The Contemporary will lead 4 free information sessions and 3 free workshops. Each of the 4 info sessions will cover the same information and provide details on the Grit Fund application process, guidelines, eligibility, funding priorities, and more. Each of the 3 workshops focuses on a different topic outlined below. You are welcome to attend just the info session or workshop portion of each event, or both. While attending an info session and/or workshop is encouraged, attendance is not required to apply for funding. No RSVP necessary.

• Information Session #1 + Grant Writing Workshop

  Wednesday, December 16, 2015
  Info session 6:00 - 7:00 PM
  Grant Writing Workshop 7:00 - 8:30 PM
  The Contemporary
  429 North Eutaw Street, Suite 1S

  The Grant Writing Workshop is led by Tamar Cloyd, a fundraising and communications consultant, and board trustee of The Contemporary. This workshop provides strategies for writing a compelling and competitive grant narrative.

  Tamar Cloyd is a fundraising and communications consultant with The Cloyd Group, LLC. She has over 10 years’ experience working in the nonprofit sector, including fundraising, program management, communications (online and print), and direct service delivery. In her spare time, Tamar volunteers as a reader for the Metropolitan Washington Ear in Silver Spring, MD. She has also volunteered as a grant reviewer with the DC Children & Youth Investment Trust Corporation and D.C.’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education. A native of Chicago, IL, Tamar holds a bachelor’s in psychology from Michigan State University, and a master’s degree in community social psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. She resides in Columbia, MD with her husband and three sons.

• Information Session #2

  Wednesday, January 6, 2016
  6:00 - 7:00 PM
  Jubilee Arts Baltimore
  1947 Pennsylvania Avenue

• Information Session #3 + Budget Workshop

  Tuesday, January 12, 2016
  Info Session 6:00 - 7:00 PM
  Budget Workshop 7:00 - 8:30 PM
  The Motor House
  120 West North Avenue

  The Budget Workshop is led by Rebecca Chan, program officer for the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation. This workshop offers a detailed look at the Grit Fund Budget Form and tips on preparing a realistic budget that is consistent with your grant proposal.

  Rebecca Cordes Chan is a Program Officer at the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation and a Creative Placemaking Research Fellow with The Reinvestment Fund. Rebecca formally served as the Program Director of Station North Arts & Entertainment Inc., where she managed two international street art festivals, oversaw programming at four public spaces in the Station North Arts District, and co-produced the 2012 National Symposium on Arts/Cultural/Entertainment Districts, and its sequel, the 2013 Artists & Neighborhood Change Conference. Rebecca holds an M.S. in Historic Preservation from the Graduate School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania, and B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

• Information Session #4 + Tax Workshop

  Saturday, January 23, 2016
  Info Session 12:00 - 1:00 PM
  Tax Workshop 1:00 - 2:30 PM
  Creative Alliance
  3134 Eastern Avenue

  The Tax Workshop is co-led by Chris Ryer, director of the Southeast Community Development Corporation and coordinator of Highlandtown Arts and Entertainment District, and Jessica Lanzillotti, general manager of Everyman Theatre, treasurer of Iron Crow Theatre Company, member of the Finance Committee of the Bromo Arts District, and board treasurer of The Contemporary. This Workshop covers tax incentives for designated Arts & Entertainment Districts and offers a tax primer for practicing artists, including tips for tracking deductible expenses.

  Chris Ryer began working in community development over 25 years ago at the Baltimore Planning Department. After ten years as a community planner with the Department, he moved to the non-profit sector where he worked for the Trust for Public Lands and a community based organization in southwest Baltimore. In 2002 he returned to the Baltimore Planning Department where he served as Chief of Comprehensive Planning and Deputy Director. He has been the Director of the Southeast Baltimore Community Development Corporation since 2007.
  
  Jessica Lanzillotti, a South Dakota native, holds the position of Treasurer of Single Carrot Theatre’s Board of Directors and works as the General Manager at Everyman Theatre. Jessica graduated valedictorian of the Towson University Business School in 2002, has interned at Arthur Andersen, LLP, and worked up to a senior accountant at Chernoff & Richards, P.A. She left to form her own accounting company in 2005 and immediately took on Baltimore’s Everyman Theatre as one of her clients. After working contractually for a few years, Jessica joined the Everyman team full time, first as Business Manager and then as General Manager beginning in July of 2012. Jessica does not have any artistic experience, generally preferring to work "behind the scenes," but she attends shows regularly and loves the creative environment.