Developing Creative Partnerships
Creative Partnerships is a joint effort by four major professional artistic associations to offer professional non-profit fundraising for Chicago non-profit arts groups. Launched in late January 2021, Creative Partners aims to build strategic partnerships through art promotion and networking that will raise funds from generous donors, corporations and the like. Through this strategic alliance, creative artists who have projects running in the Chicago area can request funding from the various participating artistic partners to support their artistic endeavors. This non-profit group was co-founded with the assistance of an advisory board member, Paula Smolley, an internationally renowned performer and educator.
Artists have the opportunity to seek funding through creative partnership through a "seed grant" or a non-recourse investment, as part of the strategic alliances. Artists must apply for both seed grants and non-recourse investments. These are some of the reasons why the creative partners were established:
Creative Partnerships was conceptualized as a way to provide non-profit organizations with the professional creative services they need in order to increase their donations, and/or enrollment, from fundraisers to programming and events. The non-profit organization with which the creative services belong to will choose the artist(s) for a given project based on the caliber and vision of the artist, as well as the financial capability of the artist, within the budget that the organization can afford. Some creative services do not work with established artists, but rather work with new and emerging artists. They will help with marketing, promoting, selling, and event organizing. In exchange for these services, the artist agrees to receive payment from the fundraising company. Agency are then rewarded with commissions, share of profits, or a combination of all three.
Agency following are some of the reasons why the creative partners were conceptualized: To increase artistic freedom and creativity Working together to advance an organization's mission The goal of creating creative partnerships is to strengthen ties between different artistic communities. When working together, creatives can exchange ideas and resources that can be shared and used to further an individual artist's career while allowing an organization to promote its social agenda through the participation of other creatives. The ultimate result of a creative partnership is the achievement of a common vision and mission. It is also important for the working artists involved in a creative partnership to determine their own personal goals and how they want to see their endeavors transformed into realities. Through the creative collaboration, the goals and objectives of the creative partners can be aligned to meet the organization's long-term purpose.
How do we recognize creative relationships? How do we cultivate them? How do we keep them? How do we maintain and nurture them? A creative relationship is one in which two or more people share their knowledge, their creativity, and their vision for the future of a shared activity, an artistic creation, or a project. Creative partners are usually drawn to each other because of their commitment to the projects, their eagerness to work with each other, their appreciation of each others ideas, skills, and talents, and a general sense of mutual responsibility and fun.
How do we know if a creative relationship is productive? Usually, creative relationships produce the most potential in a medium or product because the parties involved come from vastly different disciplines and often do not know each other well. In order to get the most out of creative relationships, it is helpful to develop a sense of alignment and teamwork. A creative partner understands and is committed to the vision of the organization and its mission. He/she is able to help drive and support the enterprise by providing advice, participating actively in meetings and brainstorming, and providing feedback.
What are the best ways to develop creative relationships? A creative relationship is most productive when it arises from a sincere desire to work together toward a common outcome, and when it fosters teamwork and communication. Agency is also most helpful to choose creative partners who are similar in discipline, attention to detail, and interest in the business. These partners will provide helpful feedback and add depth to your creative services. For instance, if both creatives are committed to building new websites, they may be good partners to work on a website design team. Both partners can contribute valuable input regarding what kind of templates are best for building new websites.
Another good way to develop creative services is to mentor creatives. Mentoring is helpful because it allows you to see how the creative services being offered to make real people job. Sometimes just watching a project succeed is not enough because it does not teach you anything about business. In mentoring, you get to observe and guide the creatives through the creative process, providing them with helpful feedback and encouragement as they create work based on your standards. When you mentor, you are training your associates to use social media effectively, develop marketing strategies that attract customers, and understand the value of a solid reputation in the industry.