Newsroom

Portland City Council Approves Arts Education & Access Fund

11/6/2012 Portland voters approved a $35 per income earner local tax to restore arts education in public schools and provide arts programs citywide. These funds are expected to provide $12 million to support arts education for area youth.

6/27/2012 – Portland City Council voted to refer the Creative Advocacy Network’s (CAN) plan to the November ballot. If approved by voters, the Arts Education and Access Fund will restore arts and music education to every Portland elementary school and improve access to the arts in every classroom and community.

“We must ensure that every student has access to music and the arts,” Mayor Sam Adams said. “And that the riches of Portland’s creative community are available to all of our citizens, regardless of income or neighborhood.”

Read the entire story>>

BVA Project Spotlight: PHAME Academy & KPMG

4/11/12 – Late last winter, Executive Director Stephen Marc Beaudoin pondered on Twitter, “Is there a program out there that provides pro-bono HR services to nonprofits?” The answer was and is, “Yes, BCA’s Business Volunteers for the Arts!”  This came as a huge relief to PHAME. PHAME is the Portland region’s fine and performing arts organization serving adults with developmental disabilities.  PHAME is an acronym: it stands for Pacific Honored Artists, Musicians and Entertainers. The organization had struggled for many years to compile and adopt an official employee handbook, and they knew they couldn’t navigate the complexities of federal, state and local laws and the intricacies of nonprofit human resources without a real professional guiding their work. Enter BCA’s Business Volunteers for the Arts!

PHAME was delighted to be matched with KPMG HR Manager Elizabeth Kurtz through BCA’s matching program. Although Elizabeth had never heard of PHAME, both Stephen and Elizabeth knew this would be an exceptional collaboration. “Elizabeth was curious about our work, interested in providing support, and respectful of the groundwork that had been laid to this point on the Employee Handbook project,” Stephen explained. Over the course of three months the pair met several times and communicated extensively about the project – incorporating feedback and responding to concerns from a board committee overseeing the work, addressing needs unique to PHAME, and supporting the ultimate delivery of a comprehensive HR Handbook to PHAME.

For Elizabeth, not only was it a chance to sharpen her knowledge of specific HR laws that are especially pertinent to PHAME, it was an opportunity to become immersed in an arts organization that delivers powerful results for program participants and their families. “There weren’t many surprises about the [HR] work, but after going to a sing-along and being part of it, I realized how important the work is that PHAME is doing. It felt so good to support the organization in the way I was. I got back so much more from volunteering than what I put in,” says Elizabeth.

The project is now near completion. PHAME anticipates passing and adopting their 27 year old organization’s first-ever Employee Handbook – a milestone in their lifecycle as a nonprofit. It’s one they could not have achieved without the support of BCA’s Business Volunteers for the Arts program, and the excellence, insight and good hard volunteer work of Elizabeth Kurtz.

Keep up to date with PHAME on Twitter @Phameacademy or on Facebook

Congratulations to our 2011/12 Art of Leadership Class

3/14/12 – On March 8th at the Heathman Hotel, BCA graduated 27 outstanding professionals from our 2011/12 Art of Leadership Class. Our 12th group of graduates, these individuals represent a wide variety of professional skills and are ready to take their learning to the arts community. Congratulations to these inspiring individuals.

Read more about the BCA Art of Leadership program. The next class begins September 2012.

Welcome our New Executive Director – Deborah Edward

1/5/12 – BCA begins the new  year with a new Executive Director!  We are pleased to announce that Deborah Edward, a longtime arts advocate with national and international experience, will join BCA on February 1^st.  The BCA board selected Deborah from among a pool of outstanding local and national candidates.  We are excited about the opportunity to tap her experience and strategic skills as BCA moves into its 26^th year of connecting Portland arts and business organizations. Read the news release about Deborah Edward here. 

Thank You Members in the Professional & Financial Services

11/20/11 – In our final quarter of our 25th Anniversary year, BCA thanks our members in the professional and financial services for their dedication towards sustaining BCA and the arts and culture community. Thank you!

