, or in person at the School at 254 E. High St. or the Library at 500 E. High St.

The Gallery School of Pottstown is a 501c3 non-profit community art school and gallery. The School offers day, evening and weekend classes to all ages. The goal of these classes is to help students develop their creative skills through self-expression and independence. The Gallery on High hosts rotating shows featuring local artists. The Gallery also sells handcrafted, one-of-a-kind gift items.

Customer Service For Nonprofits – July 15, 2011

Family Services Project ECO Workshop: Customer Service for Nonprofits

Family Services Project ECO is pleased to offer TCN members a FREE capacity building workshop, Customer Service for Nonprofits, on July 15, 2011 in collaboration with Penn State Cooperative Extension. In a nonprofit organization the recipients of good customer service include program participants, volunteers, donors, and the general public. Participants who attend this workshop will learn why customer service is important to their organization and how to deal more effectively with multiple customer groups, including those from diverse cultures, backgrounds, and economic circumstances. Participants will strengthen verbal and non-verbal communication skills through role play and situation analysis and learn how customer service impacts marketing an organization.

For more information about this free workshop and other capacity-building services for eligible nonprofit organizations in Montgomery County, please contact Alicia Verleysen, Project ECO Community Liaison, at 610-630-2111, Ext. 229 or averleysen@fsmontco.org.