Arts, Culture, & Creativity Month

CA Arts & Culture Summit

Arts Advocacy Day

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Let’s build a more creative California. We’re helping every Californian become an advocate for the arts – from raising awareness on why the arts are so important, to providing programs and services that make our state’s creative sector stronger than ever.

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CA for the Arts is proud to present “Navigating the Do's and Don'ts of Nonprofit Involvement in Electoral Activities'', a FREE webinar on Wednesday, May 22, 2024 @ 12:00 PM -  1:30 PM. Join us for an overview of how nonprofits can actively engage in elections, including:

Legal Guidelines: Navigating the dos and don'ts of nonprofit involvement in electoral activities.

Voter Education and Mobilization: Empowering communities with the knowledge and tools to participate in the electoral process.

Advocacy and Policy Influence: Leveraging nonprofit voices to shape electoral outcomes and drive meaningful policy change.

Digital Engagement Strategies: Leveraging social media, email campaigns, and digital advocacy tools to amplify impact.

Collaborative Partnerships: Building alliances and coalitions to broaden reach and magnify impact.

Case Studies and Success Stories: Showcasing real-world examples of nonprofits effectively engaging in electoral processes.

We are pleased to be partnering with San Jose Arts Advocates and the UCLA Lowell Milken Center for Philanthropy & Nonprofits.

Rose Chan Loui is the founding Executive Director of the newly established Lowell Milken Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofits at UCLA School of Law. Prior to joining UCLA, Rose was Of Counsel at Rodriguez Horii Choi & Cafferata LLP, where she counseled all types of tax- exempt organizations and specialized in structuring and implementing advocacy and lobbying programs. Rose also represented nonprofits, businesses and individuals in federal and state tax controversy matters. Rose started her legal career as a tax associate at Latham & Watkins, Los Angeles, and then went in-house to ARCO’s federal tax controversy group. Rose has been active in numerous nonprofits throughout her career. She currently serves as board chair of East West Players, the nation’s premier Asian American theater, and on the boards of the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles, and the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Rose received her JD from NYU Law. She is an active alumna of Stanford University and was just appointed to the Stanford Associates’ Board of Governors.

Peter Allen is a third-generation San José resident and a founding Core Team Member of San José Arts Advocates. A former Chair of the City of San José Arts Commission and Planning Commission, Peter is an independent communications consultant who has previously served as Public Information Officer for San José Unified School District and Communications Coordinator for both the San José Public Library Foundation and a San José City Councilmember. He has spent the past 13 years as a Board Member, Board President, and/or Managing Director of Teatro Visión, a Latinx/Chicanx theater company nurturing arts and opportunity in underserved San José communities. Peter graduated from Bellarmine College Preparatory and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in screenwriting from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. He lives in San José with his wife Angelica and their daughter Emilia Joslynn (aka EJ).

Navigating the Do's and Don'ts of Nonprofit Involvement in Electoral Activities

Join us for an enriching experience featuring insightful conversations and workshops aimed at exploring initiatives that profoundly impact and shape the lives of all who work in the arts and all that is possible when we center art, creativity, imagination, and inspiration as integral to society.

We are pleased to announce that the 2024 CA Arts & Culture Summit has officially SOLD OUT and we are no longer able to accommodate any waitlist requests. Thank you for your support!

*All sales are final, there are no refunds of registration fees after payment.

This year, the summit's theme is "Art Work is Real Work." Artists play an essential role in our economy and our health with critical contributions across a variety of social impact areas but often are without the services and conditions they need to thrive due to the ongoing undervaluing of their work. Summit panel discussions will cover diverse topics from leading voices in the field, including arts & health, economic justice, climate change, artists on artist’s work, youth engagement, affordable housing/work space, cultural equity, civic engagement, public art, and more with an emphasis on the public policies and advocacy needed to support the creative industries and workforce.

Nataki Garrett will set the tone as our keynote speaker. Nataki is the CEO and Executive Director of The Ladder Approach, an executive coaching organization, and co-artistic Director of One Nation/One Project, spearheading the national arts and health initiative Arts for EveryBody.

