Greater Columbus Arts Council

www.gcac.org

The Objective

The Greater Columbus Arts Council provides services to artists and arts organizations, acts as the community's voice on arts advocacy issues and serves as the official agency for the City of Columbus grants for the arts. GCAC administers the Columbus Arts Festival, the Business Arts Partnership program, and the Community Arts Education program, which consists of Artists-in-Schools and Children of the Future. With so many programs and such a diverse user base, GCAC needed an efficiently organized and accessible Web site.

The Solution

GRIP worked with GCAC to design a user-friendly interface, including a grant application tool and a scheduling system for the Artists-in-Schools program. The main site not only functions as an information source, but also as a showcase for GCAC's various successes by featuring large, brightly colored photographs taken during the many public programs made possible by the Council.

ColumbusArts.com serves as a guide to cultural events and the arts community in Central Ohio. GRIP's redesign of the site makes it easy for visitors to explore the arts in Ohio by presenting the content in an orderly, intuitive manner.

GRIP also provides two ongoing e-mail marketing campaigns for GCAC: Portfolio, a quarterly newsletter for the Business Arts Partnership program, and a monthly events newsletter for ColumbusArts.com.

GRIP also built an online grant application system to significantly ease the burden for GCAC's staff. This user-friendly system provided grantees instant access to electronic grant applications, which were custom-built for GCAC's specific project applications. GCAC's team was relieved from the grant management pressures as the system generated multiple administrative/financial reports and managed application deadlines.

The Results

Awareness of the arts and key events in Central Ohio has never been higher. GRIP Technology's efforts have been a key part in the success of GCAC's effort to support the arts and advance our region's culture. Significant results include:

• The number of e-mail sign-ups generated by ColumbusArts.com has no rival within the Ohio arts community. This initiative has facilitated the marketing of cultural events that goes far beyond the traditional audiences for the arts.
• GRIP Technology has significantly increased the efficiencies associated with GCAC's grant and business processes. The new Web-based grants application has significantly reduced the time and resources needed for organizations to submit grant applications as well as for GCAC to manage and approve.