In December, Stuart and I met with Timothy Sharko. Timothy is the Director of Wentworth Solutions, which is an organization that collaborates with businesses to shrink the IT gap. His expertise focuses on updating old business models and revamping aging systems. His website is http://www.wentworthsolutions.com/.Before the new year, Timothy was kind enough to meet with us to discuss the process of asking for corporate donations. This was a new process for me, so it was extremely helpful to meet with Timothy who has been working with local corporations in the Chicago area for years.
The first bit of advice that Tim brought to our attention was the importance of Chicago's interest in winning the bid for the Summer Olympics. Surprised? So was I! Tim made the connection that Mayor Daley has been promoting this city as the "greenest city" in the US, and that the city may be able to help facilitate connections with corporations that have demonstrated a strong commitment to sustainable development/etc. (paraphrasing).
This theme could easily be a way for us to connect with the larger city community, and link our installation as a resource that responds to the "green" interest in our city.
What was a wake-up was the two degrees of separation between local communities and big business. Now I say this with a big grain of salt, I know that there is no easy channel between me and a huge global business that is located in Chicago. But I find it reassuring that these two big groups can be an outlet for suppor for local community projects which seeks to promote a new way of thinking when it comes to community living.
