NPN Announces Spring 2024 Professional Development Initiative Recipients
February 1, 2024 • 5 minute read
The Professional Development Initiative, one of NPN’s special initiatives, recognizes leadership within all levels of an NPN Partner organization and seeks to support their staff in self-determined activities that help individuals and organizations thrive.
In the spring of 2024, NPN is providing $21,954 towards Professional Development Initiative projects. These projects provide up to $3,000 in support for the development of NPN Partner staff.
From providing access to staff training sessions and courses to funding attendance to industry conferences and networking opportunities, this initiative gives cultural leaders time, space, and resources for personal renewal and professional growth.
2024 Professional Development Initiative Recipients
Art2Action Inc.
Arts Non-profit Financial Literacy and Fundraising Training
Gabi Vigueira, General Manager of Art2Action, Inc., will participate in a series of training sessions designed to build confidence and proficiency in financial literacy, bookkeeping, and fundraising. These include “Quickbooks Made Easy for Non-profits” by Greg Bossen, “Arts Finance Empowerment Camp with Intersection for the Arts” by Yesenia Sanchez, and trainings by the Wealth Reclamation Academy of Practitioners with a focus on fundraising through a social justice movement and community-building lens.
Hammonds House Museum
Association of African American Museums Conference
Hammonds House Museum staff will attend the 2024 Association of African American Museums conference to network and build relationships with fellow African American museum professionals. HHM looks forward to developing future exhibitions and community involvement opportunities with museum professionals who share similar experiences, knowledge, and information.
Hayti Heritage Center
Association of Performing Arts Professionals Conference & BlackStar Film Festival
Hayti Film Festival Director, Tyra Dixon, and Hayti Program Director, Quentin Talley, will respectively attend the BlackStar Film Festival in Philadelphia in August 2024 and the Association of Performing Arts Professionals conference in New York City in January 2024. BlackStar Film Festival is an annual celebration of the visual and storytelling traditions of Black, Brown, and Indigenous people from around the world. APAP|NYC is the world’s premier gathering of the performing arts presenting, booking, and touring industry and the annual members conference of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals.
Links Hall
Audience Development through Marketing and Automation
Links Hall’s Marketing and Development Manager, Katie Collins, will participate in audience development skill-building training. The vision for this process includes an in-person course titled “AI in Marketing: Hands-on Course” at DePaul University in Chicago, one-on-one Excel and database management coaching, and peer phone calls with other marketing professionals at venues akin to Links Hall. This combination of skill development will support both Katie’s professional goals and Links Hall’s goals for audience and patron engagement.
Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions
LACE x Tijuana-San Diego – Enrichment Staff Trip
The LACE team, composed of five full-time staff members and a fellow, will travel to Tijuana, Mexico, and San Diego, California, for a three-day cultural visit. Due to its proximity to the country, LACE has a longstanding history of artistic exchange with Mexico and aims to expand its cultural and artistic collaborations in Tijuana and San Diego. The trip will include site and artist studio visits, plus mentorship and consultation meetings with cultural workers, providing the LACE team with a deeper context of the artistic production and history of the border region.
Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana
Disability Justice Training
As a Latinx arts organization founded on racial justice and cultural equity, MACLA understands the importance of intersectionality and creating inclusive programs. Through this lens, they see the need to formally center disability justice in the organization and be more intentional in their efforts to promote and secure the rights and inclusion of disabled people. MACLA will partner with AXIS Dance Company to deepen its understanding of disability equity.
The Painted Bride
Care and Neighborhood Reverence Work
The Painted Bride will focus on healing and neighborhood reverence work through intergenerational story-bearing and anchoring care in their organizational direction. With a goal to create spaces for care and reflection in their community, this project will connect the Painted Bride with peers across the country who weave social justice, healing, art, and technology within their platforms. Through peer-to-peer support and educational direction, they hope to strengthen their skills to create strong programming, expand their network, and enhance their abilities as an organization to address systemic violence through care and art.
Sandglass Theater
Sandglass Staff Development
Through focused mentorships and peer-to-peer learning sessions, Sandglass Theater, a women-led organization, seeks to expand the Managing Director’s skillset in areas of grant development, leadership, and communication. Though the project predominantly focuses on supporting a business-oriented position, it also seeks to support wider staff development through diversity training and collective grounding in these difficult times.
