Arts & Business Council of Chicago

Since Summer 2014, I have undergone five internships. Five! Definitely ambitious to say the least, yet each opportunity has allowed me to expand my knowledge of arts management and really grasp a better idea of where I hope to begin my career endeavors post-Columbia. With that in mind, I thought I’d share with you my recent experience as a Development Intern for the Arts & Business Council of Chicago (A&BC).

Last year I took the Fundraising and Sponsorship & Broadcasting Rights Management courses offered through the MAM program. This was intentional, as I’ve been strongly considering fulfilling an arts management career in development. As a result, I decided to gain the maximum amount of development experience possible during my final year as an MAM candidate. Luckily, I secured a development internship with A&BC.

A&BC has been serving the Chicago-area community since 1985. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, A&BC aims to strengthen non-profit arts organizations by bringing resources and expertise through consulting, training, research, and relationships. With the 30th anniversary being a major milestone in the organization’s history, I had the privilege of providing development assistance in the preparation and execution of their 30th Anniversary Gala.

Side preview of the gala in action!

In 2 1/2 months, I underwent multiple facets of development operations. One of my primary tasks was coordinating the logistics involved in securing and organizing in-kind donations for the gala’s live auction, silent auction and raffle. This required an insane amount of detail and attention, including the maintenance of a database that outlined 100+ secured and potential in-kind items. This may seem like an annoying intern task, yet I found it incredibly enjoyable. It’s important to learn different methods of tracking and updating large quantities of information, regardless of what that information may be. Luckily I’m crazy organizational when it comes to my professional life and am extremely interested in utilizing databases for data-driven decision making, so this opportunity was a great learning moment.

Another central component I fulfilled during this internship was writing acknowledgement letters to those who made in-kind donations. While this may seem simple and unglamorous, I was ecstatic to obtain this skill-set. So frequently arts organizations who take on development interns underestimate the intern’s ability to collaborate in development communications. Writing expertise is highly essential in arts management, no matter what industry you’re involved with. If you can’t write well, I highly suggest taking the time to make that investment in yourself. You’ll be thankful later in your professional career when your superb writing helps you secure a major corporate sponsorship or acquire 100% of a foundation grant you asked for.

In short, I’m grateful for the roles and responsibilities I was given during my time as an A&BC intern. Through this internship, I curated 19 silent auction packages, 4 live auction pages, and 3 raffle packages. These 26 packages alone raised several thousand dollars, which will greatly assist in the operating budget that A&BC uses for the many programs it offers its clients. Although this internship is at its end, I’m looking forward to my upcoming development internship with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (more to come on that!) and further increasing my development proficiency!

Quick elevator selfie after finishing the gala setup