Here’s a flurry of news about my Assets for Artists project:
1. We’ve set dates for our business planning seminar for Berkshire County artists — November 12 and 19, 4:00pm, in Pittsfield. Details available from Berkshire Creative. (But note the available slots have already been filled.)
2. Looks like we’ll do a CHAPA-certified home buyer training for artists on December 6 and 13, but that’s still tentative. The Massachusetts Fair Housing Center will lead the training, with an assist from ArtHome and a variety of local experts.
3. Berkshire Creative’s Nancy Fitzpatrick and I have been working hard on the fundraising — visiting any semi-solvent bank or credit union in a 30 mile radius. Berkshire Bank Foundation has already come through with a grant (many thanks!), and I’m optimistic about several others. On Friday I also submitted my draft proposal to the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Adams Arts Program for cultural economic development. (The cultural council should take some blame for this project, since they helped get it off the ground with a planning grant in 2007.)
4. The state’s Department of Housing & Community Development again funded the Midas collaborative’s partnership of IDA programs across the state, which means we’re going to open 4 more home ownership IDAs and 10 more small business IDAs for Berkshire County artists in 2009. We should be able to find another 14 serious artists in Berkshire County who aren’t too well off to qualify and could benefit from a savings match for business investments or home ownership. More on that in the coming months.
Okay, now I’ve done a blog post and I can return to thinking about nothing but the election for a few more days.
December 23, 2008 at 2:34 pm |
[...] with many self-employed microentrepreneurs in my “Assets for Artists” program, I worry for some of them being able to get by in retirement. Most artists don’t have access [...]