On Tuesday, August 18 at 10 a.m., something momentous happened. If ever proof was wanted that the people of southeast Michigan value arts and culture and want it in their communities, this was the moment when such proof became clear.

That day, 15,000 arts supporters converged on the Web site of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan to donate money to their favorite cultural organizations.

Within 15 minutes, they entered the history books along with the ticket-buyers to the Colorado Rockies' 2007 World Series game and the Harley-Davidson 105th Anniversary Celebration featuring Bruce Springstein. Arts supporters joined football fans and music lovers in the pantheon of enthusiasts who have brought down supposedly invincible Web sites.

The big story here isn't the technological glitch. Yes, the glitches continued throughout the day but even so, arts supporters spent hours doggedly working to donate funds that would be matched as part of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan's generous Arts & Culture Challenge. Their efforts paid off and at the end of the day, some $3.75 million had been raised for 75 cultural groups in southeast Michigan.

For the business sector, the big story is actually a question: What can business leaders do to align themselves with the arts and benefit from the intense loyalty these culture brands generate? Like sports and rock music, arts and culture has a large and extremely dedicated fan base.

Who wouldn't want a customer pool that would spend hours trying to give your business money? And this isn't a one-off phenomenon. By a margin of 3 to 1, area arts supporters say that business support for culture makes a difference when they choose businesses to patronize, according to the Washtenaw County Cultural Master Plan (2008). National studies reaffirm this local finding.

There's a second take-away for business leaders from this cultural challenge. Arts managers are incredibly skilled at turning out their supporters.While similar online giving events have been held in Columbus, OH, and in Texas, no one expected the tremendous response area cultural groups were able to generate. Thanks to the efforts of the Community Foundation and its partner, the Cultural Alliance of Southeast Michigan, the participating arts groups successfully used Twitter, YouTube videos, Facebook, and other social networking tools to recruit and motivate supporters to go to the challenge Web site at the designated time. Is your business using these social networking tools? Are your efforts working?

For many years, people have said that the arts should be run “more like a business,” and indeed, arts managers have taken this admonition to heart and instituted more “businesslike” practices.

Perhaps now, it's time for businesses to look to their cultural brethren for guidance in building customer loyalty and consumer action in this brave new technological world.

Tamara Real is President of The Arts Alliance, an umbrella organization working to build a stronger, more vibrant Washtenaw County through arts and culture. Contact her at tamara@annarborchamber.org, 734-213-2566.