Trainings & Events

This is a 4-part series. Artists are welcome to attend all or select sessions.

In this workshop, stage performers and tax specialists Amy Smith and Akeem Davis bring a class- and race-based analysis of our economic structures and dive into the financial building blocks necessary for artists to thrive. Over the course of four sessions, this workshop will demystify concepts and introduce fundamental financial tools to help participants—including those who “hate thinking about money”—make informed financial decisions for their long-term futures. Participants will leave empowered to make prudent financial decisions, with an abundance mindset. The workshop will be a mix of presentation and Q&A format.

Areas covered will include:

• SESSION 1: Our relationship with money, and setting financial goals.
• SESSION 2: How to value one’s time to build toward savings and retirement.
• SESSION 3: Budgeting for your life and credit/debt management.
• SESSION 4: An intro to investing, with an eye toward handling the unexpected and long-term planning.

Amy Smith is an educator and the Former Co-Director of Headlong Dance Theater, a Bessie-award winning Philadelphia-based dance theater company. Akeem Davis is a Barrymore-award winning actor and non-profit administrator with the Atlantic Center for Capital Representation. Both are part of the team at Philadelphia Tax Prep for Artists.

This workshop is suitable for artists of all disciplines, at any point in their career, who are interested in learning or reviewing basic concepts of personal finances. 40 participants max.
 

Join Connecticut Main Street Center and DEEP for updates on grant programs and opportunities to collaborate to improve downtown spaces, including the Open Space & Watershed Land Acquisition, Urban Green and Community Garden, and Urban and Community Forestry Grant Programs, and the Sustainable Materials Management Program.
 

For Eversource's next First Thursdays webinar, join to hear from their government and municipal energy efficiency team and learn about opportunities for your community to save energy and money. You will hear about Eversource's brand-new Micro Municipalities offer in addition to a comprehensive overview of the energy efficiency programs, incentives, and financing available to all of their municipal customers. This is an opportunity for everyone to hear about energy efficiency opportunities for their community’s infrastructure.    

Why should you attend? 

• You want to hear more about Eversource's new Micro Municipalities offer for their smallest municipal energy users and how it can help you meet your energy efficiency goals and use less energy 

• You want to learn more about programs and studies to maximize energy and bill savings for your municipal building portfolio  

• You want to help your community save money, improve the energy efficiency of your municipal facilities, and increase your town’s sustainability  

• You are a Municipal Official, Board of Education Member, or Public Safety leader who is interested in available energy efficiency opportunities

The Trees for Communities Grant Program addresses the uneven distribution of tree canopy across Connecticut by providing financial support for urban forestry projects in communities of need. Projects must increase tree cover or contribute to other urban forestry objectives such as improvement of forest health or utilization of urban wood. Projects must be rooted in community support and demonstrate efforts to meaningfully incorporate community needs into project design.

The Trees for Communities Grant Program supports a variety of urban and community forestry projects including but not limited to:

Tree planting on private lands with permission of landowner: A previously awarded project called “Live Here- Love Trees” program from the Town of Vernon.

Engaging groups in urban forest planning and planting: A series of visioning and community meetings held in Bridgeport, CT.

Work force development: A “GreenSkills Program” from New Haven, CT

Invasive species management: An invasive removal workshop in New Haven called "De-Vining: Removing Invasive Plants and Protecting Native Trees and Understory".

Urban wood utilization: A “Wood Material Management Program” in Hartford, CT.

Impervious surface removal to create space for tree planting

You may also wish to review the Urban and Community Forestry Grants Accomplishments page with additional examples of previously funded projects in Connecticut. Projects must demonstrate direct benefit to communities indicated in DEEP’s Urban Forestry Grant Screening Tool.

This program is accepting applications now through August 31, 2025, at 5:00 PM.Recipients will be notified of their awards by October 31st, 2025, by email.

Program Support

The program offered an informational webinar on July 8th, 2025. View the Trees for Communities Grant Webinar recording. 

In addition, biweekly virtual office hours for ongoing guidance and project development support are available. Office hours will be held at 3:30 PM on the following dates. They do not require registration: Join office hours here.

• June 26th 3:30 - 4:30 pm EST
• July 10th 3:30 - 4:30 pm EST
• July 24th 3:30 - 4:30 pm EST
• August 7th 3:30 - 4:30 pm EST
• August 21st 3:30 - 4:30 pm EST

Reach out to [email protected] for more information.
 

