Nonprofit view: Entrepreneurship program helps young creatives learn how to run a business

Budding high school artists who aspire to become entrepreneurs and one day own a business now have a unique opportunity to learn how to make their dreams a reality.

The BlankCanvas2Art Entrepreneurship (BC2AE) program mentors high school youth in Carroll County through a formal after-school program. The classes help budding artists, carpenters, chefs, photographers and videographers, among other creative minds, to learn the ins and outs of starting and running a business.

The program, which was piloted in 2015, teaches youths in grades 10 through 12 how to build a business plan, brand and market their creative products, and cultivate customers. At the end of the semester-long class, students compete by pitching their business plans to judges who evaluate their presentations and award students with college scholarship funding for tuition, books, and supplies.

Participants have created fashion clothing, train station murals and fine art exhibits, which they expect to turn into successful businesses one day.

BlankCanvas2Art is a private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Carroll County. The training program is modeled after ACTiVATE, an initiative at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. In 2015, the BlankCanvas2Art Entrepreneurship classes were held at Winters Mill High School in Westminster.

In 2020, a new session of classes will be held, beginning on Jan. 7, for the spring semester at Winters Mill on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 9. On Thursdays, classes will be held for the first time in Baltimore County. The success of the BlankCanvas2Art Entrepreneurship pilot led to additional support from the Baltimore County Public Schools system.

Merging artistic talents with business can be daunting for students who excel at the arts, and who are not familiar with what it takes to sell their products through a profitable business venture. BlankCanvas2Art Entrepreneurship is taking the mystery out of how to form a successful business by presenting the nuts and bolts of entrepreneurship in a comprehensive and understandable manner. Students benefit from the ideas, explanations and feedback which program instructor’s offer. Our instructors are community business leaders with expertise in the subject manner that is being taught in the lesson.

Take the example of Emily, who in her senior year of high school completed the pilot program. She blended her love for psychology with ideas for a business. She used her newfound knowledge to create materials and concepts for an art therapy project that utilizes art in the human services and counseling fields.

Emily learned that artists can form productive and successful businesses which allow them to spread their wings artistically. In addition to product development, budding artists can help people in the community through their work. Emily’s art therapy project can help veterans recovering from psychological issues, youth in need of counseling and elderly patients who need their spirits lifted.

The community is a better place thanks to BlankCanvas2Art Entrepreneurship Program and the talented students who are taking their artistic contributions to new heights in the community.

Registrations for programs that are starting in January are being accepted at www.blankcanvas2art.com.

Each Monday, the Carroll County Times publishes a column from a local nonprofit, allowing them to share information about their organization and the issues facing it, as our editorial. To be considered, email cctnews@carrollcountytimes.com with the subject line “Nonprofit View.”