Advocacy Starter Guide

This guide was produced by Fanny Martin (Art of Festivals) for the Community Presenters’ Network in 2019-20, thanks to support from SPARC’s Collaborative Community Initiatives Program. It is meant as a introduction to arts & culture advocacy, targeted at the types of presenters who participate in the CPN: generally, operating small venues or series in smaller, non-urban communities.

The Starter Guide is based on research into advocacy and debates on cultural value, as well as interviews with 20 individuals in Ontario, Yukon and Atlantic Canada — all involved in different ways in the rural cultural ecology — to better understand the opportunities and obstacles that CPN members could collaborate to tackle. It includes a breakdown of elements of advocacy to consider, as well as a checklist to help you strategize.