This eight-hour awareness-level course provides emergency managers, first responders, and community members across all sectors with a basic understanding of the latest knowledge in hurricane science, forecasting, warning, and preparedness. This course enhances the ability of state/local decision-makers to identify and describe the hazards associated with hurricanes and to better prepare for and mitigate the impacts of high winds, heavy rain, and storm surge. This course is presented as an awareness-level course, which means that a successful participant in the course shall be able to identify and recognize the hazards associated with hurricanes and take necessary steps to prepare.
 

This eight-hour awareness-level course provides emergency managers, first responders, and community members across all sectors with a basic understanding of the latest knowledge in hurricane science, forecasting, warning, and preparedness. This course enhances the ability of state/local decision-makers to identify and describe the hazards associated with hurricanes and to better prepare for and mitigate the impacts of high winds, heavy rain, and storm surge. This course is presented as an awareness-level course, which means that a successful participant in the course shall be able to identify and recognize the hazards associated with hurricanes and take necessary steps to prepare.
 

From indoor performances, to outdoor festivals, long term projects, ongoing programs, and more, dance and performing artists are often involved in a wide variety of engagements that all require different considerations. Through a combination of lecture, journaling, and small group conversation, workshop participants will learn how to use research, time management, and other simple systems to encourage spaciousness, responsiveness, and joy in our projects. This workshop is geared toward professional dancers and performers, and is intended to complement Ana Tinajero’s Project Management workshop, but can also be taken on its own.

Marissa Molinar is a contemporary dancer, arts administrative activist, and Founder/Director of Midday Movement Series, a grassroots initiative cultivating a new generation of dance leaders.

Best suited for dancers and performers. 30 participants max.
 

This is a 2-part workshop. Artists are asked to attend both sessions.

After years of participating in an unjust ecosystem, artists and culture bearers are searching for viable alternatives to the traditional models of cultural production that have historically kept resources and power out of the hands of the workers. The solidarity economy, and cooperatives in particular, have started to gain traction amongst artists as an exciting solution. But what's the difference between a worker-owned cooperative and a purchasing cooperative? Is an ensemble a cooperative? Is talking about ownership inherently capitalist? In this workshop, participants will learn about the fundamentals that define cooperatives and how they differ from other types of collectives, explore case studies of cooperatives in the arts and culture sector, and brainstorm how a cooperative could meet their needs and the needs of their communities. Participants are welcome to join as individuals or alongside their collaborators, and will receive resources for further study into various cooperative models.

Obvious Agency, based out of Philadelphia, is one of the nation's only performance based worker-owned cooperatives. They create interactive and game-like experiences for major cultural institutions that instill a sense of belonging and play in their audiences, share their expertise in democratic processes and participatory performance, and produce the artistic work of their members. Daniel Park is a theatre and performance artist, facilitator, and organizer for racial and labor justice in the cultural sector whose work brings people together to understand and experiment with their individual and mutual roles in bringing about the liberation of all people.

Suitable for artists of all disciplines
 

For our August Coffee Hour, Anna Stern, a program coordinator with Watch for Me CT, will be presenting on how Watch for Me CT can help make your community a safer place for bicyclists, pedestrians, and all road users. Watch for Me CT is a program spearheaded by CT DOT and the Injury Prevention Center at Connecticut Children’s that focuses on reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries among bicyclists and pedestrians through education and idea sharing.

Anna will discuss the services Watch for Me CT provides and how they can help your town educate residents about road safety topics to make traveling around your community safer. She will guide you through free resources available for download on their website, as well as safety education plans that are specifically designed for your community. Safety education plans are customized to fit your community’s needs. Action items range from social media tiles to in-person events and everything in between. Anna will also be available to answer any questions you may have.

Join Sustainable CT for virtual, informal, discussions most third Thursdays of each month. We share program updates and resources, explore your questions, and strengthen the network of Sustainable CT champions. These sessions are free and open to all.
 

This free, three-part, virtual equity workshop series provides a comprehensive framework of racial equity, diversity, and inclusion. Attendance at all three sessions is required.

Sessions run 10:00 am – 12:00 pm on: June 17, July 22, and August 26. Content will be geared to help Sustainability Teams integrate equity considerations into their Sustainable CT initiatives. Anyone is welcome to register and participate.

