Welcome to the Financial Literacy Virtual Learning Module! Our goal for this module is to collect practical financial advice from real-world industry professionals in order to empower emerging independent artists to manage their income and build a plan for the future.

In addition to recorded conversations, each section contains helpful resources as well as sample curriculum for educators who wish to incorporate this content into their lesson planning.

Additional Resources

Financial Tracking and Bookkeeping Tools:

• Quicken: Quicken offers accounting software that can be used for individual financial tracking and management. It can also be used for small businesses, but is more limited than Quickbooks.
• Mint: Mint.com is a free personal budgeting app that helps individuals track spending and set financial goals.
• Quickbooks: Quickbooks offers accounting software for tracking and managing business income and expenses.

Other Links:

• Actors Fund: The Actors Fund offers financial education classes as well as emergency financial assistance for members of the entertainment community.
• Dramatists Guild Business Advice for Writers: The Dramatists Guild has an extensive archive of articles and videos with advice on contracts, business, and finance management for playwrights, composers, lyricists, and librettists.
• Guidestar: Guidestar is a database that contains free information on nonprofit organizations. You can use this database to discover and research nonprofits in your area.
• Artists U: Artists U is an artist-run organization with the goal of helping artists build productive, sustainable lives. Their website includes a free, downloadable textbook and workbook with exercises and assignments. The “Money” section of their workbook has a variety of helpful reflection questions and activities designed for independent artists.
• Financial Literacy Resources for Black Students: This page includes a helpful list of resources that contains links to podcasts, blogs, videos, and Black financial experts to follow.

Tools mentioned in the module videos:

• Woolly Mammoth Sample Production Budget: A sample production budget provided by Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, D.C.
• Financial Empowerment: Money Management for Theatre Artists: These slides include basic information and resource links that cover the financial factors of working in a creative industry.
• Richard Azurdia’s Tax Tools: This packet is designed to help independent artists working in the entertainment industry prepare for tax season.
• Theatrical Project Budget Template: Theater artist Diana Wyenn’s production budget and payment tracking template