The Craft Council of British Columbia is a charitable arts service organization which supports all stages of artistic practice in the craft sector; creates opportunities for artists to exhibit, sell and produce art; provides a voice for artists and craft organizations,
and aids in the development of active communities around craft.

in your experience, is CCBC meeting this mandate? 
given the current situation we find ourselves in, should this be our mandate?
if so, what is the best way for CCBC to manifest this mandate?

Operational Funding
As reported last year, BC Arts Council cut our operational funding by $7,000 because we were placed on:

“Concerned Status under the BC Arts Council’s Fair Notice Policy. Concerned Status means that your organization’s Operating Assistance support is under review and your annual amount has been reduced. The Fair Notice Policy criteria for this decision was: 1) Failure to address the BC Arts Council’s priorities for reconciliation, equity, diversity, inclusion and access.”

In order to address this issue, last year, two staff members enrolled in the ‘Pathways’ program designed to help support organizations better adhere to that policy initiative. This program is supported by the BC Arts Council and runs until Sept 2024. Operational funding from the BC Arts Council is on a two-year cycle and we were told, regardless of what we shifted in 2023, our funding amount for 2024 would not be adjusted in the second year of the cycle – not just CCBC but any organization that had been put on Concern Status. 

Last year our operational funding through the City of Vancouver was also cut by $1,500 – stating that we were not doing enough exhibitions. This despite the fact that we offer more exhibition and installation slots than combrable galleries funded by the City of Vancouver.  In our 2024 application for funding, we demonstrated that this assertion was unfounded and asked for increased funds to enable us to continue to provide support to the craft community. We have just heard that our funding was cut an additional $1,000 for the same reason sited by the BC Arts Council.

Social Enterprise
In conjunction to this decrease in operational funding in 2023 our social enterprise – CCBC Shop & Gallery –  ran a deficit of -$15, 177. This is on top of the deficits the shop incurred in 2021 of -$18,969 and in 2022 of -$10,027. The deficits in 2021 and 22 can be attributed to the impact of COVID – the deficit in 2023 was due to a number of factors – mainly, taking on an additional full-time staff, but not taking advantage of this increase in staff to implement a solid marketing strategy to address the drop in sales.

The combination of these situations has depleted any reserves we had, and with less funding coming in, it puts us in a rather dire situation.

So how have we addressed the situation so far?

• In September 2023, we laid off one full time staff in the shop – Tom Costie – keeping on the newly trained manager Cory de Vries.
• In November & December 2023 senior staff (me) with board approval, elected to go without pay to ensure that our year-end books would not be in deficit. This was done so that if we needed to secure funding (loans) to keep the organization open, we would be able to go to the bank with deficit free financials
• Our long time communications staff – Alex Montes was laid off as of December 31, 2024.
• Cory and I participated in the seven-month Thriving Non-Profit training offered by the Canada Council for the Arts. This was done primarily to support new shop manager Cory in revamping our social enterprise programs.
• Cory has finalized a comprehensive marketing strategy for the shop
• To ensure the ongoing delivery of our core programs – curatorial activities, social enterprise and member services:
  • we have secured and trained 6 volunteers for the shop and 15 volunteers to support curatorial and member services
  • we secured 3 full-time unpaid internships for the months of May – August and 2 part-time internships for March – April

membership

membership changes have been approved by the board and will be implemented  June 1st:

• Base rate is – Profession Member rate of $130 – includes all membership privileges and does not pay any admin fees (which all discounted memberships do) it is then scaled down from there by applying discounts which include:
• Rural – You live more than 100 km away from CCBC’s location in Vancouver, and want to access business support services with a 40% discount = a fee of $75
• Seniors – if you are 65 years or older, and want to access business support services with a 40% discount = a fee of $75
• Priority Groups: You identify with one of more of the following Priority Groups:  Artists of Colour, Deaf Artists and/or Artists with Disabilities, Indigenous Artists, 2SLGBTQIAP+ Artists, and Francophone Artist – and want to access business support services with a 50% discount = a fee of $65
• Student – You are a student, and want to access business support services with an 80% discount = a fee of $26
• Community Membership = a fee of $25

organizational

• suggest that having two separate entities, one responsible for membership initiatives and running the gallery shop (the PGBC Board) and a separate entity responsible for fundraising, education, scholarships etc. meant that we were each able to concentrate on our core mandates without having to constantly make accommodations for the other. It was complicated enough mixing membership issues, the newsletter, member exhibitions etc. with the demands of running a commercially viable shop. And you know what happened in the end.
• I am wondering as the CCBC considers re-formatting itself, deciding what to do with the gallery shop etc., if separating the two entities would make sense—have one board, one entity operate the shop, free to make decisions that are best for its commercial viability, and one entity—still housed in the same building and connected with at least one shared board member and periodical communication updates—responsible for core initiatives such as Indigenous outreach, exhibitions, education, advocacy, etc. This might make it easier for the second one to apply for grants for exhibitions, Indigenous outreach, mentorship etc. as it would not be complicated by the shop, and the shop might be more eligible for grants given to commercial operations.

gi shop

1. Creating a Non-member “Makers Corner” where artisans/makers could rent shelf space inside the Shop for $200/month to display/sell their items. If one wall could hold 10 shelves = $2000/mth. = $24,000 / year.

