The calendar year is at the mid-point and our fiscal year is in its final quarter, ending on August 31. In any given year, we conduct two GIVING CAMPAIGNS (End of Calendar Year and Spring), two MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGNS (Arts Organizations in the fall and Individuals in the summer) and two big FUND-RAISING EVENTS (Mayor's Arts Awards in June and Lincoln Art Festival in September). Altogether, these events generate about 45% of our annual budget. The remainder is made up of public grants (29%), private foundation grants (16%), programs & services (9%) and investment income (1%).

This year has been especially challenging from a financial point of view. We know that many of us both privately and professionally are still feeling the pinch of our "new fiscal reality." We also experienced staff transition late in 2012 and we are in a season of board re-building with the goal of filling the maximum number of positions (27). For a variety of known reasons (and no-doubt unknown), our December 2012 campaign fell short of budget. One bright spot is our Spring Campaign, which reached 89% of our $8,200 goal and exceeded our budget projection for this item. The 35th Annual Mayor's Arts Awards was a triumph as an event, but generated little more than its own expenses. When it comes to fund-raising events, it is largely sponsorships that generate the income in the equation. This event was not fully sponsored and expenses exceeded the original budget. In addition, two of our basic support grant applications were not fully funded.

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Arts patronage has never been so simple and yet so important!

Becoming a member of the Lincoln Arts Council is a significant "Yes!" vote for the programming we do and the advocacy we provide in the City of Lincoln.

And if that isn't enough, as a member, you will also receive a subscription to the beautiful "Artland Magazine" published by the Sheldon Art Gallery. It is a work of art in print and provides interesting coverage of art and artists from across the state. Perhaps you've heard of our Community Supported Art (CSArt) Project. LAC Members have an early purchase opportunity when the Art Shares go on sale in March. (A nice perk considering the 2013 art shares sold out in 30 hours!) You will be invited to a Member Appreciation Open House at our office. Save the date for this year's open house on Thursday, October 24 from 5 - 7 pm. And we will host particular events, workshops and enrichment opportunities designed with members in mind.

The National Arts Program® was established in 1982 to identify, showcase, and reward the visual artistic talent in America. The program sponsors 82 venues in 38 states. Coordinated by the AmeriCorps staff at the Lincoln Arts Council, this is the seventh year Lincoln has had the chance to offer this opportunity to our community. Every year, the National Arts Program invites City of Lincoln Employees and Lincoln Public Schools and their family members to participate in this exhibition opportunity. The National Arts Program is designed to give visual artists, at all skill levels, an uninhibited opportunity to exhibit their work in a professional manner and to compete for cash prizes.   This exhibit is judged by professional artists and visual art professionals in Amateur, Intermediate, Professional, Teen and Youth classifications, and it is free to all.

This year the program has 66 registered participants who will exhibit 110 pieces of artwork. Eligibility for this program requires that the artwork has been created within the last 3 years and fits into one of the six categories which include: Painting, Works on Paper, Photography, Sculpture, Craft, and Mixed Media.

The Lincoln Arts Council invites the community of Lincoln to attend the opening reception and presentation of awards, which will be held at Bennett Martin Library on July 12, 2013 at 6pm.

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Look at Michele Tilley and you may see the owner of Chocolate Cake Design, an award-winning graphic design company. Look again and you may see one of the nine inaugural artists of Lincoln's Community Supported Art program. Look a third time and the President Elect of Downtown Lincoln Rotary Club #14 appears. Every truly engaged person wears a lot of different hats, but few manage to do so many things so well as Michele Tilley.

Start with her ability to communicate. Chocolate Cake's design work has ranged from dramatic and emotional appeals for the Arbor Day Foundation to the quirky, we're-having-fun-here maps for the Downtown Lincoln Association. The Downtown Lincoln Association maps won the American Package Design Award for 2011 and have become a favorite tool for exploring Lincoln's downtown.