Get your tickets while they last! The CA Arts & Culture Summit is a great opportunity to build leadership skills, network with industry change-makers and funders, and be exposed to vital skill sets and frameworks needed to build a strong case for creativity in your community.

Moderator:  Deborah Cullinan, Vice President for the Arts, Stanford University

Panelists: Tasha Golden, Ph.D., Director of Research at the International Arts + Mind Lab at John’s Hopkins University; Chris Appleton, Founder & CEO of Arts Pharmacy; Indre Viskontas, Ph.D., Cognitive Neuroscientist, Science Communicator & Opera Stage Director

Panel Two: Economic Justice + Community Power Building

Moderator: Tamaira “Miss Tee” Sandifer

Panelists: Roshaun Davis, Executive Director of CLTRE and CoFounder of Unseen Heroes; Heather Heslup, Director of Public Art Programs at Destination Crenshaw; Arianna Chavez, Executive Director at Arte Americas; Nikko Kimzin, CEO + Lead Consultant, Kimzin Creative

Panel 3: Policy Wins, Updates & Visions for the Future! Pecha Kucha

Facilitator: Jennifer Laine
Presenters: California Arts Council; Arts in the Parks; City of San Diego & SDRACC; Measure P, Fresno; Creative Corps/Kern Dance Alliance; Atrium 916

Moderator: Nurit Siegel Smith, Executive Director, Music Forward Foundation
Panelists: Nicole Hendrix, Co-Founder, BRIC Foundation & Concept Art Association; Tiara Amar, Director, Advocacy & Fellows, Whippoorwill Arts; Jamie Hand, Director of Strategic Impact and Narrative Change, Creatives Rebuild New York; Marcus Mitchell, Public Art Administrator, City of West Hollywood representing CA Public Art Administrators (CAPAA)

Moderator:  Penelope Oliver, All Access Arts Executive Director & Founder
Panelists: Can Foster, Youth Program Director of Sol Collective; Clarity Cooper, Sol Collective; Josiah Bruny, CEO, Music Changing Live; Desiree Stevens, Music Changing Lives; Jaya King, Visual Artist & Muralist

Moderator: Megan Van Voorhis, Director of Convention & Cultural Services Department, City of Sacramento
Panelists: Sharmi Basu, Executive Director of Vital Arts; Ken Ikeda, CEO of CAST; Keith Mcnutt, Director of the Western Region of the Entertainment Community Fund

Moderator:  Sean Fenton, Executive Director, Theatre Bay Area
Panelists: Sam Bempong, CEO, Mindful Media / Co-Lead Organizer, East Bay Film Collective; Venecia Prudencio, Working Artist, San Benito Arts Council; Christina Simpson, Violist / Fire Practitioner, Hayfork Watershed Center; Silvi Alcivar, poet/artist self/fire+music project/thepoetry store, Hayfork Watershed Center; M Eilo, Creative Director, BlinkPopShift

Arts on Prescription: A Workshop to Move You from Idea to Action

Presenter: Tasha Golden, Ph.D., Director of Research at the International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins University

Advocating for Equitable Arts Education with Prop 28, the Arts and Music in Schools Act

Presenters: Abe Flores, Deputy Director of Policy & Programs, Create CA; Jesus Holguin, Moreno Valley USD & Create CA Board member; Letty Kraus, Director, Statewide Arts Initiative, California County Superintendents; Jessica Mele, Interim Executive Director, Create CA; Adelaide Kuehn, Program Director, Create CA

The Power of Posters & Civic Engagement 

Presenters: Lena Wolff, Interdisciplinary Visual Artist, Craftswoman and Activist; Miriam Klein Stahl, Artist, Educator and Activist

Casemaking for Collaboration - Building Better Bridges in the Arts Economy

Presenters: Tracy Hudak, Director of Field Engagement, CA for the Arts; Jackie Melendez, Assistant City Manager of City of Chino

The Summit will bring together arts advocates, cultural policy thought leaders, public and private arts funders, artists, creatives, educators, culture bearers, arts administrators,  teaching artists, students, public officials, and creative industry representatives from across the state.

