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2009 Professional Development Fund
for Emerging Leaders of Color in the Great Lakes Region
Funding for this program has been generously provided by The Joyce Foundation
Americans for the Arts is pleased to announce that the Chicago-based Joyce Foundation has renewed its support for Americans for the Arts' Professional Development Fund for Emerging Arts Leaders of Color. A total of five Joyce Fellows from the Great Lakes Region (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin) will be selected to participate in this program in 2009. Fellows will receive stipends of $3,000 to support their attendance at the 2009 National Arts Marketing Project Conference, 2010 Arts Advocacy Day, and 2010 Americans for the Arts Annual Convention. In addition, fellows will have special opportunities to meet field leaders, work alongside mentors, and receive individualized career coaching. An additional five fellows will be selected in 2010.
In order for our sector to remain healthy and vibrant, we need to ensure that we are identifying and retaining young professionals within our workforce. Further, we need to actively cultivate, expand, and support talented, culturally diverse, emerging leaders. Based upon recommendations from its Emerging Leader Council, Americans for the Arts has been working to enable more emerging leaders to fully participate in national meetings and events for their own development and so they can connect with the broader community of arts professionals from across the country. Therefore, this Professional Development Fund has been designed to target an important segment of our workforce: emerging arts leaders of color.
- About the Professional Development Fund program
- Eligibility Requirements
- Selection Criteria
- Program Timeline and Important Dates
- Application Materials
- Additional Resources and Information
About the Professional Development Fund
Americans for the Arts will provide $3,000 in support of ten (10) young professionals of color (five each year) to help offset expenses associated with registering and traveling to three national convenings (National Arts Marketing Project Conference, Arts Advocacy Day, and Annual Convention). Opportunities to connect with mentors and to receive individualized career coaching are also available to recipients. Throughout the program, participants will reflect and document their professional growth through post-conference reports, internal cohort discussions, and end-of-year program evaluations.
Financial support will be issued in partial installments to participants after each national convening. Recipients are required to attend all three events, conference calls, and to complete evaluations and conference reports. Each fellow will receive a total of $3,000 to offset costs of travel plus event registration and hotel expenses (estimated as follows). The funds will not cover all expenses associated with these meetings, but they will significantly decrease expenses to participants.
Estimated Costs
|
Event
|
Registration
|
Hotel
|
| National Arts Marketing Conference, Providence, RI | $415.00 | $159.00 per night |
| Arts Advocacy Day | $375.00 | $199.00 per night |
| 2010 Annual Convention /50th Anniversary | $400.00 | $189.00 per night |
Application must be received by Friday, August 14, 2009.
All applicants must be:
- An emerging leader (Americans for the Arts defines an emerging leader as someone who is under 35 years of age or new to the arts administration field.)
- Person of color*
- Working within an arts organization located in the Great Lakes region (Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Minnesota).
- Able to attend all three national convenings
* Biracial, multiracial, and people of African, Asian, Latin American, Native American, or Middle Eastern backgrounds
Applications will be reviewed by a group of ethnically diverse professionals from across the country. The recipients will be selected based on the following core criteria.
- Evidence of leadership
- Clarity of career goals
- Potential for leadership growth
- Use of professional development opportunities
Note: Americans for the Arts seeks to compose a cohort of fellows that is reflective of our field and communities in terms of organization size, types of positions, art forms and service, race, and gender.
Program Timeline and Important Dates
| June 25, 2009 | Applications Open |
| August 15, 2009 | Deadline for Submission |
| Sept 10, 2009 | Awards Announced |
| Oct. 31–Nov. 2, 2009 | NAMP Conference, Providence, RI |
| April 12–13, 2010 | Arts Advocacy Day, Washington, DC |
| June 25–27, 2010 | Annual Convention, Baltimore, MD |
| July 30, 2010 | Final Reports and Evaluations Due |
Applications (including completed forms, personal statement, a resume, and letters of recommendation) are due, via e-mail, to Americans for the Arts by 5PM CST/6 PM EDT on Friday, August 14, 2009.
Complete and save the application form under your name before e-mailing with other required files. [ex: Jane_Smith_Joyce_app.pdf]
Additional Resources and Information
National Arts Marketing Project Conference
Please contact leadership@artsusa.org, for more information about the Emerging Leader Network of Americans for the Arts or about this unique Professional Development Fund for Emerging Leaders of Color at 202.371.2830.
Americans for the Arts is deeply grateful to the Joyce Foundation for their generous support of this program.