On October 21st and 22nd, the Wisconsin Arts Board (WAB) will bring a three-part series of free workshops focused on Leadership Succession Planning, Strong Evaluation Practices, and Effective Grant Proposal Writing to Madison. The workshops are hosted by the Madison Arts Commission (MAC) and the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission (DCCAC) and will be held at the Dane County Courthouse, 215 S. Hamilton St. (downtown) in Assembly Room L1000 (lower level).

This three part workshop series - one of six that have been scheduled throughout the state - is designed for arts and other cultural organizations that have made the commitment to focus on strengthening their work and their fundraising skills. The WAB has invested significant resources in order to bring the top national leaders in the fields of arts-organization-focused Leadership Succession Planning, and arts program Evaluation.

Grant Proposal Writing workshop (October 21st: 9:00 AM - Noon)
After a briefing on effective grant proposal writing practices, act as panelists on a mock arts grant review panel to review the strengths and weaknesses of applications... putting into practice what's just been learned.
Wisconsin Arts Board staff will also offer one-on-one consultations in the afternoon and evening.

Leadership Succession Planning workshop (October 21st: 1:00 - 4:30 PM)
As leaders at the board level and the staff level change, organizations-and the community that it serves-go through an important transition. To that end, the Arts Board offers this workshop from the Illinois Arts Alliance, leaders in the field of succession planning and authors of the book Succession: Arts Leadership for the 21st Century.

Are We There Yet? A Workshop on Program Evaluation (October 22nd: 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM)
This highly interactive workshop is offered on two tracks-Fundamentals and Advanced- to help you identify ways to identify and evaluate how your community benefits from your work. Presenters from the Massachusetts-based Arts Extension Service lead this workshop with voices from arts organizations in the region adding their best practices into the mix.

The workshop series is an example of the significant assistance that the WAB has provided to Wisconsin's communities over the past 35 years, and a sign of the state agency's future direction - specifically the launch of the New Economy Funding Initiative (NEFI). This initiative acknowledges the important contribution of the WAB's partnership work with Wisconsin's arts groups and artists on Wisconsin's creative economy, and seeks to increase public arts funding.

Thanks to Challenge America funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the WAB is able to provide these workshops free of charge. However, due to space limitations, advance registration is required.

As is the case for all MAC hosted meetings, each workshop location is accessible to people with disabilities. WAB will provide Large Print Copies and Sign Language Interpreters with a two week notice.

MAC is a municipal commission that funds artistic activities and initiates cultural programs that integrate, support, and advance arts and culture as an essential part of life in Madison. www.cityofmadison.com/mac.

DCCAC, a unique governmental arts and historical agency is well-known for its successful grantmaking activity and publication of award-winning books, posters, and calendars celebrating Dane County's cultural and historical life. http://www.co.dane.wi.us/dcca/

The Wisconsin Arts Board is the state agency which nurtures creativity, cultivates expression, promotes the arts, supports the arts in education, stimulates community and economic development and serves as a resource for people of every culture and heritage. Since 1973, the Arts Board has supported artists and arts organizations with funds from the state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.