Statements
Mission
The Arts & Business Council is a 501(c)(3) organization that leverages and unites the unique resources of the arts and business communities to create a thriving, sustainable creative culture in Nashville.
Investing in artists is central to the Arts & Business Council's longterm vision of a community where artists are valued as critical assets to be engaged, supported, and empowered. The Arts & Business Council believes a strong sector of creatives and creative businesses will enhance the overall economic profile of the Greater Nashville area. We believe a thriving arts community:
1) attracts businesses to Nashville;
2) makes for a healthy, happy population; and
3) creates strong, innovative solutions to social, business and civic challenges.
To deliver this mission, the Arts & Business Council creates and evaluates programming within three focus areas:
1) We create mutually beneficial partnerships between arts and business;
2) We provide direct services, key opportunities, education to the creative community to help them master the business of art;
3) We inspire workplace creativity in businesses to demonstrate the impact of the arts through tangible benefits and develop life-long arts participants and supporters.
Background
The Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville (ABC) began as two separate nonprofit organizations: the Nashville Business Committee for the Arts and the Tennessee Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (TNVLA).
The Nashville Business Committee for the Arts was founded in fall 2006 by Martha Ingram and other community leaders as an affiliate of the national Business Committee for the Arts through the national advocacy group Americans for the Arts. It began its operation under the nonprofit status of the Public Foundation of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. Eventually, these associations rebranded nationally as Arts & Business Councils. TNVLA was founded in August 2005 with the help of a start-up grant from Vanderbilt University Law School. Based on the similarity of their foundational organizational assumptions related to the sustainability and growth of Nashville's arts and culture, ABC and TNVLA merged operations in early 2009, assuming the 501(c)(3) status of TNVLA and the name of the Arts & Business Council. These foundational assumptions include:
1) Nashville will have a strong economy and be an attractive city in which to live, work and play if our creative sector is sustainable and thriving;
2) Artists and arts organizations are vital contributors to our community;
3) Nashville will have strong, innovative solutions to social, business, and civic challenges if artists are mobilized as an asset; and
4) Key strategies for strengthening and mobilizing the creative sector are direct investment in artists and creative work, cross-sector collaboration, and arts-business partnerships.
Since its inception, the Arts & Business Council has been the leading nonprofit organization working to support Middle Tennessee's entire arts and culture sector by connecting those in the arts community with the services, skills, and opportunities they need to thrive from their artistic endeavors. In the last fiscal year, over 9,000 artists, arts organizations, and creative businesses benefited from services through the Arts & Business Council's educational seminars, Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts program (VLPA), Periscope: Artist Entrepreneur Training, Arts Board Matching, Fiscal Sponsorship, Creative Advantage, Special Events (Arts Immersion and more), one-on-one consultations, and other one-off programs and services.
Impact
The Arts & Business Council (ABC) promotes the growth and sustainability of Greater Nashville's creative sector by forging mutually beneficial partnerships between arts and business to provide educational programing, direct services, and key opportunities to the creative community. In our last fiscal year, ABC directly served over 9,000 artists, arts organizations, and creative small businesses throughout the Greater Nashville area. Of those served: over 36% identified as a person of color, 14% lived in rural areas, and 8% were people living with a disability.
While Nashville has one of the highest rates of artists per capita in the United States, there is a persistent, documented gap in resources to serve artists. Results from ABC's 2023 Creative Economy Survey evidenced that only 30% of respondents planned to stay in Nashville beyond the next 2-3 years. The top three reasons cited included a lack of affordable housing; a perceived lack of civic support; and a lack of access to affordable creative development space. 35% of respondents also indicated they were not conducting their artistic practice full-time but would like to be able to make a sustainable living from their art, citing a lack of business management knowledge and financial resources as primary barriers.
ABC creates tangible impact in the Greater Nashville area and beyond by addressing the needs of its constituents through services and programming that help the creative community master the business of art, while simultaneously working with the business community and civic agencies to increase support, visibility, and appreciation for the local arts and culture sector. These programs include Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts (VLPA), Periscope: Artist Entrepreneur Training, Arts Board Matching, Fiscal Sponsorship, Creative Advantage: Corporate Training Suite, Arts Project Management, and Education seminars.
