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Encore Awards

Elaine Grogan Luttrull was nominated for the 2009 Creative Business Volunteer Encore Award by Tim Young, director of Puppetry Arts Theatre:

“Since meeting Elaine in 2007 through the Arts & Business Council of New York, Puppetry Arts has had the pleasure and privilege of her generous support.  Elaine volunteered at our 2007 and 2009 Haunted Halloween Carnivals, where she managed ticket sales and offered suggestions to improve flow and productivity.  After she had the chance to learn more about our programs and target audiences, Elaine established a format for presenting organizational budgets and funding plans for potential sponsors and grantors, as well as completing annual tax and Attorney General’s office requirements. 

 “Elaine has given Puppetry Arts clear, detailed, and colorful graphs, charts, and budget templates that allow us to share our financial information with others in a way that makes this company shine like never before.  We are proud to have her on our team and appreciate her consistent effort to review any project opportunities that come our way, giving Puppetry Arts the tools to present itself with the highest standards and allowing others to find out about our work and outreach.”

In the past two years, Elaine Luttrull has also worked as a Business Volunteer for the Arts [BVA] with other companies, and has assisted the Arts & Business Council itself.  She

• Created an Excel spreadsheet which collects and reports financial data in the exact way it needs to be entered on the IRS 990EZ tax form.  Several small arts members of ABC/NY now use this spreadsheet, and Elaine has assisted them with data classification.
• Served on a professional development panel put together by ABC/NY’s 2008 summer intern, for all the “class of 2008” participants in the Multicultural Arts Management Internship program.
• Presented the fiscal management session in ABC/NY’s 2008 board training & placement program.
• Served as a mentor to other BVA volunteers, and improved their ability to help arts groups.
• In her first meeting with a dance company, Elaine commented on the fact that they had nearly $60,000 in a non-interest-bearing account.  She wrote out a script for the artistic director to negotiate more lucrative investment with his bank.  After he had done so, the branch manager asked him how he had learned about sweep accounts?  His answer: his “BVA” had advised him.  What’s a BVA?!  After the artistic director explained that, the manager was impressed enough to offer him some of her own volunteer assistance, ending up helping with the annual benefit.