2009 Champions of the Arts Videos
Monterey County

Here’s how one community is using video to showcase local arts—and appeal to existing and new donors.

This moving medium was a centerpiece in the 2009 Champions of the Arts Gala sponsored by the Arts Council for Monterey County. The Gala offered tribute to community arts heroes—artists, nonprofit leaders, education advocates, and donors. Each of their stories was presented through a series of professionally produced videos, all of which are available online and promoted through the Arts Council and its networks.

Gala planners enlisted another local hero—Academy Award winning director John Longenecker—who helped an arts nonprofit, Picture Monterey.org, gain equipment and training to create these videos.

Have a look

Community foundations and their partners in arts recognition programs should see these well-crafted products.

Check out the 22-minute group tribute (above), as well as a series of individual videos featuring each champion. For example, viewers get the first-hand story of cowboy Jack N. Swanson, and experience his work as an accomplished vaquero artist. It’s a colorful telling of an artist’s work shaped by the unique nature and character of his community.

Here’s the essence of the video featuring arts donors. This piece is strategically significant in encouraging more arts giving in an underfunded area of the region; it is being shared (via the web, email links and group gatherings) with current and prospective donors to the arts.

Arts matter for children in Salinas Valley. That’s the bottom line for David and Susan Gill, honored philanthropists at the Gala. The Gills support youth programs in the rural south county area because, according to Susan, “Arts are the only way to round out an education. We need to continue to inspire our children.”

Proceeds from the Champions of the Arts Gala help students in Monterey County schools receive training from professional artists.

The Community Foundation for Monterey County supports the Arts Council for Monterey County, and is a participant in Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

Filed under: Engaging donors