Arts in Bartlett benefits from ECC students’ help

Elgin Community College students will gain real world experience and perform some community service this semester by providing pro bono services to Arts in Bartlett.

Cecilia Green, a founder of Arts in Bartlett, said students taking a speech and communications class at the college will become partners in a firm mentored by adjunct professor John Karnatz. Spartan Consulting provides free consulting for nonprofit clients.

“We were thrilled because we are looking to expand and offer more programs,” Green said, noting that the nonprofit arts council celebrated 10 years in 2012 and is now looking to plan for the next decade. “This was ideal timing.”

The students are currently researching Arts in Bartlett and meeting with its leaders to target the organization’s priorities and make recommendations for the coming years.

“We’d like our research and recommendations to be as close as possible to those of a commercial management consulting firm,” Karnatz said in a statement.

The students’ work will be presented to Arts in Bartlett members and community leaders at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 5, at the Bartlett Public Library, 800 S. Bartlett Road.