CA Arts & Culture Summit 
Kickoff Mixer
Monday, April 15, 2024

Harlow's 
2708 J St
Sacramento, CA 95816
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Join us for a no-host mixer at Harlow’s, Sacramento's premier independent music venue. This casual gathering will take place in their main room, providing an excellent opportunity to connect with fellow summit attendees while enjoying delicious food, refreshing drinks, and live music. Conveniently located near the Sofia Theater and the summit hotel, it's the perfect way to relax and mingle before an exhilarating day at the CA Arts & Culture Summit. Don't miss out on the chance to network with fellow arts champions and kick off the summit with good company and great vibes! All are welcome, even if you are not attending the summit.

Rally and Legislator Meetings
Wednesday, Apr 17, 2024 | 9am-5pm |
Location: California State Capitol Park
FREE - Register Here

Advocacy Day Sponsor: Claremont Graduate University

Summit attendees are encouraged to make this a two-day event and join us on Wednesday, April 17, for Arts Advocacy Day. Join fellow advocates at the Capitol for a rally and press event to kick off a day of meetings with your state legislators. This is an important opportunity for arts leaders to educate, advocate, and build relationships with their representatives during state budget negotiations. For more information visit our April is Advocacy Month webpage, or email Tracy Hudak at tracy@caforthearts.org 

Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel Discounted rates for 4/14 - 4/17 no longer available. 

Other hotels in the area:
Click on Check Availability for alternative accommodations
Fort Sutter Hotel
Hyatt Centric Downtown Sacramento

Summit sponsors are our vital partners in elevating the visibility and impact of Arts, Culture & Creativity Month (ACCM), developing and activating arts advocates, and educating the public and elected officials on the value that arts, culture and creative workers create in our state. With direct reach to over 20,000 engaged arts advocates in the State and networks to hundreds of thousands of arts organizations, creative businesses, arts workers, cultural bearers, elected officials, funders and arts patrons– your sponsorship puts you in front of committed and influential arts, culture and creative industries leaders. For more information on sponsorship opportunities please contact: nefesha@caforthearts.org

Sponsorship Package
Sponsorship Interest Form
Sponsorship Payment Form

**Summit scholarship applications are now closed. Recipients have been awarded.

 Limited scholarships have been awarded to attend the 2024 CA Arts & Culture Summit in Sacramento on April 16, 2024. For questions, email Jennica Bisbee at jennica@caforthearts.org.

Additional Resource:
California Center for Cultural Innovation  offers Quick Grants, which awards reimbursement funds up to $600 to California artists, creatives, cultural practitioners, and cultural producers, and San Francisco/San Jose nonprofit arts administrators to participate in professional development activities that build administrative capacity, hone business skills, and strengthen the financial sustainability of the grantee's practice, area of cultural production, or arts organization. Learn more here: https://www.cciarts.org/quick_grant.htm

What is Arts, Culture, & Creativity Month?

In 2019, CA for the Arts successfully campaigned for the state to recognize and celebrate the arts by declaring April as Arts, Culture, & Creativity Month (ACCM) through a concurrent resolution passed in the California Senate. In 2021, an additional resolution was declared to recognize artists as second responders.

CA for the Arts directs this annual month-long spotlight on the arts to raise visibility and awareness about the value of our sector, to empower arts advocates to take action, and to spur greater investments in our industry and workforce.

Our  goal is to activate the state and make it easy and educational for you  to participate in ACCM. Use the following FREE toolkits and resources to  generate a social media campaign, get your local government to proclaim  April as Arts, Culture, & Creativity Month, learn how to conduct a  visit with your legislator and leverage local media to support getting  your community talking about the value of the arts. 

This year’s ACCM programming and activations are shaped by the theme “Art Work is Real Work.” Artists play an essential role in our daily lives with critical contributions across a variety of impact areas including health, education, housing, climate, youth development, and the economy. Help us amplify the message that artists and creatives are essential to California's well-being and economic prosperity. 

Download our resources, amplify our #ArtsWorkisRealWork social media campaign, and sign up for advocacy opportunities across the state with the goal of raising awareness of the need to invest in creative workers and creative solutions. From press conferences, online conversations, to legislative meetings, we invite you to engage with us all month long! 

