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.

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.)

The Education/Experience Proxy is what I call the phrase organizations include near the end of their job postings: “High School Diploma Required,” “Bachelor Degree Required,” or “Masters Degree Preferred.” Please nix it. It’s a lazy proxy used to approximate experience or ability that’s making it harder for otherwise talented people to be a part of your candidate pool. It neglects people who learn differently, or have different life experience, from being considered for positions.

Photo by Arif Wahid on Unsplash Today, we’re announcing the creation of a new entity to advance Fractured Atlas’s mission of democratizing access to the arts and advancing human creativity: Exponential Creativity Ventures, a new investment enterprise that will make early stage investments in start-ups that are innovating at the intersection of technology and human creative capacity.

Hi, Philadelphia artists and arts organizations! I’ll be in town for some meetings this Wednesday, November 8 and have a few open windows in my schedule.

Next Thursday, October 26 thirty artists and arts administrators from various disciplines and walks of life will gather in Detroit to learn the ins and outs of running for political office as the inaugural cohort of Artist Campaign School.

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 Drawn To Help.

If you’re looking for an older sister to help guide you along and offer both practical counsel and bottomless encouragement, Ciara Pressler has got your back. Game Plan is a workbook to help you think through and define your personal, career, and project goals. Pressler works with artists, creatives, and other innovators collaboratively to develop strategic plans to achieve their missions, and founded the Pressler Collaborative, a marketing collective devoted to that work. In that vein, this is not a book offering advice or “how-to” information. This book won’t tell you what your game plan should be, but rather how to go about crafting one, giving you blank space on the page to jot all your ideas and dreams down, and refine an actionable plan to meet those goals.

Do you want, or need, to talk with someone about an HR challenge your cultural organization is facing? For the next few months, the three members of the Fractured Atlas People team — Nicola Carpenter, Jillian Wright, and me — will be available a few hours each week for anyone interested in picking our HR brains. We’re offering this free of charge as a way to share experience and expertise with cultural sector colleagues.