MCACA offers discounted assistance for crisis preparedness
The Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA), in partnership with South Arts, today announced that a limited number of premium memberships to ArtsReady are available to MCACA grantees for only $50 on a first come first served basis.
ArtsReady, a national initiative of South Arts, is a new readiness, response, and recovery Web-based platform at www.artsready.org is designed to help ensure post-crisis business continuity for arts organizations.
“We are truly excited about our partnership opportunity with South Arts,” said MCACA Executive Director John Bracey. “It is another way we hope to provide assistance to Michigan’s arts and cultural sector and ensure that our grantees are professionally among the best and most prepared in the nation.”
Premium members of ArtsReady will be guided through an assessment of their organizations to determine the most critical components for a personalized readiness plan. The assessment will formulate a custom “to do” list, prompting the user to systematically to gather all the necessary pieces for an orderly business continuity plan and even sends friendly reminders to keep information up to date.
A basic membership, which is free, provides access to the ArtsReady Library, updates from ArtsReady on response, recovery and readiness and the Arts Ready newsletter.
Vital files, such as the insurance policies and contact list, are loaded into the secure ArtsReady cloud-based storage system to allow for off-site access anytime and from anywhere.
ArtsReady also enables arts organizations to establish a proxy network of “Battle Buddies,” a unique ArtsReady feature that facilitates partnerships between similar institutions by arts discipline and geography that agree to provide aid to one another in the event of an emergency.
In recent years, arts organizations and creative enterprises across the nation have taken fiscal hits threatening their sustainability, but a physical hit the likes of a flood, earthquake, computer system failure, or unexpected loss of a leader could take an additional and potentially catastrophic toll on their sustainability.
South Arts embarked on the mission of readiness, awareness, and planning shortly after the tragedies of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In researching preparedness and response in the national arts community, South Arts recognized how essential a plan for business continuity is and how often arts organizations lack such plans. Unfortunately, most arts professionals have not had the opportunity for training in the development of cohesive strategy for emergency response. ArtsReady is easy to use and does not require experience in readiness planning.
“Whether it’s a hurricane, flood, pandemic or power outage, ArtsReady enables arts groups to design a readiness plan that is unique to their organization,” said Malcolm White, executive director, the Mississippi Arts Commission.
ArtsReady, the first tool to serve arts organizations of all disciplines, also includes online information, case studies and resources for responding and recovering from crises.
By joining the Arts Readiness Movement today, arts organizations will be able to keep their doors open no matter what. Visit artsready.org to join, enter the code misub12 to ensure the discounted rate. This code is valid through the end of 2013 or until funds are depleted.
MCACA, part of the Michigan Strategic Fund/Michigan Economic Development Corporation, serves to encourage, develop and facilitate an enriched environment of artistic, creative and cultural activity in Michigan. For more on its initiatives and programs, visit www.michiganadvantage.org/arts. Become a fan on Facebook.
The MEDC markets the state with a focus on business, talent, jobs, and helping to grow the economy. For more on MEDC and its initiatives, visit: MichiganAdvantage.org.
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