Events, Activations, & Trainings

ACCM  Sponsors are our vital partners in elevating the visibility and impact  of ACCM, developing and activating arts advocates, and educating the  public and elected officials on the value that arts, culture and creative workers create in our state. With direct reach to over 20,000  engaged arts advocates in the State and networks to hundreds of  thousands of arts organizations, creative businesses, arts workers,  cultural bearers, elected officials, funders and arts patrons– your  sponsorship puts you in front of committed and influential arts, culture  and creative industries leaders. 

If you want to reach motivated arts, culture and creative industry enthusiasts and if celebrating the creative workforce aligns with your values, then join us as a sponsor of one or all of our many activities throughout the month of April. Our dynamic suite of programming offers a multitude of opportunities to visibly align your company or organization with Arts, Culture, & Creativity Month. For more information on sponsorship opportunities please contact Nefesha@caforthearts.org.

More Information below on how to be a sponsor in the sponsorship package below:

We are bringing back the Arts Champion award where we recognize state arts and culture policy leaders.

Past Legislative Arts Star Award recipients include:

2023
Speaker Emeritus, Anthony Rendon
Senator Toni Atkins
Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath

2022
Governor Gavin Newsom
Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva 

2019
Assemblymember Richard Bloom
Senator Scott Wilk

2018 
Senator Ben Allen
Senator Jim Nielsen

*Note: in 2020-21 : No awards were issued 

9 am - Rally & Press conference, followed by Meetings with Legislators

Bring Your Voice to Sacramento with CA for the Arts.The morning kicks off with a rally and press conference and then advocates will meet with their state representatives to talk about the power of the arts, challenges and policy solutions. CA for the Arts will schedule the meetings and provide talking points and resources you need to have effective, relationship-building conversations. Advocacy Day is held in conjunction with the CA Arts & Culture Summit on April 16th.

2 Opportunities to Advocate with Legislators During ACCM2024

April is a critical month for state budget negotiations so CA for the Arts wants to help you connect with your representatives and advocate for policies to support arts, culture and the creative workforce during Arts, Culture & Creativity Month. We support two opportunities to meet with your state legislators and provide all the resources you need, including training and talking points. 

Arts Advocacy Month - Do-It-Yourself Legislator Meetings
Organize In-person or Virtual Meetings throughout April

Gather arts advocates in your community to meet your state representatives throughout the month of April. Register to receive the Do-It-Yourself Advocacy Month Toolkit which provides you all the resources you need to schedule and organize meetings with your legislators, either via zoom or in their district offices. 

The toolkit includes legislator scheduling contacts, email templates for requesting meetings, talking points to organize your conversations and the CA for the Arts Guide to Effective Advocacy. You can meet one-on-one or lead a group! 

Register to receive the DIY Legislator Meeting Toolkit today

Registration for Advocacy Month launches March 1st -- stay tuned! 

ACCM 2024: Arts Advocacy Training
Tuesday, March 26
12-1:30pm
Register

Get ready to engage your state legislators during Arts, Culture & Creativity Month!! In this Zoom workshop, we will discuss the issues, learn the budget asks and talking points and share tips & resources for effective advocacy. CA for the Arts policy leaders will be on hand to answer all questions and get everyone excited and prepared. This webinar is meant to support everyone who is organizing or participating in legislative visits, or who plan to make phone calls or write letters to state legislators in support of state arts policies. 

CA for the Arts has curated a robust social media toolkit to empower you in participating in ACCM 2024 discussions. Join the dialogue on policy issues impacting arts, culture, and creative industries with our comprehensive social media assets! Our social media toolkit includes designed posters and stickers to hang in your office, school, home, or creative space. Learn all about it and how you can use it at our free webinar on March 19.

ACCM 2024 Social Media Toolkit

If you're interested in advocating for the arts with your elected officials, CA for the Arts has you covered with this comprehensive guide that provides all the essential tools, including a step-by-step checklist, talking points and the resources you need for scheduling and organizing your meetings! Using this toolkit, you can effectively organize your own in-person or virtual meetings to engage with your legislators throughout April.⁠

Download the DIY Legislator Visit Toolkit here!