   Why would they not be able to get a membership? They may be producers who are making things that may not fit the membership profile?  For example, do people who make soap, small paintings, journals, stickers, artisanal cookies and chocolates, dog biscuits, candles or stuff made from found items, qualify for membership? If not maybe they could rent space? In a way, it could be set up as an Art Exhibit exploring what is a maker/producer versus what is an artisan versus what is an artist?

2. create a wedding/birthday/gift registry

3. dismantling the shop – i would say to give the shop another chance except that would mean still drawing down on our most precious resource which is you. I could take the shop having a loss for reasons of investment (like having someone on staff creating system efficiencies) but the loss of potential due to the need for your oversight and input has proven too much. An online shop could be an alternative, but it’s got all the same problems around marketing and logistics and accountability. rent/no rent is the least of it.  if we just park it though, without some alternative, we’ll lose membership. i could see reallocating the staff position to developing relationships with partners, gallery shops, department stores…facilitating getting work into external locations beyond vancouver even.

4. with regards to the suggestions that CCBC “approach Indigenous community to explore craft & art from their perspective not one rooted in the competitive western capitalist paradigm.” I feel this reinforces false binaries that seem to originate from funding bodies that have little or no understanding of contemporary craft. First, Indigenous artists/makers have for centuries—dating back to pre-contact—been entrepreneurial, trading sea shells, pots, coppers, tanned hides and other beautiful and functional objects over large distances, and, certainly, since contact, many Indigenous makers have continued to make items specifically for trade. I’m not thinking here about the various oppressive conditions that might have governed this trade, just that agency on the part of Indigenous groups included trade as part of their survival strategy. Many First Nations artists engage happily with commercial art galleries, exhibitions, Pow Wow sales, Etsy etc. Yes, Indigenous artists have unique and different concepts of beauty, function, making, craft, culturally significant objects etc., but non-Indigenous/settler artists also have a wide variety of objectives, values, and reasons for engaging in their craft. Posing one as cultural and the other as competitive capitalism fails to capture the nuanced nature of craft production, and I think it is insulting to many craftspeople. For one thing, if settler makers were successful capitalists, we probably wouldn’t need craft organizations to support and mentor them! It is often their dedication to alternative values that makes earning a living at their craft so difficult. Also, creating a division between craft and art—which I was quite surprised to hear some voice last night—is a very out-of-date concept. Craft is art—art with specific values and attitudes towards materials, history, community, skill etc., but in every conceivable way, art. I think when we work with funders, it is important that we emphasize this—apparently, many people in positions of power are frighteningly ignorant about craft, and we need to do everything we can to educate them.

exhibitions

1. move more to group exhibitions as apposed to solo

2. reorganizing the gallery – to include some medium specific shows where a lot of the legwork is handled by an established external team (like the SDA) (who have access to other funds to offer awards/prizes and contributions to the expenses). i wonder how many visitors to CCBC come exclusively for the exhibition. could be wrong, but is it serendipitous to the visit? i see group shows as an opportunity to expand community a garner some goodwill amongst membership hungry to exhibit.

considerations

• lack of accessibility for artists identifying as Neuro Divergent 
• CCBC is not doing enough for reconciliation 

brainstorming

1. look to the work of organizations such as – JCC, Outsiders & Others, Kickstart
   • explore how they successfully accommodate artists with disabilities 
   • explore the possibility of doing an exhibition
2. research and visit Indigenous friendship centres 
3. approach Indigenous community to explore craft & art from their perspective not one rooted in the competitive western capitalist paradigm 
4. make membership more accessible
5. set up a DEI committee within CCBC
6. Inviting indigenous creators to participate in talks/workshops/demonstrations
7. Must make more accommodations for indigenous peoples within our decision-making process, not just when we are selecting exhibitors and artists
8. Best thing we can offer indigenous creators is exhibit space
9. Seek out indigenous/disabled/new immigrants
10. invite artists from around the world
11. Maybe there needs to be some tweaking for that so we present ourselves to sponsors, etc, as acknowledging indigenous territories and peoples, etc
12. SS Arts does not take any consignment fees for indigenous artists who participate in our annual Artcraft
13. There is overarching pushback from indigenous artists over the 50/50 consignment – we should ask them what they would be more comfortable with

