The ABC Help Desk is a three month long program in the Fall that is designed to provide strategy and individualized Pro Bono Consulting for individuals and organizations serving communities of color, especially those belonging to Black, Indigenous, and Hispanic communities.

This robust offering of free online business mindset courses from Creative Study, and live talks with business consultants who focus on creative and grassroots endeavors will allow clients to learn and problem solve challenges POC’s  face as an individual, an arts small business, and/or a large organization.  Help Desk offers free support for long term business goals as well as immediate problem solving requests. 

Meet the Consultants

These weekly live interviews will introduce Help Desk Participants to the Arts Business Network of Consultants. These conversations will allow for a deep dive into who the consultants are and their approach to their consulting specialization.  Most importantly these live interviews will seek to answer the question, "How do People of Color navigate the basics of arts business with an awareness and understanding of the business world’s racialized system"?

Creative Study

Participants are invited to attend online business courses through ABC's partnership with Creative Study. Arts Business Collaborative is offering FREE ACCESS to Creative Study! This resource is designed to help individuals and organizations navigate business aspects crucial to successful creative careers. Creative Study uses POC educators and consultants to explain the ecosystem of funding, finance, and business strategy in a way that’s approachable and nonjudgmental.  This study is applicable to POC creatives, freelancers , and business owners who often find themselves torn between doing the "business" and using their talents and skills to serve and advocate for their chosen community. 

Enroll to experience a growing library of self-paced video lessons and worksheets that cover everything from debt to freelance finance to healthcare to “artist” visas to IP and licensing to contract terms. Every instructor is an expert in their field and committed to the empowerment of our creative community. 

This space will allow organizations and individuals to connect with courses for their specific needs and prepare them to have a deeper one on one conversation with our Network of Arts Business Consultants.

One on One Consultations:

Participants of the Help Desk program will be able to receive  specialized consulting appointments with our Arts Business Network of Consultants. One on one consultations on Strategic Planning and Design, Grant Writing, Financial Management, Marketing and Communications, Human Resources, Operations, and Board Development and much more are available depending upon particpants needs and requests. Each organizational and or individual participant can independently schedule up to 7 one hour one-on-one meetings with our 7  consultants.  You can schedule one appointment with all 7 consultants or have repeated sessions with a few consultants to complete your 7 one on one's. Create a consulting schedule that works for you. Additional sessions may be available upon request.

You can register for this service by using the Help Desk registration form here. An ABC staff member will follow up with you.

Registration

You can register for the Help Desk program here, which will sign you up for weekly newsletters with event and resource information for the 12 weeks of the program. Please note that you must sign up for each webinar and office hour individually. If you are interested in scheduling a one-on-one consultation, please use the same form.

Supporters

ABC Help Desk is made possible thanks to the generous support of the M&T Charitable Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, Council Member Crystal Hudson- District 35 NY, & Ameriprise Financial.