ACCM 2024 DIY Legislator Visit Toolkit

Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel Discounted rates for 4/14 - 4/17 no longer available. Other hotels in the area:

Click on Check Availability for alternative accommodations

Summit 2024 Hotel Information

Join us on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM for "How to Engage in ACCM 2024"! This video serves as your comprehensive training guide for ACCM 2024, covering everything from user-friendly weekly social media posts, template proclamations, op-eds, and press releases to artist engagement, weekly webinars, and a detailed overview of our legislative and administrative requests for supporting public investment in arts and culture this year.

How to Engage in ACCM 2024

Download our press release toolkit for our sixth annual Arts, Culture, & Creativity Month (ACCM) and be part of this statewide celebration of the transformative power of art and its economic impact. The press release highlights our ACCM events, including: 

CA Arts & Culture Summit: April 16 in Sacramento 

Advocacy Day at the Capitol: April 17 in Sacramento

Arts Advocacy Month: DIY legislator meetings throughout April

ACCM 2024 Press Release Toolkit

Join us on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM for "ACCM 2024 Advocacy Training"! 

Prepare to actively connect with your state legislators for Arts, Culture & Creativity Month! Join our Zoom workshop where we'll delve into relevant issues, cover budget requests and key talking points, and provide resources for effective advocacy. CA for the Arts policy leaders will be on hand to get attendees excited and answer all questions. This webinar supports anyone organizing or participating in legislative visits, or who plans to make phone calls/write letters to legislators in support of state arts policies.

ACCM 2024 Arts Advocacy Training

Find out how to submit an op-ed: Call or email your local or regional newspaper to ask who is responsible for opinion editorials, or “op-eds”. Each newspaper is different. Sometimes this information can be found on the newspaper’s website, while other papers will provide a contact person.

Determine the author(s). You may submit the op-ed on your own, or choose to contact local arts organizations or artists to co-author the editorial with you. You might also ask local arts folks to submit quotes to back up your article.  

Compose the article. See below for a template with lots of sample language you can use.

Submit your op-ed! Send the full piece to the op-ed editor or contact person, or submit online if there is a form to do so. In some cases you may need to submit a brief “pitch” about what your article is about. 

What if you can’t find anywhere to publish your op-ed? Try publishing on Medium.com, Linkedin.com, or on the blog of a local arts organization, then use the URL to promote it widely in your community and send it to local elected officials.

If your op-ed is published, be sure to send a copy to CA for the Arts via email: eduardo@caforthearts.org

ACCM 2024 Op-Ed Toolkit

CA Arts & Culture Summit 2024 Program

A pilot program of CFTA funded by the Music Man Foundation


Recognizing that all politics, and thus advocacy, are local, CFTA launched The Regional Arts Infrastructure Network (RAIN), an innovative new program to build advocacy capacity in communities across the state. 

Local advocacy is under-resourced and often relies on sporadic ad-hoc volunteer efforts driven by leaders of already-underfunded arts nonprofit organizations. 

CFTA understands that local relationships are key to effective advocacy and, as a statewide organization, we can’t replace that relationship building in communities but we can leverage its organizational connections, resources, and scale to help build more sustainable advocacy groups across California. 

Empowering regional advocacy is key to: 

Achieving systems-level change in how the arts and culture sector are valued; 

Building a distributed power base grounded in localized self-determination. 

RAIN strengthens, trains, and empowers emerging local arts advocacy networks, catalyzing constituent-driven regional policy change and local investment while building more effective and sustainable cultural advocacy infrastructure for California.

BUILDS EQUITY: Grassroots community voices are equipped with tools and infrastructure to engage and implement advocacy platforms. 

CREATES AWARENESS: Localized, constituent-driven advocacy is the most effective way to build power for the creative sector. 

SUPPORTS CHANGE: With adequate resources, a regional network can establish consistent channels of dialogue with their elected officials, building relationships, sustaining ongoing engagement and support for solutions unique to local conditions and focused on drawing more resources to a community.

