NEWS RELEASE
CITY OF BARRIE
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On Tuesday, June 14 at the Mady Centre for the Performing Arts, representatives from Business for the Arts and Mayor Jeff Lehman announced the results of the artsVest program and its impact on the City of Barrie.
Ten arts organizations exceeded their goal in sponsorship funds, by raising $132,562 from the business community—four times their goal of $30,000.
“Barrie has a growing culture sector and the artsVest program is helping make it even stronger,” says Zvi Lifshiz, Executive Director of Invest Barrie. “Our organizations were able to raise four times their set target for this program—which is among the best in Ontario. This will have a significant impact on our local economy.”
The artsVest program connects arts organizations with business patrons and in turn builds the arts sector in communities. artsVest aims to provide the participating organizations with the ability to successfully apply for matching incentive grants, approach their local business community, and successfully generate new and diverse revenue streams.
Barrie artsVest results:
- Trained 31 arts managers at a 2015 workshop, followed by a launch celebration with 42 people from the community in attendance to kick off the program
- 11 arts organizations in Barrie received a total of 18 hours of capacity building and mentorship training from mentors from across Canada through group, one-on-one, and peer-to-peer mentoring sessions
- 10 arts organizations created 37 partnerships with local businesses. 31 of these were first time partnerships. Arts organizations have indicated that 29 of these partnerships will continue long-term
- These 10 arts organizations exceeded their goal in sponsorship funds, by raising $132,562 from the business community—4 times their goal of $30,000.
- They received artsVest matching funds of $31,487
- The sponsorship and matching funds together created an investment impact of $164,049 on the Barrie economy.
About artsVest
artsVest is a matching incentive and sponsorship training program designed by Business for the Arts to spark corporate engagement in arts and culture and build strong ties between public, private and cultural sectors.
The program operated in Barrie from 2015 to 2016, providing local cultural organizations with free sponsorship training through a live workshop and ten mentorships sessions.
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