Americans for the Arts’ Jordan Shue Visits and Discusses the Importance of Arts and Business Partnerships

The pARTnership Movement campaign initiated by Americans for the Arts focuses primarily on eight key reasons why business and arts partnerships are so vital. Recently, Jordan Shue, private sector initiatives coordinator for the organization, led a workshop for the Arts & Business Council of Miami.

The Movement kicked off in 2012 after a group of key stakeholders, strategic partners, and Americans for the Arts members identified a need for a cohesive strategy of outreach to businesses to foster partnerships with the arts community.

At the workshop, she outlined the eight reasons why such partnerships are important, as stated in the pARTnership Movement.

They are:

• Recruit and Retain Talent, because employees want to live in a vibrant community

• Put Your Company in the Spotlight, because the arts help build market share, enhance the brand and reach new customers

• Advance Corporate Objectives and Strategies to help get your message across in creative ways

• Foster Critical Thinking, because creativity is among the top applied skills sought by employers

• Engage Your Employees, because the arts challenge employees to be their best

• Embrace Diversity and Team Building, because the arts create an environment that blends backgrounds, ethnicities, and cultures

• Say Thanks, because the arts are a great way to show you appreciate your employees

• Contribute to the Economy, because when you partner with the arts you partner with the whole city.

The economic impact of arts and business partnerships is significant. According to the 2013 BCA Survey of Business Support for the Arts, 93% of cash and in-kind support comes from businesses with less than $50 million in revenue. And nearly 50% of business contributions come from companies with less than $1 million in revenue. Businesses around the country have ample reason to partner with the arts, though a whopping 66% report never having been asked to do so.

This is where the pARTnership Movement comes in. “Through it, we seek to create a space in which businesses can find arts groups to support, and we also aim to educate and inspire arts organizations – as well as equip them with the tools – to approach businesses with ideas for partnerships that are mutually beneficial,” said Shue.

After discussing the eight reasons, and giving various examples of success stories including Jorge Perez of The Related Group and the Perez Art Museum Miami, Shue led attendees from various arts groups through several exercises. She asked for insight into their particular partnerships, asked for examples on how those were nurtured and finally had them break into groups to formulate a pitch to a potential business partner.

She also pointed out the number of resources available to arts groups on the pARTnership Movement website to help them learn how to partner with businesses. They include tool-kits, success stories, research, and a series of free ads to place in local media. It also provides a matching portal for businesses to find local arts groups to partner with.

If the pARTnership Movement sounds familiar that’s because it is relevant to the mission of the Arts & Business Council, which is to meld the arts and business worlds.

“Without organizations and partners like the Arts & Business Council of Miami, we wouldn’t be able to encourage and foster arts and business partnerships in local communities as well,” she said. “Since Americans for the Arts is a national organization, we rely on groups like Arts & Business Councils to ensure that businesses in their local areas recognize the power of supporting the arts.”

This year, they’re launching a series of eight essays, each one illustrating one of the pARTnership Movement’s eight reasons businesses partner with the arts. They will also conduct and release the results the 2016 BCA Survey of Business Support for the Arts.

Visit the Americans for the Arts Website to begin using the tools offered for establishing business/arts partnerships http://www.partnershipmovement.org/the-movement/