Our long-term vision for RAIN is to have an effective advocacy partner in every county across the state. Creating a network of organizations that share CFTA’s values and advocacy best practices, working in tandem. CFTA will support these organizations with training, consultation, toolkits and templates for advocacy action, as well as infrastructure support. At the same time, having a local advocacy partner in every region will strengthen CFTA in its statewide advocacy efforts. 

The RAIN program is currently in the design, development, and ideate stage. As the program grows RAIN services will include: community mobilization and engagement strategies, comprehensive training to activate local leaders to mobilize constituents to be effective arts advocates, foster connection and community of practice with other affiliates and advance statewide initiatives to synthesize disparate voices into a stronger whole, along with providing campaign templates and toolkits, and, access to CFTA’s advocacy database to support their own local, state and federal campaigns. 

Thanks to generous support from The Music Man Foundation RAIN is currently in a year-long pilot stage working with two advocacy organizations in strategic regions of the state. In early 2023 we began working with the Sacramento Arts Regional Alliance (SARA) and the San Diego Regional Arts and Culture Coalition. With each group we started by doing an assessment of what their needs are, and what their advocacy goals were for the year. 

For SARA the focus of our work is facilitating a series of convenings with coalition partners to develop a structure to collaborate effectively on advocacy for the region. 

SDRACC is concentrating on developing a policy framework as they broaden their focus from the city of San Diego to the full county.  

During the course of the year our work with these organizations will not only help them work toward their goals, it will also help us shape and develop RAIN as a program. Learning from our hands on work, what the field needs and how we can most effectively offer support. Our goal is to create a program that can be adapted to the needs of each unique region.

For more information on RAIN, please contact Program Manager Teri Ball teri@californiansforthearts.org or 916-905-5397.

Regional Advocacy Infrastructure Network

ACCM 2024 Zoom Backgrounds

CA for the Arts develops a series of engagement tools for Arts, Culture, & Creativity Month (ACCM) to encourage and produce activations throughout the state, including city and county proclamations, op-eds, special events, performances, social media, webinars, arts advocacy day, legislative meetings, and more. 

Proclamations are issued by a Board of Supervisors or Mayor to honor, celebrate, or create awareness of an event, milestone, or achievement and, in rare cases, individuals of interest to the broader community.

Learn more about Proclamations and how to use our template in the toolkit!
Download The Toolkit Here!

ACCM 2024 Proclamation Guide

ACCM Sponsors are our vital partners in elevating the visibility and impact of ACCM, developing and activating arts advocates, and educating the public and elected officials on the value that arts, culture and creative workers create in our state. With direct reach to over 20,000 engaged arts advocates in the State and networks to hundreds of thousands of arts organizations, creative businesses, arts workers, cultural bearers, elected officials, funders and arts patrons– your sponsorship puts you in front of committed and influential arts, culture and creative industries leaders. 

If you want to reach motivated arts, culture and creative industry enthusiasts and if celebrating the creative workforce aligns with your values, then join us as a sponsor of one or all of our many activities throughout the month of April. Our dynamic suite of programming offers a multitude of opportunities to visibly align your company or organization with Arts, Culture, & Creativity Month. For more information on sponsorship opportunities please contact: nefesha@caforthearts.org

Summit 2024 - Sponsorship Package

CA Arts & Culture Summit 2023 Program

The SOFIA, 2700 Capitol Ave, Sacramento, CA 95816


Tuesday, April 16, 2024 | 8am-5pm (with a reception to follow to 6:30pm) | Location: The Sofia
Registration Fee: $300
Member Discount Registration: $250*
*Supporting members of CA for the Arts and CA Arts Advocates will have a special registration process. Discount available for members at the Arts Champion Level ($250) and above

Summit 2024 Registration

Join us on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2024, from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm for the CA for the Arts webinar: "For the Love of Art."

Fremont Creates will share insights into transforming their community into an arts hub. Learn to effectively utilized the CA for the Arts' Arts, Culture, & Creativity Month’s tools to activate your city!

