![Laura Zabel is the executive director of Springboard for the Arts, an economic development organization for artists. She talked with artists and health professionals at an Artists' Health Fair. Springboard for the Arts is assisting artists with the new health insurance exchange. ] Joey McLeister,Special to the Star Tribune,Minneapolis,MN October20,2013](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/GI36ND4ADUMTXG5NRVJ2BIDCBI.jpg?&w=1080)
Springboard for the Arts
612-292-4381; www.springboardforthearts.org
Laura Zabel is executive director of Springboard for the Arts, an unusual arts organization which borrows heavily from the discipline of economic development. Springboard provides self-employed artists with a variety of services, each designed to boost careers and bank accounts — think health insurance brokerage, entrepreneur workshops and career counseling, not to mention access to marketing muscle and foundation grants. With offices in St. Paul and Fergus Falls, this artist-run nonprofit also serves cities and neighborhoods — both urban and rural — interested in strengthening their local arts scene.
Q: Why is your work important?
A: Our work is important because communities need access to creative thinking, and they need to build and support investment in their artists. We think of artists as this asset every community, every neighborhood, has. But artists are often self-employed and low income, so they need access to health care, entrepreneurship training, legal services — all those things small business owners need. Our work is about helping artists make a living and a life so that they can contribute more to their communities.
Q: What is your biggest accomplishment?
A: I feel like our biggest achievement is the nearly 12,000 artists we work with every year. And the hundreds of partners who recognize the value of the creative community. There are more specific things I can mention. For example, Springboard was selected as one of 30 outreach organization for MNsure and was also named the top-rated nonprofit in the state for access to arts (by Guidestar) and those external validations of our work make me proud, too.
Q: What is the biggest challenge you've faced?
A: This sounds kind of silly, but the biggest challenge we face is demand for our work. There's a real openness from communities wanting to work with artists, in wanting access to that creative thinking. So we're working on building capacity. Also on getting 10,000 artists signed up for health care.
