Re: Arts Uplift in The Burg

I picked up a copy of The Burg this morning and read Lawrance Binda's piece about the greater Harrisburg arts scene and its lack of cohesive support in the region. It's something we've talked about on our board as well, and we've had a tough time as a startup arts organization finding resources to help us in our fledgling years.

Here in Cumberland County, we may be at the back of the pack – Dauphin and York counties at least have "Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts" programs, which we certainly would have utilized, but unfortunately we don't have access to.

But I might take Lawrance's thoughts a step further – it's not just arts organizations that have unmet needs in the area, it's a lot of non-profits here. While we have an outstanding resource at The Foundation for Enhancing Communities (TFEC) that provide services and grants, places like York, Lancaster, and even Centre counties have coordinated annual giving days where thousands of supporters give millions of dollars to hundreds of nonprofits in their respective locales via Give Local York, Extra Give Lancaster, Centre Gives.

I don't know who we expect to come to the rescue and create an Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts program, an arts council or a county/regional giving effort besides the folks who are already doing the work. But the folks who are already doing the work tend to be maxed out managing their own organizations. It's a catch 22.

That said, if anyone wants to talk about how we *might* be able to team up and get the ball rolling on similar efforts in the region, send me a note.

Drew