Innovators in Rural Community Economic Development
The wonderful women of the Black Belt Treasures Cultural Arts Center (BBTCAC), Sulynn Creswell, Judy Martin and Kristin Law, are at it again. They have been a part of the Crowdfunding Action Learning Program for WealthWorks Value Chains, put on by Christi Electris and Kristin Lang of the Croatan Institute.
As a result of their participation in this program, BBTCAC has just launched their first crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, titled Black Belt Art House – Pottery Station, a creative educational space used to keep the rich culture and history of the Black Belt alive. Through this campaign, they hope to purchase pottery wheels, basic classroom tools and equipment, and enough clay and glazes to get started. This equipment will help to start teaching classes to the adult who has no access to equipment or tools, the youth who has little to no art classes in the schools, and the tourist who wants to learn while on vacation. This area of Alabama is home to an amazing pottery culture, with a variety of wonderful clay artists. Find out more here:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/black-belt-art-house-pottery-station.
Another interesting crowdfunding source is a guide produced by Christ Electris as part of a project to explore financing options for WealthWorks value chains. It describes crowdfunding and how it works, gives examples of different platforms and successful campaigns, and provides a step by step guide to how to get started. You can find it here:
http://www.yellowwood.org/assets/resource_library/resource_docs/guidetocrowdfundingforwealthworksvaluechains.pdf.