For the Love of Art

Back by popular demand, the CA Arts & Culture Summit 2024 is sure to sell out. This year we are offering a Members-Only Presale window through February 19th.  Get your tickets now before they sell out. In addition to early access, there will be additional member-only perks at the Summit you won’t want to miss.  Members at the $250 and above level also receive a $50 discount on their Summit tickets.

Make sure you are a current member of CA Arts Advocates or CA for the Arts to access the presale. Use the button below to get your Member Tickets, check your membership status, and join or renew.

Members-Only Summit Registration

Regional Conversations are convenings that take place across the state of California each year. They bring together artists, arts leaders and workers, creative entrepreneurs, community organizers, and supporters of arts and culture to hear updates on legislation affecting the sector, to learn about advocacy, and to share what is impacting arts and culture in communities small and large. 


The program began in 2019 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its catastrophic impact on arts and culture as a way to quickly disseminate information and to speak to colleagues in each region about business model shifts, funding sources, and reopening challenges. The issues that arose related to identifying local networks and issues, access to funding, and advancing equity and visibility of the field continue to be pressing. Thus, Regional Conversations remain important spaces to ensure resources reach communities and to continue to build advocacy within the arts and culture sector in ways that benefit not just the field, but local communities.

Regional Conversations

In December 2022, CA for the Arts for secured a contract to oversee Paymaster Services for Small Nonprofit Performing Arts Organizations by providing outreach, convening, reporting, accountability, and technical support to the intended recipients of the RFP paymaster.  This program provides paymaster and payroll services so that small nonprofits can access administrative services without the fees that many paymaster companies charge, which can drive the employment premium for California nonprofits as high as 30 percent. CA for the Arts will engage with community statewide partners in order to reach all segments of the performing arts community in both urban and rural communities and is prioritizing connecting with under-resourced and historically marginalized communities and the full range of statewide regional networks and state local partners in order to be as inclusive and thorough as possible in our outreach to those who will benefit from the services of the Nonprofit Performing Arts Paymaster (NPAP). As part of the program, CA for the Arts is offering a stipend to participate and attend educational webinars and the cost of initial organization onboarding for up to $250 to 250 nonprofit performing arts organizations with a priority for BIPOC led and serving organizations with a budget of $250,000 and under.  

The service is now available for interested parties to sign up and access the benefits of a non profit paymaster.  

A paymaster works hand-in-hand with your organization by becoming the official Employer of Record for your employees assuming most of the employer’s responsibilities. A paymaster works as an administrative entity with your organization to facilitate the payroll process from start to finish, taking on all responsibility to ensure compliance with all employment and tax laws.

A paymaster is more than a mere payroll service company. Yes, a paymaster does provide payroll services, but those services are complemented with a host of administrative duties managed for you on behalf of your organization to ease the burden for you and your staff. These services include:

Administration of employment agreements (running payroll): Permanent full-time employees/workers (hourly or salaried, union or non-union); Permanent part-time employees/workers (hourly or salaried, union or non-union); Temporary employees/workers (hourly or salaried, union or non-union)

Comprehensive administration of union agreements and contracts

Assured compliance with all relevant employment & employment tax laws

Administration of required tax reporting and payments

Administration of annual W-2 filings, generation, and delivery

Administration of unemployment and workers compensation claims (as needed)

Working with the California Performing Arts Paymaster will also provide:

Deep familiarity and understanding of the nuanced complexities of small performing arts organizations

Stability to lowest cost workman’s compensation & unemployment insurance

Convenient service application supported by reliable and knowledgeable administrative staff

An encrypted and secure client portal to facilitate safe and compliant information exchange between you and the CA Performing Arts Paymaster

A secure employee-facing interface that allows employee’s full access to manage their personal payroll information safely and securely no matter which organization(s) they are working with throughout the calendar year

Reduced cost compared to for-profit paymasters and standard payroll service companies

 To request more information, please complete this form.

ACCM 2024 Logos

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Arts, Culture, & Creativity Month

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Related Posts

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CA Arts & Culture Summit

Arts, Culture, & Creativity Month

Join the Movement

Donate to help us advocate for legislation and funding

Become a CA For The Arts member and be directly involved

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