14. diversity/inclusivity – hope spoke very beautifully about this – being long term, slow and steady shift. the organizations that were mentioned as models are perhaps organizations we need as partners but somebody needs to invest the time in finding how we could connect….i feel like we might need to consider restructuring our organization, a different board model, flailing into blather territory here as I have some vague ideas that are taking too long to form…

15. bottom line – maybe we need to clear the deck and focus on strengthening our community by visiting and talking, getting to know who is really out there, by-passing those who are not on our side, facilitating connections with artists, potential partners, spaces, finding our common needs and desires and building on that. give the organization some breathing space and time to think and develop a plan.

16. auntycollective.com – a friend of mine (white woman) from victoria is involved with this group. if you see anything/way connecting with them might serve our journey, i can connect us.

considerations

• the lack of resources mainly individuals to do the outreach and organizing 

brainstorming

• we need to raise $58,000
• $38,000 to make it through this year and $20,000 to replenish the GIC we will be using to offset cashflow issues 

actions taken as of april 30th:

• executive director salary decreased by 11.5%
• shop manager reduce hours from 5 to 4 days/wk
• developed and implementing a marketing plan for social enterprise

in shop suggestions:

1. ask consigners to give up their 50% commission from shop sales for May & June 
2. donated items (~$30,000 on hand) into an online collection and in store for sale
3. sell the door handle – valued at  ~$15,000 in 2019
4. new work in shop – 
   • some new ceramic work and greeting cards that sells well was offered
   • get a selection of high-end pieces  
5. ongoing craft demonstrations out front
   • increase the number of craft demonstrations offered
   • one member has offered to participate
6. resume our popup series that Circle Craft successfully adopted – featuring one artist’s work for sale in a section of the shop
7. organize a ticketed tour of Granville to bring awareness to the CCBC
8. we can collaborate with the other businesses on Granville to market and sell
9. Storing and refreshing the consignment is an issue a mixed-use space might be more successful
10. We could host a sale for the shop, where the consigners get more money, like 40/60 or 30/70
11. Add a donation option on our website, as well as tax receipts for those who donate
12. Create some kind of tip-jar system inside the shop, encouraging people who come in to donate
13. Have a space that’s more accessible (physically, as well as accessible art)
14. Leave the property, rent a new location with better traffic somewhere off Granville island. Get a space for a larger exhibit/gallery that can be sponsored by different people
15. If the shop is losing money, close the shop. Use the space in another way
16. We could move our shop to exclusively online, allowing our physical shop to be used for exhibits and indigenous content
17. A lot of places in the city rent out their space for corporate parties/events
18. The Seymour gallery reduces consignment for artists who volunteer
19. A lot of indigenous creators do not do consignment, but we do not have funds to buy artworks
20. Talk to other organizations outside Vancouver about how they are making consignment work
21. Change the structure of consignment while keeping it fair
22. It’s good to have relationships with galleries, as well as make it very clear to incoming artists that we do not purchase work.
23. Could have a special consignment for indigenous artists

24. If there is a free venue, have a “Craft social” get donated food and drink, and could have items for sale or bid or auction there?

25. glad there is a new marketing plan!
26. could there be a 
27. could there be a mismatch between shop “audience” and shop inventory?
28. set up a small info booth/ table with representative work in the Public Market as a teaser to
    lure people to the shop
29. outdoor summer pop-up craft markets (greater diversity of craft than in the shop) to attract
    people to CCBC and raise $$$ through table rentals

