BRIC Foundation

⏳ 10 days left to apply for $10K in funding! If you've been thinking about forming your own animation studio, NOW is the time. At BRIC and Legends Animated, we believe in putting HUMAN creators first to build sustainable, equitable businesses and advance inclusive storytelling. Your authentic voice and stories deserve to be told and we want to help make it happen. Gather your team and submit your proposal by June 7th. Key Eligibility Criteria:  ✅ 3 or more co-op members ✅ All members must be 18+ years old ✅ At least 50% of all members must be California residents & authorized to work in the US 🚀 Application & resources available at https://lnkd.in/esGzvhx3

Last week at Cre8te Summit '26, we were proud to host the first-ever BRIC Community Corner bringing together an incredible ecosystem of creative and creator economy partners for 2 days of conversation, collaboration, learning, and connection. From industry panels and think tanks to portfolio reviews and networking, the space reflected the power of community in building a stronger creative future. Huge thanks to Cre8te Summit and to all of our amazing partners who participated in the BRIC Community Corner and helped make the experience so impactful! 

🎯 The new LA28 Olympic & Paralympic Games Procurement Plan sets ambitious targets that benefit independent event producers and production companies: 75% of LA28’s addressable procurement spend goes to Greater LA businesses and 25% goes to small businesses. Here are 5 tips to help you get involved: 1️⃣ Register with RAMP. This is the LA28 supplier system via City of Los Angeles Office of Procurement: https://www.rampla.org. Get in this system to get qualified for opportunities. 2️⃣ Look beyond major events. Surrounding the ceremonies and competitions are thousands of micro-events: Local showcases and national houses, fan experiences and exclusive gatherings, sponsor activations and community programs. Each one needs producers, subcontractors, and local vendors and execution partners – you! 3️⃣ Think modular. Procurement will come in all shapes and sizes. Your first opportunity could be for your 5-person team. The next one could be for a workforce of 50 or 500. Create Olympic-relevant packages for your services. Think turnkey builds, scalable teams, ready to go. 4️⃣ Keep building community. Local businesses, are you members of your chambers of commerce? Independent venues, are you members of NIVA - National Independent Venue Association? Media and entertainment folks, are you a part of BRIC Foundation's programs? Event folks, stay tuned for some exciting opportunities with Coalition of Festivals and Major Events (COFAME) in the coming months... 5️⃣ Lean into what you strongest. The plan specifically calls for unbundling large contracts into smaller, accessible opportunities. Your multilingual staff, local roots, and nimble agility are strengths – not weaknesses. Keep doing what you independent, small, and local businesses do best. The forecasts for purchasing timelines across departments are available here: https://lnkd.in/euUAHAbf. Shout out to Sonya Kay Blake, David Margolis, and many more at LA28 for this great work.

We're headed to Seattle's Cre8te Summit '26 this May 14-15! BRIC is proud to host the BRIC Community Corner, a space dedicated to spotlighting the power of partnership, collaboration, and community across Washington's creative and creator economy. Come connect with an inspiring community of creative partners across 2 days of programming featuring:   🎨 Portfolio reviews & resume workshops 💡 Think tanks & data sessions 🎤 Industry panel discussions 🫱🏼🫲🏾 Networking opportunities  & more! Whether you're a creator, founder, entrepreneur, or small business owner, this is a space to learn, connect, and grow alongside community. 🗓️ May 14–15 • 1201 Tower • Seattle, WA 🎟️ Register with our partner link for 20% off tickets: https://lnkd.in/ejUwKqfb

📢 The Entertainment Equity Alliance (EEA) is hiring! The EEA is seeking a strategic & collaborative Consultant to support the Alliance's growth, visibility, and impact. This contract role will lead stakeholder engagement, coalition-building efforts, digital communications, strategic planning, events, and more. 📍Southern California/remote (with occasional in-person events) 💼 10-month contract ($55/hr, approx. 25 hrs/month) If you're passionate about equity, collaboration, and driving change across the entertainment industry, we'd love to hear from you. 🔗 Apply: https://lnkd.in/eZzbGDBA

⏰ Reminder: Applications for BRIC's Animation Pitch Bootcamp close Friday, May 15! This free, virtual summer program invites high school students to create and pitch an original animated TV series concept with guidance from industry pros. From concept development to final pitch, students will work in teams while building real-world storytelling and creative collaboration skills. 🗓️ Program Dates: June 30 – July 14 (virtual PT hours) 🎓 Open to high school students (10–12th grade + Class of 2026 grads) 🔗 Apply: tinyurl.com/bric-summer26

Interested in applying for the Animation Co-op Grant? Don't miss our Virtual Info Session! BRIC and Legends Animated have teamed up to launch the 2026 Animation Co-op Grant, awarding $10,000 to support the formation of an animation creator cooperative made up of 3+ individuals committed to inclusive storytelling. Ahead of the June 7 application deadline, join us to learn more about: ✨ Eligibility requirements ✨ Application tips ✨ How the co-op model can help creators build sustainable, collaborative businesses 🗓️ Virtual Info Session: May 13 @ 6pm - 7pm (PT) ⏰ Application Deadline: June 7 🔗 RSVP: https://lnkd.in/e3eRt8eY 🚀 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/esGzvhx3 

At last month’s BRIC Foundation Summit Industry Day, which brought together leaders across entertainment, media, and adjacent sectors, CVL Economics Founding Partner Adam J. Fowler addressed a core misconception shaping today’s Hollywood narrative: What looks like decline from a Los Angeles vantage point is, in many ways, a redistribution of activity across a much broader and more global media ecosystem. Local production has pulled back, but overall demand for content and engagement continues to grow. That disconnect is driving a lot of the current narrative around the industry.     A few observations from Adam’s talk and what we heard during the Summit:    • The center of gravity is shifting: Entertainment is no longer anchored to a single geography or a single set of gatekeepers. Capital, talent, and distribution are more mobile, and increasingly global.    • The model for building a career is changing: The traditional pipeline into the industry is narrowing. In its place, creators are building audiences, testing concepts, and generating traction before institutional involvement.    • Competition for attention comes from wider array of sources: Film and television are now part of a larger landscape that includes gaming, social platforms, audio, and creator-led content. Attention, not format, is the constraint.    • The implication is structural, not cyclical: Many of the challenges being discussed as short-term disruptions are tied to longer-term shifts in technology, distribution, and audience behavior.    For Los Angeles, and for any region that has historically depended on a concentrated production model, this raises a different set of issues. Yes, we must retain activity where we can, but we also have to learn how to participate in a more distributed system that stretches across the country and around the world. This likely means focusing less on a single industry definition and more on the broader creative and media ecosystem, including the pathways that allow talent to move within it.    We appreciate BRIC Foundation for convening a conversation that reflects where the industry actually is, not where it used to be. The key question now is how creatives can exercise agency within this model and how policy should adapt to support them.