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1. 5 New Toronto Venues for Holiday Parties

2. OCAD Gala Kicks Off Mystery Art Sale

3. Developer Hosts Green Cocktail Party, Mini Trade Show to Unveil Eco-Friendly Homes

4. New Moon Premiere Beckons 10,000 People and 2 Live Wolves

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10. Clinique and Teen Vogue Bring Young Women to Beauty Tour, Send Them Online

FROM NEW YORK

Sustainable Label Opens SoHo Pop-Up With Community Center Sensibility

Clinique and Teen Vogue Bring Young Women to Beauty Tour, Send Them Online

Masked Raconteurs Tell Tales at Moth Ball, and I Have a Blast

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More Photos From Louis Vuitton's Garden-Style Launch: Life-Sized Trees, Mounds of Mums

FROM LOS ANGELES

American Music Awards Begin With Redesigned Arrivals, End With Downsized After-Party

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$4 Million MOCA Gala Breaks Fund-Raising Records

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News Archive for Acura

NEWS 06.23.09 1:00 PM

Facing Severe Sponsorship Drop, Gen Art Brings Back Benefit to Raise Funds

Acura's display at the 2009 Gen Art Film Festival in New York
Photo: Alice and Chris for BizBash

FROM NEW YORK Gen Art, the frequent event host that matches up emerging creative talent with corporate sponsors, has seen a 70 percent drop in sponsorship dollars from 2008 to 2009. So after relying on money from marketers to fund both its for-profit event production company and its nonprofit wing during most of its 15-year history, Gen Art has made drastic cutbacks and will put on its first benefit in nearly 10 years this week in New York.

"If the recession had hit three months later, it would have been a completely different story," said Gen Art C.E.O. and founder Ian Gerard, thinking back to last October, "but because it all happened before the 2009 fiscal year came, everyone drastically cut back their marketing budgets from the start."

Those cutbacks affected ongoing initiatives with Gen Art. Despite having yearlong deals in the works, official partners such as Acura, American Express, and Citibank all pulled back. "We're still working with all of those companies," Gerard said. "It's just been at such a reduced amount. It's more event-by-event versus an annual deal across all of our events or a large number of them." MORE >>

Gen Art, Citibank, Acura, American Express