Attendance is capped at 35. This will be a live, interactive training and will NOT be recorded. Please only sign up if you intend to participate for the duration of each session.

Attendees will actively participate in three different workshops:

June 17: Be READI© Leadership - Championing Equity at the Forefront - "Be READI© Leadership: Championing Equity at the Forefront" is a workshop for those ready to lead by example in equity and inclusion. Participants will explore leadership techniques, including influencing organizational culture, inspiring teams, and leading equitable change initiatives that yield measurable results.

July 22: Measuring What Matters - Assessing DEI Impact in Municipalities -  "Measuring What Matters: Assessing DEI Impact in Municipalities" focuses on tracking progress and evaluating the impact of DEI initiatives. Municipal leaders will learn to collect and analyze data, report on findings, and use insights to drive continuous improvement and accountability in DEI efforts.

August 26: Sustainable Change - Institutionalizing Be READI© Practices - "Sustainable Change: Institutionalizing Be READI© Practices" is designed to ensure the longevity and resilience of DEI efforts. Leaders will be equipped with strategies for policy development, stakeholder engagement, and creating a municipal infrastructure that supports lasting DEI integration.

This webinar is eligible for Certified Connecticut Municipal Official (CCMO) professional development credit from the CT Conference of Municipalities.
 

This is a 2-part workshop. Artists are asked to attend both sessions.

Working on an artistic endeavor, event, or production and not sure where to start? Get an introduction into the basic building blocks of planning, executing, and monitoring a project, no matter the size. Ana Tinajero is an award-winning Afro-Latin dance artist, entrepreneur, and performing arts curator who loves engineering spaces for community connection through the arts. In this workshop, she will cover the fundamentals of crafting a blueprint for success:  

PART 1: BUILDING THE PLAN — Define goals and scope with finite and clear deliverables. Draft a timeline and budget to help allocate resources and identify those needed. Choose a framework of guiding principles for executing a plan that resonates with your artistic practice and creative needs.

PART 2: EXECUTION & REFLECTION — Develop systems and processes to help manage and monitor budget and team workflow. Establish parameters of success, analyze results and evaluate impact. Identify practices for nourishment tailored to you and any collaborators.

This online workshop will involve lecture, small group and partner conversation, solo exercise prompts during the workshop and take-home assignments.

Suitable to artists of all disciplines. 30 participants max.
 

Join Sustainable CT for virtual, informal, discussions most third Thursdays of each month. We share program updates and resources, explore your questions, and strengthen the network of Sustainable CT champions. These sessions are free and open to all.
 

Join Sustainable CT for virtual, informal, discussions most third Thursdays of each month. We share program updates and resources, explore your questions, and strengthen the network of Sustainable CT champions. These sessions are free and open to all.
 

Join Sustainable CT for virtual, informal, discussions most third Thursdays of each month. We share program updates and resources, explore your questions, and strengthen the network of Sustainable CT champions. These sessions are free and open to all.
 

Connecticut’s data community faces new challenges and opportunities as access to critical information grows more complex and essential to our work. This year’s sudden loss of federal datasets (which were ultimately restored) underscored the urgent need for a strong and connected data ecosystem in Connecticut.

For this year's conference, CTData will focus on the theme of Data for Democracy. Bringing together more than 250 nonprofit and public sector leaders, data professionals, and advocates, we will strengthen our collective ability to use data for good.

Join CTData on December 3rd at the Hartford Marriott Downtown for a day of expert insights, hands-on learning, and networking with peers who share your commitment to ethical, transparent, and impactful data use.

This year’s event comes at a pivotal moment for our state and features keynote speaker Dr. Ismar Volić, Director of the Institute for Mathematics and Democracy, and author of “Making Democracy Count: How Mathematics Improves Voting, Electoral Maps, and Representation.” As an attendee you will:

• Gain practical skills through sessions such as Data Tools 101 and 202.

• Explore participatory strategies to authentically engage people with lived experience.

• Learn actionable frameworks like “before action reviews” and “in action reviews.”

• Connect with a vibrant professional community committed to advancing ethical data practices.

• Share solutions and advocate for the data that drives our missions and supports strong communities.

This is a paid in-person event.
 

Join Sustainable CT for virtual, informal, discussions most third Thursdays of each month. We share program updates and resources, explore your questions, and strengthen the network of Sustainable CT champions. These sessions are free and open to all.