Americans for the Arts is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education. They provide a rich array of programs that meet the needs of over 150,000 members and stakeholders; dedicated to representing and serving local communities and to creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts.

College Art Association issues Standards and Guidelines of professional practices for the fields of art and art history—which are developed by CAA’s committee, special task forces, and affiliated societies and presented to the Board of Directors for approval or endorsement.

Creative Vitality Index is a research-based economic development tool that provides arts organizations with high-quality creative economy data. Using nearly 100 different national, vetted, and third-party data streams, the CVI™ provides an accurate measure of the health of an area’s nonprofit and forprofit creative sectors.

National Assembly of State Art Agencies increase public access to the arts and work to ensure that every community in America enjoys the cultural, civic, economic and educational benefits of a thriving arts sector. They do this by providing grant funding for artists, arts institutions, schools and community groups; offering training and information that strengthens the management and entrepreneurial skills of artists and arts organizations; support in- and out-of-school arts activities for young people; lead special initiatives to foster economic and civic development through the arts; advance arts education through teacher training, curriculum development and assessment projects; conduct research that documents the impact of the arts; educate the public about the essential role of the arts in American life; preserve and celebrate the unique cultural traditions of each state; and recognize and promote artistic achievement.

New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) offers an Arts’ Curatorial Service for organizations, corporations, and individuals providing the opportunity to integrate contemporary art into their offices, headquarters, or homes.

Ohio Association of Nonprofit Organizations is committed to bolstering public confidence in and support for the nonprofit sector through the Standards for Excellence which promote ethical practices and accountability in nonprofit organizations across the state.

Whether you’re looking for an artist or need a piece of work for your upcoming event these sites will help you find just what you’re looking for!

Artists In Schools Directory is an online directory that links professional artists and arts groups not only with K-12 schools, but also parks and recreation centers, senior facilities, correctional facilities, hospitals, libraries, other community centers, as well as private sector businesses, organizations and individuals around Columbus. Artist services may include performances, lectures, workshops, master classes, readings and multi-disciplinary experiences.

ColumbusMakesArt.com is one of the nations few free multidisciplinary artists’ directories where you can learn more about the artist view images of their work, videos, and their upcoming exhibitions or events.

Ohio Online Visual Artist Registry where you can view the works of over 1,200 artists from Ohio and around the world, representing all kinds of art. It’s all computerized, cross-referenced and, best of all, accessible from your home, office or local library. Just what you need to help find the artist and the artwork you’re looking for. And it’s free.

Public Art Archive is a sophisticated, searchable online database of public art. The Archive makes public art and its processes more accessible, displaying images alongside extensive descriptions, including audio and video supplementary files when available. Locate public art pieces, create custom walking tours, and access images and data via the free mobile site.

Looking for a place to have a meeting? Need rehearsal space? Space for a reception? GCAC has complied a comprehensive document containing the who, what, when were and how for all of your space needs in Columbus. Click the link here to check out the most up to date listings.

Have a space that isn’t listed?  Use this link to add your information to be added to the list.

BoardSource is the go-to resource for funders, partners, and nonprofit leaders who want to magnify their impact within their community through exceptional governance practices. BoardSource supports a community of more than 60,000 individuals with customized diagnostics, live and virtual trainings, and a comprehensive library of governance resources that includes original publications.

Consultants.info is a web-based consultancy directory that provides information about qualified consultants in different areas of concern. The main objective of Consultants.info is to help consumers and businesses locate competent, cost effective consultants in a quick and efficient manner.

Are you new to grantseeking and don’t know where to begin? Check out these resources to get you started on the right path!

Arts Extension Service provides courses and training programs to arts administrators.

Funding Opportunities for Small Businesses  One of the most prominent issues facing small businesses today is financing and available resources. Small businesses are continually challenged with finding the right resources to help them grow their businesses from an operational and lending perspective. This webinar features a panel of experts that will speak on the resources they can provide to address these challenges and how small- to medium-sized businesses can connect to available funding in the Columbus Region.

Grantsmanship Center offers grantsmanship training to nonprofit and government agencies.

Guidestar gathers and disseminates information about every single IRS-registered nonprofit organization. Providing as much information as possible about each nonprofit’s mission, legitimacy, impact, reputation, finances, programs, transparency, governance and much more.

The Foundation Center helps you locate grantmakers, find helpful tips and resources, and see what kind of projects are being funded in your field. The Columbus Metropolitan Library Main Branch offers individuals and organizations free access to the foundations professional database through their Grants Resource Center.

Is your organization still in need of funding to complete your project? Check out these alternative resources to help reach your goal.

Barnes & Noble Sponsorships considers local and national support requests from non-profit organizations that focus on literacy, the arts or education (pre-K-12). They also consider sponsorship opportunities where we can partner with organizations that focus their core businesses on higher learning, literacy and the arts.

Create Columbus Grants are meant to to give young professionals an opportunity to harness their passion for Columbus and its bright future to make a lasting impact in shaping the community.

Classics for Kid Foundation helps bring new, exceptionally fine stringed instruments and mentoring with world-renowned musicians to children while strengthening local community support for music education.

IndieGoGo is an online crowdfunding platform that allows you to tell people what you are doing, how they can help, and what unique perks they’ll get for becoming contributors. You keep 100% ownership of your campaign and don’t owe us a cent until you raise money.

