Business Volunteers for the Arts


Business Volunteers for the ArtsŪ (BVA) is a pro bono consulting program that connects skilled business professionals with arts and cultural organizations in need of high-level business assistance. BVA volunteers contribute their carefully developed skills--not just time--to their community and expand their expertise, build personal relationships, and network with other business professionals who love the arts. Through the BVA program, arts and culture groups tap into professional expertise and gain valuable tools to help them fulfill their missions.

The Business Volunteers for the ArtsŪ (BVA) program has been serving the arts and business communities of Greater Boston since 2000, when the Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston (AB&C/GB) was organized. BVA was founded in New York in 1975 and is now administered in 14 cities nation-wide as a program of the Arts & Business Council of Americans for the Arts.

The Business Volunteers for the Arts program offers three different types of volunteer services:

BVA Committee Member: BVA Committee members are placed on ad hoc committees of arts and culture non-profits to do hands on work for a specific function or project. BVA Committee Members serve on the following types of committees:

  • a planning committee for an event or fundraiser

  • personnel or human resources committee

  • marketing committee

  • strategic planning task force

  • budget and finance committee

BVA Consultant: BVA Consultant matches are project driven. Each project delivers custom-designed consulting services to arts and culture nonprofits and have specific goals and deliverables agreed upon by both the client and the volunteer which are articulated in a Project Request Form.


BVA Mentor: These volunteers work in an advisory capacity to the leaders of non-profit arts and culture organizations. There is no project or deliverable specified for this type of volunteer service; rather, BVA Mentors work as sounding boards and offer advice on a wide variety of business and organizational issues on an as needed basis.

What kinds of consulting projects does BVA facilitate?
Each BVA project is custom-designed to suit the needs of the participating nonprofit. BVA facilitates projects in the areas of:

Architecture/Space Planning
Financial Accounting and Planning
Human Resource Management
Marketing and Market Research
Organizational Management
Public Relations/Advertising
Strategic Planning/Program Development

BVA strives to improve the long-term health of an organization and is not a "band-aid solution" for crisis situations.

Who can be a BVA volunteer?
A&BC/Boston is looking for the best and brightest business professionals with a passion for arts and culture and a desire to volunteer their time to area nonprofit organizations. All BVA volunteers have an interest in arts and culture in Greater Boston, expertise applicable to assisting an arts/cultural organization, and the ability to encourage change. In addition, there are more detailed requirements for each type of volunteer service:

  • BVA Committee Members must have at least 5 years of professional experience, their time commitment can vary

  • BVA Consultants must have at least 8 years of professional experience and commit 12 hours per month for a minimum of three months

  • BVA Mentor must have at least 12 years of professional experience and commit 4 hours per month for a minimum of one year

BVA volunteers:
  • Become an integral part of Boston's arts and cultural community

  • Strengthen business skills by creatively channeling them to a new arena

  • Learn how to turn limited resources into successful outcomes

  • Receive training on how to consult to arts and cultural nonprofits

  • Are supported by BVA staff

Which cultural organizations can receive BVA services?
The BVA program works with all types of arts and cultural organizations, from every artistic discipline and neighborhood of Greater Boston. In practice, most organizations that participate in BVA have small to medium-sized budgets. For a list of the organizations that A&BC Boston works with, including those involved in BVA, please click here.

To join BVA, an organization should serve the Greater Boston region, have either nonprofit status or a nonprofit fiscal sponsor and a minimum annual budget of $50,000, and pay application-processing and matching fee.

To receive a specific type of assistance, an arts/cultural organization must have:

  • A clear need for the requested service

  • Commitment to the project from the board of directors and all staff levels

  • A willingness to change and a clear decision-making process

  • The capacity to take advantage of the requested service, including appropriate human resources (e.g. a clear internal project leader who can dedicate the necessary time), financial resources (e.g. budget to print the brochure that is designed by the volunteer), and timely completion of preparatory work, which depends upon the type of assistance requested

  • Commitment to ongoing self-evaluation

In return, BVA cultural organizations receive:
  • Professional expertise that enhance the management capacity of the organization

  • Personal attention from a sensitive and qualified business volunteer and staff


Steps for participating in BVA
Business professionals who wish to volunteer complete the following steps:

  1. Submit application form (click to access)

  2. In-person interview to discuss how your skills would match the needs of arts/cultural organizations

  3. Orientation (offered a limited number of times per year; required before first volunteer placement)

  4. Match meeting with an organization in need of your assistance to determine fit and expectations

  5. Complete project

  6. Evaluate your experience

Cultural organizations who wish to receive a BVA volunteer complete the following steps.
  1. Submit application form (click to access)

  2. In-person meeting to assess organizational needs and/or to discuss a specific request for assistance

  3. Match meeting with a BVA volunteer who can provide the requested assistance to determine fit and expectations

  4. Complete project

  5. Evaluate your experience


    6. Impact of BVA
    To date, more than $105 million in services and donations has been generated by some 20,000 BVA consultants nation-wide.


    "My experience as a BVA has increased my commitment to the arts, broadened my knowledge and allowed me to share my talents and expertise in the best way possible. It is a concrete opportunity to make a hands-on difference."
    - Susan Hammond, Strategic Advisor