HOLLAND, Mich. (WOOD) — Arts and cultures leaders gathered in Holland Thursday to celebrate the end of a two-year initiative.
Capacity Building: Michigan Lakeshore is a program by the DeVos Institute of Art Management in collaboration with Betsy and Dick DeVos. It helped 15 lakeshore arts and culture business create long-term plans, strategies and improve in many facets of their business. The 15 business owners met once a month to learn from industry leaders.
Some businesses say they have already seen growth in their organizations as a result of the program.
“To be in the room with other arts and culture organizations helped us collectively see what a unique asset we are together,” Jill Ver Steg, the president and CEO of Evergreen Commons, said.
“It’s often difficult for arts and cultural organizations to carve out niches for themselves in a community that’s smaller, that doesn’t have the same size donor base, supporter base. And so we thought this would be a really good and helpful way to help them become better at what they do,” Betsy DeVos, a leader in the business community and former U.S. secretary of education, said.
The program was free to the businesses. The DeVoses said they are thinking of creating a similar program in Grand Rapids.
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