Franklin County Neighborhood Arts Grants recognizes the value of arts activities of an essentially recreational, avocational or therapeutic nature and is designed to help support these activities.  This program is a partnership designed to support artistic development within a wide variety of organizations and improve the aesthetics and quality of life in neighborhoods throughout Franklin County. This program directly impacts a variety of deserving audiences at a time when interest in leisure, cultural enrichment, and continuing education is growing by leaps and bounds.

GoFundMe is an online crowfunding platform that makes it easy to raise money online for the things that matter to you most. In less than a minute, you’ll be able to personalize your fundraising campaign and share it with the people in your life.

Kickstarter.com is an online funding platform supporting art, music, design (fashion, product, game, app, etc), film/video, food, journalism, and other projects that spring from the imagination.

Meyer Memorial Trust provides annual funding opportunity to support efforts to advance equity in all four portfolio areas: building community, equitable education, healthy environment and housing opportunities.

National Endowment for the Arts funds projects that may consist of one or more events or activities. Projects do not have to be new, excellent existing projects can be just as competitive as new activities.

Power Philanthropy a service of the Columbus Foundation, allows nonprofit organizations to create an in-depth profile for potential donors that enriches their knowledge of the organization.

Yip Harburg Foundation funds new projects that are either (a) action-oriented projects with small operating budgets which, due to the controversial, risky or innovative nature of their work, have little access to traditional funding; (b) mass media and theatre projects which educate and inform about serious issues; or (c) projects extending over a specific time period, with a focused, concrete goal and clear social impact. The Foundation generally grants $500 to $3,000, and occasionally up to $5,000. They request proof of applicant’s tax-exempt status or fiscal sponsor.

Accounting.com has a wealth of information and resources for small businesses and Entrepreneurs.

Columbus Society of Communicating Arts was founded in order to establish a nonprofit organization of professionals devoted to elevating the standard of communications within Central Ohio and to promote a better understanding of the context and function of the visual arts in commerce, industry, education and the community. The monthly lectures by internationally recognized leaders in design and marketing communications offer a broad knowledge base, inspiration and social relevancy to all design, marketing and verbal/visual communication disciplines, as well as the general public.

College Art Association offers professional development workshops to artists, art historians, and students at the Annual Conference in February and at locations across the United States throughout the year. CAA also provides a series of podcasts devoted to professional development topics for artists. Evolving from the National Professional Development Workshops and now produced in tandem with them, the series will continue throughout the year, with new audio to be added on a regular basis. While the initial focus is on artists, CAA hopes to develop podcasts for art historians, curators, nonprofit art professionals, and other constituencies in the future.

Lynda.com provides their members access to thousands of online video tutorials on hundreds of topics to learn new programs and keep your computer skills up to date.

National Center for Arts Research has a wide selection of resources to help your organization with everything from balance sheet issues and managing your bottom line to measuring community engagement.

New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) offers an Emerging Leaders Boot Camp, a yearlong free program that provides leadership training for arts administrators.

OPPArt is a monthly series presented by GCAC that is aimed toward helping individual artists and small arts organizations connect with each other and further themselves and their work. The series includes professional development workshops, roundtable discussions, social events and more. Most events are free, and all events are open to artists and arts administrators of any discipline or level.

Artists from Abroad provides all the resources needed to help navigate through the process of obtaining nonimmigrant visas and understanding U.S. tax regulations for international artists.

Business Owners Toolkit is a total know-how for small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Copyright alliance is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public interest and educational organization representing artists, creators, and innovators across the spectrum of copyright disciplines, including membership organizations, associations, unions, companies and guilds, representing artists, creators and innovators, and thousands of individuals.

Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools.

IRS Charities lists all resources to help nonprofits with their federal tax regulations and lists any updates to tax forms and legislation for nonprofits.

IRS tax-exempt application is a great article on a new approach to speed up the process of obtaining your tax-exempt status.

Legalzoom is an online tool for entrepreneurs assisting in the areas of Trademarks, LLCs and much more.

Nonprofit Accounting Basics was formed to raise awareness within the sector of accountability issues and to address the need for a comprehensive web-based information resource specifically regarding matters of financial accountability. Whether your organization is just beginning or is a more mature organization, small or large, we hope you will find the tools and resources available via this site useful to strengthen your financial management and reporting practices.

U.S. Patent and trademark office includes current news, frequently asked questions, guides, glossary of terms and information on a variety of intellectual property issues.

U.S. Copyright is an information clearinghouse that includes forms, news and publications regarding copyright issues.

Elevation – 1 for 1 match is a leading web solution firm for nonprofit organizations. For each dollar your nonprofit spends on web design, programming, or other media related work, they will match that dollar with a dollar of their own.

HootSuite  is a social media management system for businesses and organizations to collaboratively execute campaigns across multiple social networks from one secure, web-based dashboard. Launch marketing campaigns, identify and grow audiences, and distribute targeted messages using HootSuite’s unique social media dashboard.

Local Arts Rapid Response Kit is an online toolkit created by Americans for the Arts helps arts organizations respond effectively in times of crisis. Includes up-to date information, key messaging, communications & advocacy strategies, and the research you need to make the case for keeping the arts in your community.

You Judge It is an intuitive web-based service for competitions of all types to easily and cost-effectively manage application and jury processes. YouJudgeIt™ is WESTAF’s latest adjudication solution, designed to be simple, accessible, and affordable–even for organizations on the tightest of budgets.