fundraising events

1. online auction using 32 auctions
   • get prizes from community sponsors ( opus, the keg, coffee shops for gift certificates or prizes) and CCBC members
   • have the bids start low – $100 to start
2. non- art event(s)
   1. partner with the Beaumont Studio to host events and raise funds for both organizations – say a dance party
   2. co-sponsor a burlesque show
3. craft market- could be under that covered picnic area near the duck pond / pedestrian bridge just around the corner from your Store. Crafters will pay up to $150 for 6-ft space and another $15 to rent a table & chair (if the Granville Island committee has them available.) If not, people who sell at craft Markets tend to have their own tables. 40 venders = $6000 (I don’t know how many would fit in that picnic area but there is a spillover potential onto the lawn, or around the Plaza towards the Kids Mall, for Vendors who have their own tent.) Or make it more accessible by charging less ($100 $125). One CCBC outdoor market per month (May-Sept) could add up.
4. seconds craft sale – terminal city has done this and been able to generate some $
   • get a professional to run or liaise around developing a market – i.e Bespoke as an example
5. TD supports the arts and offers year-round applications
6. Workshops hosted by artists as fundraisers
7. Could create a fundraising committee
8. Our website is very attractive; we should take advantage of that and use it as the main face of our mission
9. Create a two-sided marketing campaign with another art organization, like a pamphlet distributed to tourists
10. Put pop ups outside the store during summer months
11. Approach another organization to host an art exhibition in conjunction with CCBC – some place with space within the community
12. Can we have a 50/50 draw at the earring show? Minimal work, captive audience.
13. Some kind of event rotation held in public spaces (YVR, VanDussen)
14. Some kind of art prize event/competition with an entry fee. Would include judges, at least one of which would be indigenous
15. Mention something at the earring show about the urgency of the situation
16. Any chance Stefanie Curtis’ former marketing company would underwrite a print run for the hotel, ferry and GI marketing slots?

direct asks

• set up GoFundMe and Indigo campaign
• direct ask for $ campaign to members & non members  & former members
  • A fundraising campaign aimed at people who enjoy craft but feel they have enough art of their own…

  • It seems to me that the best way to get funds quickly would be to focus on promoting the value of CCBC along with the tenuous current circumstances and ask for donations through the website with tax receipts as a charity. People often don’t appreciate value until they realize it will be lost to them.

• lottery/50/50 draw
  As a non-profit organization, are you able to hold a lottery? 50/50 draws are smart because there’s no cost to you for the prize.
• Instead of a ‘help-us’ campaign, we should do a ‘join me’ campaign in which an artists represents the challenges, not the CCBC. People are sensitive to how they are asked for money

direct ask for cash – seems like the place to start. I think it is an emergency but i kinda liked Dawn’s idea to couch it in an optimistic way – Help us over the hump (to the end of the year) (hump day, wednesday, get it?) and I came up with a list of rhyming words for each craft medium (almost) 

• Ceramics – help us over the lump (of clay)
•  Textile – over the bump (of fibre) (it’s a real term!)
•  Glass – over the slump
•  Wood – over the stump
•  Metal – over the clump (stretching it here)

In-store donations like tips at a takeout – donate to your favorite medium – 

sponsorship opportunities

1. secure corporate sponsorship for the programs:
   • exhibitions
   • gallery naming
   • window space,
   • made by hand 
   • collectors society
   • digital archive 
2. celebrity endorsement – very costly
   • maybe Seth Rogan – does Kingsmill have the connection with him?
3. Ask for sponsoring from places like Audain foundation
4.  

grant writing

1. go through our subscribed fundraising listing of granting agencies & foundations to make a year round plan

considerations

• ensure we are targeting our audience correctly
• need to be clear about what and who CCBC is and the values that we work upon

brainstorming idea

advocacy

1. letter writing campaign to funders, politicians and influencers 
2. recruit at least one indigenous person to the board
3. pursue partnership with Bill Reid Gallery to explore joint exhibitions or projects (but don’t sell
   the door knob)
4. establish relationship with COV to better inform them about CCBC exhibitions and programs

promotion

1. increased signage for shop
   and advertising is needed for those unfamiliar with your business.  We arrived by car to Granville island and observed that most folks turn right towards the water and miss your street.  Would it be possible to have red canopy pictures on a sign with an arrow on posts near the bridge suggesting a left turn towards the craft council building? 
2. Posters or some kind of self-guided tour sign system to encourage shoppers to our end of the island
3. Distribute advertising to local tourism businesses/bus who come on to GI
   • Move towards a more group-oriented exhibition model where multiple artists are selling and promoting at one time. Multiple people promoting at once are better than a single artist
   • Strength in numbers – we can collaborate with the other businesses on Granville to market and sell
4. TV promotion
   CTV or Global news to do an on location type interview to highlight your location, the beautiful crafts and some of your dedicated staff?
5. radio promotion
   approach CBC North by Northwest to regularly promote craft
   • one member is willing to help out 
6. printed material to readily give out to members, potential members and general public
   1. BC Ferries – will they take rack cards?
   2. distribute thru Hotels & transit?
   3. distribute through library system
7. increase social media presence 
   • Pinterest (good for articles and art display)
   • Instagram (posts that are regular and frequent, at least 3 times a week)
8. liaise with craft markets
   • get our members to display their soq certificate – have the cards just never distributed
   • have craft markets use our soq for they jurying
   • have craft markets promote the use of Ponder Craft & Design with their customers – how to buy craft
   • ask for a pro bono stall and sell high end work of our members
9. actively use Google grants for promotion