In our last fiscal year, ABC surpassed a significant milestone by closing its 5,000th VLPA case since the program's inception in 2005, underscoring the continued relevance of our services. Testimonials from the 2024 Periscope survey also highlight ABC's impact: "I am so grateful for this experience. I have confidence, vocabulary, and a clear direction for growing my business! I am continuously impressed with the [ABC] team's and its guests' expertise, competency, and communication skills. I've spent many years in corporate communications for Fortune 500 companies, and you all are second to none." And, "This program has changed my life. I feel supported and understood just by experiencing the thoughtful and strong way y'all put together the whole program, the way you ask for feedback, the brilliant speakers who came. It has all changed my trajectory." Further, through its programs and services, ABC facilitated more than 910 hours of volunteer service in support of the creative community and directly paid artists more than $60,000 in its last fiscal year.
Finally, ABC has launched its capital campaign in collaboration with Friends of Shelby Park and Bottoms in support of Shelby Commons - a transformational project that will create a first-of-its kind arts and community hub in East Nashville's Shelby Park. This ambitious initiative exemplifies ABC's responsiveness to the needs of Nashville's creative community and our continued dedication to fostering spaces for creativity and collaboration.
Needs
As a result of the continued expansion of our services and programs, the Arts & Business Council needs new community leadership in the following areas:
1. Individual and Organizational Membership ($20-$125);
2. Corporate Membership and Sponsorship ($250+);
3. Donations to the Periscope Scholarship Fund to support artists in Periscope: Artist Entrepreneur Training ($any);
4. Corporate and Foundation Grant Support for Program and Operating Costs ($any);
5. Volunteers giving professional time/expertise to support artists and arts organizations through the Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts program and Periscope: Artist Entrepreneur Training mentor program.
CEO Statement
At the Arts & Business Council, we believe that artists are vital contributors to our community and that Nashville will have strong, innovative solutions to social, business, and civic challenges if artists are mobilized as an asset. This is one of the core assumptions that drives the work we do every day to build capacity for our artists and empower them to act as entrepreneurs and community change agents. As Nashville continues to grow and thrive, we will continue to see dramatic changes in our population demographics and increased pressures on our current infrastructure and education systems. Inherent in these challenges is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Nashville to be a city that innovates and leads nationally. I believe that many of these innovative solutions will emerge from our creative class. Art not only increases our cultural vitality, but also has the ability to help us tackle these challenges. For example, art can create a common language allowing us to connect an increasingly diverse population, it can ease the pain of transition as we're improving our transit systems and other infrastructure, and it can dramatically increase the performance of youth in our schools. We invite you to join us in our work to empower artists and build a stronger Nashville.
Going forward, the Arts & Business Council endeavors to be a central hub for Nashville's creative community. In the coming years, we are looking forward to engaging in strategic risk-taking and mindful program development that engages artists in all creative disciplines at all stages in their careers to continue building more sustainable arts businesses and creative enterprises, making Nashville a great place to create and enjoy art.
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Arts, Culture & Humanities - Arts & Humanities Councils & Agencies |
| Secondary Category: | Arts, Culture & Humanities - Management & Technical Assistance |
| Tertiary Category: | Crime & Legal - Related - Legal Services |
Areas Served
The Arts & Business Council serves artists, nonprofit arts organizations, for-profit creative businesses, and individual arts supporters primarily in Davidson County, and the additional 12 counties that comprise Middle Tennessee. Many of ABC's educational programming is accessible remotely, and therefore serves a nationwide audience. Additionally, the VLPA and Fiscal Sponsorship programs serve clients and projects statewide.
| TN - Bedford |
| TN - Cannon |
| TN - Cheatham |
| TN - Davidson |
| TN - Dickson |
| TN - Maury |
| TN - Robertson |
| TN - Rutherford |
| TN - Sumner |
| TN - Williamson |
| TN - Wilson |
| TN - Hickman |
