Sponsorship program brings together Colorado arts programs – Partnership designed to tap small businesses

This summer, small- and medium-sized businesses have a chance to support three long-standing arts programs and to market themselves to Coloradans who do the same.

The Colorado Chautauqua Association, Colorado Music Festival and Colorado Shakespeare Festival have launched a collaborative corporate-sponsorship program this year. It offers small- and medium-sized businesses a marketing opportunity that they haven’t had before, said Richard Devin, producing artistic director for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival.

By Cherie Strain, For the Camera

http://www.dailycamera.com/bdc/local_business/article/0,1713,BDC_2461_2875741,00.html

"Small businesses haven’t felt that they could afford the larger sponsorships of $12,000 to 15,000 in the past," Devin said. "This gives them an opportunity that appeals to their marketing budget, so that they can participate."

Until Saturday, local businesses can commit to one of three sponsorship levels of the Summer Arts Partnership (SmARTS). The program will give them marketing exposure to the summer audiences of all three arts agencies.

These audiences present a desirable group of people because of their family-income demographic, regional distribution and age demographic, Devin said. He thinks, in particular, a recent trend in family income among all three audiences has been relevant to corporate sponsors, he said. Previously about 30 percent of these audiences were earning more than $70,000. Now, 36 percent of the family income is more than $100,000.

"This indicates discretionary income — the ability to purchase," Devin said.

Ed Fundingsland agrees. Considering a simultaneous marketing partnership with the Chautauqua Association, the Colorado Music Festival and the Colorado Shakespeare Festival is a business decision, said Fundingsland, who is the agency manager for Talbot Insurance Agency, formerly Boulder Insurance Associates, which has been in Boulder for more than 10 years.

"I think it’s a way to get our name to the right people," he said.

The University of Colorado Federal Credit Union is in its second year as a high-level corporate sponsor for just the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. The decision is driven by the ties a credit union has to its community, the ties this institution has to the university, and its marketing initiatives, said Rich Jones, vice president of marketing at the U of C Credit Union.

"There are several ways you can establish a presence in a location," Jones said. "One is by buying a lot of advertising space. The other is by becoming involved in significant community endeavors."

"As a credit union, we have a commitment to serve all demographics equally, but what we do know as a business is that it is difficult to attract the middle to upper-middle market, and that really is the market that the Colorado Shakespeare Festival is tuned into."

Although the credit union is contributing at a higher level than the tiers of the new SmARTS Partnership, Jones believes the new program was a great decision, he said.

"It’s really wise, because it’s the same basic demographics for all three (agencies)," Jones said. "It gives a sponsor an opportunity to maximize whatever dollar they’re investing by reaching all three audiences at an affordable amount."

It goes beyond that, as well, Jones says, stating firmly that the local support for the arts supports the entire Boulder community. Peter Donnelly, president and CEO of the ArtsFund in Seattle, agrees. ArtsFund is part of a national arts network called the United Fund for the Arts that encourages and facilitates collaboration, and Donnelly was formerly the president of the board of that association.

"If you’re of the conviction that the arts are valuable and integral to a healthy community, then creating a mechanism to make sure they stay healthy is very important," Donnelly said.

It is impressive that Boulder’s local groups have collaborated of their own initiative, Donnelly said. In some cases, it is not easy to achieve cooperation among arts agencies.

Devin said that the music and Shakespeare festivals and the Chautauqua Association will measure the success of the new SmARTS Partnership program after the 2005 summer season. When the groups’ leaders launched the program in January, they determined that it will take two years to establish itself.

"I hope that by the second year, each of the festivals can look at between $10,000 to $15,000 in their share of the proceeds from this program," Devin said. "The potential is there for it to be between $20,00 to $30,000."