By Adam Huttler, CEO of Exponential Creativity Ventures As faithful readers know, after 20 years at Fractured Atlas I have moved on to a new role at Exponential Creativity Ventures, an investment fund backing startups developing technology for creativity. Fractured Atlas created Exponential Creativity Ventures as a separate but integrated parallel track for achieving its vision of maximizing humanity’s creative potential.

Individual donor prospecting can be as easy as getting better acquainted with people you already know. Fundraising to support your work as an artist can be intimidating, especially if you’re thinking strictly in terms of who you know and whether you’re comfortable asking them for money (or in some cases, asking them for money yet again). But the truth is that you can do it! For decades, individual artists have raised the funds to make their careers as artists, and if you think and talk about yourself as a professional, we believe that you can, too. Of course, there are some best practices to consider as you formulate your plan for ensuring that you can sustainably bring your art to your community now and in the future.

When preparing a grant application, it can seem counterintuitive to think of the funder you’re applying to as a resource. However, no one can answer questions about an application better than the institution that made it! Calling the funder is one of the most effective tools in your grant-writing toolbox.

How many of you made New Years resolutions? How many of you have already given them up? I wouldn’t be too surprised if many of the resolution setters have already given them up, and we’re not even a full month into 2018. This is one of the reasons why I think there is a better solution to planning goals, and that solution is OKRs.

Back in September, we looked at some of the key principles of Ciara Pressler’s Game Plan. Pressler suggested that a good game plan must be measurable, because “if you can’t track it, you won’t hack it.” But what does it mean to have a measurable game plan?

Attention artists and arts organizations across New York State: the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) has posted guidelines for its 2019 funding cycle! Before I share Fractured Atlas’s timeline, let’s go over some important details about the application process and eligibility: The application is made up of three major parts: 1) a Sponsored Request Form (SRF), 2) Grants Gateway project and budget information, and 3) supporting materials. Fractured Atlas must submit all documents on behalf of our fiscally sponsored projects through our own Grants Gateway portal, so we appreciate you adhering to our internal timeline to give us time to review your materials thoroughly and submit them on your behalf. Due to the volume of requests we handle every year, Fractured Atlas fiscally sponsored projects will only be permitted to submit one application (regardless of NSYCA’s two-request limit). If you applied in the Individual Artist category (IND) last year, you must sit out this year. Your grant application must be for activities that take place between January 1 — December 31, 2019. Applying for a NYSCA grant is a multi-step process.

Resource scarcity leads us to borrow, and that pushes us deeper into scarcity. Why? Because when we have scarce resources we tunnel (i.e., we focus on the here and now, the fires, what needs to get done right now). Tunneling leads us to neglect. Tunneling today creates more tunneling tomorrow, and leads us to borrow — in a borrowing from Petra to pay Paula and eventually needing to pay back Petra with significant interest scenario — so that we’re using the same physical resources less effectively, placing us one step behind.

Welcoming a new addition to the family can elicit all the feels, excitement, anxiety, joy, and wonder (like what is a nose frida and why is everyone raving about them?). There will be lots of changes in store both at home and at work, so the more you can prepare yourself and your team for the new unknown the better. I’ve been at Fractured Atlas through the birth of both of my kiddos, and was the first person to use our company’s family leave benefit in its entirety. Below are some of the things I’ve learned that may help you and your team prepare for leave.

From time to time, we feature one of our fiscally sponsored projects who have been successful at using our program to advance their art/cause/career. Today, we’re featuring Time to Tell.

If you haven’t yet heard of Void Academy, we’re excited to make the introduction. Void Academy strives to make an impact in the art world by providing free and affordable resources to help artists sustainably fund their work and make a living. Their first free online course Fundamentals of Crowdfunding offers insights into the history of crowdfunding, how to set yourself up for success before you launch a campaign, and more. It is a valuable guide for any artist looking to use crowdfunding as a tool to fund their work. (And keep reading to learn how Fractured Atlas members can access other Void Academy courses at discounted rates.)