2011 Oregon Legislature Treated Arts and Culture Fairly, Under the Circumstances

09/13/11 – Considering the revenue headwinds that faced Oregon Legislature in the recent session, cultural interests did not fare badly, thanks to hard work by the Cultural Advocacy Coalition (CAC), by our friends in the Legislature, and by grassroots supporters statewide.  The CAC approached the 2011 Session with three legislative proposals to pass and several budgets to protect.  Two of the bills have become law.  The budgets of the Oregon Arts Commission and the Oregon Film and Video Office were reduced, but at levels proportionate to other state agency reductions.  A very real threat to Oregon’s Percent for Art program was avoided.  Recognizing the important contribution of the film industry to the Oregon economy, the tax credit program to encourage film-making in Oregon was extended, although at a reduced level, while many other tax credit programs were eliminated or dramatically reduced.  The Oregon Historical Society scored a big win with a $2.5 million Lottery Bond authority for debt reduction of their storage facility in Gresham, which holds thousands of Oregon’s unique and irreplaceable treasures.  One disappointment was that efforts to strengthen statutory language with respect to the use of monies donated to the Cultural Trust failed, despite tremendous efforts by the CAC and several legislators who championed the bill.  However, there was great progress in building support for the Trust, which will be very important in the 2013 Session, when the Cultural Trust Tax Credit will be up for renewal.

For a complete description of all the legislative maneuvers and results on these and other cultural issues that came before the 2011 Oregon Legislature, go to the CAC website www.OregonCulture.org

Susan Myers Talks Art of Leadership on KINK.fm

08/22/11 – Associate Director, Susan Myers interviewed with Inessa of Kink.FM and KXL recently to talk about what it means to serve on a board of arts and culture organizations, and how to prepare oneself through BCA’s Art of Leadership Program. Listen to the Radio Interview >>

To hear the full episode of “Speaking Freely”, which includes an interview with Greater Portland Director, Sean Robbins, click here >>

Recognizing a Broad Cross-Section of BCA’s Membership

08/09/11 – BCA would like to take a moment in this 3rd quarter of our 25th Anniversary to recognize a broad scope of our membership, who are dedicated toward making our community a vibrant place to live and work. During the first and second quarters this year, BCA recognized those members in the creative services, technology field, architects, utilities and those who literally build our environment.  We look forward to honoring our members in the professional and financial services field next quarter. Thank you!

BCA Awarded Arts Services Grant from the Oregon Arts Commission

7/14/2011 – BCA is delighted to announce it has been awarded a $12,000 grant from the Oregon Arts Commission in the category of Arts Services. This grant supports “BCA’s research and communication efforts to educate leaders and the public about the value of arts and culture to business and the economy and to establish and cultivate relationships between businesses and nonprofit arts organizations.” Thank you Oregon Arts Commission!

Read the Full Press Release.

The Standard hosts all-employee art show

Artists in Residence at The Standard project taps into the creativity and talent of employees across the company.

Taking a cue from the film Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come” – several employees of The Standard are organizing an employee-only art exhibit. The ARTS (Artists in Residence at The Standard) Project provides a creative outlet to the many talented artists across the company.

The project team – many artists themselves – invited employee artists to show their work at the ARTS project exhibit Thursday, June 16. This exhibit is focused on visual arts (with the possibility of expanding to other disciplines in the future) including: photography, graphic design, painting, ceramics, glass work, millinery, jewelry, fiber arts, wood crafts and telamadera.

The exhibit will be held in the C16 gallery with the option to show work at satellite locations to be determined at a later date for an additional four weeks.

The ARTS project was born out of the commitment and leadership of Akira Heshiki, senior attorney in the Insurance Services Group legal department and working artist.

As Albert Einstein once said, “Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.” Bravo to the Standard for charging up the company with creative energy!

The Oregonian recognizes BCA’s 25 year contribution to Portland’s art community

Oregonian Arts Editor David Stabler explores BCA’s role in encouraging Portland businesses to get involved with the local arts scene for the betterment of the city and it’s residents.

Read the article >>

BVA Project Goes Outside the Box

When BCA member company Howard S. Wright Constructors joined BCA, one of their priorities was to provide arts and culture offerings that would interest all of their employees, from their administrators to construction workers and engineers. BCA took that to heart, and in March matched a team of employees on an expansion project underway at Newspace Center for Photography. Newspace was at the end of a capital campaign, and although they had a grant for building materials, they were still fundraising to build a new entry way and front desk.

Through the Business Volunteers for the Arts program, BCA connected a small team of constructors to build the entrance, desk and finish the electrical wiring, all pro-bono.

Learn more about the Business Volunteers program.