By Ed Hashek, Immediate Past Chair, FAB 1/17/2025
Funding Arts Broward (FAB) led the formation of the Broward Arts Advocacy Council in 2024 with a first meeting on December 2, 2024. The purpose of the Council is to provide a unified effort and approach to promote, educate, and enhance the importance of arts in Broward County. The Council includes representatives from Broward Cultural Division (Phillip Dunlap), Business for the Arts (Robyn Vega), Community Foundation of Broward (Kirk Engelhardt), Our Fund (David Jobin), Fort Lauderdale Cultural Affairs (Joshua Carden), and FAB (Mary Riedel, Ed Hashek, Joy Satterlee, Hon. Suzanne Gunzburger).
FAB’s role in leading this initiative was a result of a FAB study done in 2023 that investigated the biggest challenges facing arts organizations in Broward. The yearlong effort resulted in a published report entitled “Enriching The Arts – Opportunities in Broward County’s Arts Community” that was releases on October 16, 2024. The report identified 10 top major focus areas that summarized all the findings from the many organizations that participated in the study. One of those mentioned was Arts Advocacy.
The first task of the Council was to determine which of the 10 target areas for advocacy to focus on. Some of the target areas include state and local government, the business community, civic and community groups, arts organizations, the general public, and media and influencers. The Council chose arts organizations to begin the work of the Council.
Reasons why arts organizations were selected as our first target area:
- We share goals - they already prioritize the promotion and sustainability of the arts, aligning naturally with our advocacy mission.
- There’s established networks - they often have strong ties to schools, businesses, and policymakers in order to expand the reach of advocacy
- There’s an existing resource pool - they can bring expertise, venues, programming ideas and funding opportunities to the table
- There’s a large collaborative potential – they have patrons that already value and support the arts, making them ideal allies in advocacy efforts.
Directly aligned with the Council’s priority target area was a workshop that was held on January 7, 2025, advocating for arts and culture funding in Broward County. The Community Foundation of Broward partnered with the Broward Cultural Division and Funding Arts Broward to welcome Florida Nonprofit Alliance who will lead the workshops specially designed for the local arts community. The three sessions included over 50 representatives from smaller, established, and arts organizations’ boards.
The current focus for the Council is to help lead both financial and professional assistance for marketing and PR help for arts organizations. Another key finding from the 2024 FAB Report found the marketing was a key need to help organizations increase attendance to their performances and events. More Council updates to this blog will track the initiatives and results from our initiatives.
By Ed Hashek, Immediate Past Chair, FAB 1/17/2025
Funding Arts Broward (FAB) led the formation of the Broward Arts Advocacy Council in 2024 with a first meeting on December 2, 2024. The purpose of the Council is to provide a unified effort and approach to promote, educate, and enhance the importance of arts in Broward County. The Council includes representatives from Broward Cultural Division (Phillip Dunlap), Business for the Arts (Robyn Vega), Community Foundation of Broward (Kirk Engelhardt), Our Fund (David Jobin), Fort Lauderdale Cultural Affairs (Joshua Carden), and FAB (Mary Riedel, Ed Hashek, Joy Satterlee, Hon. Suzanne Gunzburger).
FAB’s role in leading this initiative was a result of a FAB study done in 2023 that investigated the biggest challenges facing arts organizations in Broward. The yearlong effort resulted in a published report entitled “Enriching The Arts – Opportunities in Broward County’s Arts Community” that was releases on October 16, 2024. The report identified 10 top major focus areas that summarized all the findings from the many organizations that participated in the study. One of those mentioned was Arts Advocacy.
The first task of the Council was to determine which of the 10 target areas for advocacy to focus on. Some of the target areas include state and local government, the business community, civic and community groups, arts organizations, the general public, and media and influencers. The Council chose arts organizations to begin the work of the Council.
Reasons why arts organizations were selected as our first target area:
- We share goals – they already prioritize the promotion and sustainability of the arts, aligning naturally with our advocacy mission.
- There’s established networks – they often have strong ties to schools, businesses, and policymakers in order to expand the reach of advocacy
- There’s an existing resource pool – they can bring expertise, venues, programming ideas and funding opportunities to the table
- There’s a large collaborative potential – they have patrons that already value and support the arts, making them ideal allies in advocacy efforts.
Directly aligned with the Council’s priority target area was a workshop that was held on January 7, 2025, advocating for arts and culture funding in Broward County. The Community Foundation of Broward partnered with the Broward Cultural Division and Funding Arts Broward to welcome Florida Nonprofit Alliance who will lead the workshops specially designed for the local arts community. The three sessions included over 50 representatives from smaller, established, and arts organizations’ boards.
The current focus for the Council is to help lead both financial and professional assistance for marketing and PR help for arts organizations. Another key finding from the 2024 FAB Report found the marketing was a key need to help organizations increase attendance to their performances and events. More Council updates to this blog will track the initiatives and results from our initiatives.
