A Message From Our Founder

Fundrasing for arts and cultural institutions is certainly a unique endeavor. True, there are shared characteristics between arts-fundraising and fundraising in other disciplines, but we know that there are also some marked traits, characteristics and challenges associated with fundraising for the arts. What makes fundraising in the arts unique? Here are just a few ideas:

It’s a shallow pool: The number of qualified prospects is relatively small compared to the market size and the pace for developing new prospects within the market is slow when compared to some other arenas. Since you probably won’t add thousands of new donors in a given year you have to rely instead on the current donor base for a significant portion of the goal. It’s a balancing act — you need the financial growth but you must not alienate your current donor base in the process by asking for too much too often. In short — you have to be careful and thoughtful in strategy and approach to this “family”, but you also have to hit your financial goals without fail.

You have to share: Your donors are also your ticket buyers, sponsors, members, volunteers, board members and ushers. You must constantly balance the fundraising needs with the other needs of your arts institution, which means you not only need the best and most effective strategies available, but the implementation must be perfectly timed and flawless.

Fundraising pays the bills: Most often, you don’t raise money to build a new building, launch new programs or hire more staff. That is especially true in an arts-related Annual Fund where you raise funds to meet the basic financial obligations of your organization. For the most part, the case for support is more about “what you are”, not “what you want to be”. So, there’s no grandiose dreaming to emphasize, just the good ol’ established programs that have a predictible impact on your community. Therefore, communicating “who you are” in fresh, distinctive ways becomes critical to growing your base of support.

The pace is lightening-fast: Your institution needs contributed support – and it needs it right now. That’s likely how every day starts and ends for you. You must produce results every single day – not to mention attend countless meetings, get ready for board presentations, manage a staff, equip yourself and others to fundraise, and deal with the daily minutiae of your institution – much of which has nothing to do with raising money. It’s sometimes easy to make fundraising a secondary priority because it appears to be more flexible and less urgent, especially when compared to activities with “hard deadlines”. Don’t believe it for a second. The goal doesn’t get smaller just because it’s ignored. Effective fundraising isn’t difficult, but it does take deliberate action every single day.

Agree or not, you may ask, “Why bring this up at all?”

Here’s why — because if you are serious about making your arts fundraising program stronger you need an expert who immediately understands your industry’s unique issues. Time is critical and your consultant must be fully equipped and ready to address your specific fundraising challenges.

That’s why RSC focuses on fundraising for the arts – it’s what I’ve done successfully for twenty years – and it’s why you need our services.

At RSC we prize relationships AND results as much as you do. We approach our clients as partners and we apply what we know to develop the most effective program to raise the most money and build the strongest donor relationships possible.

I hope to hear from you soon. In the meantime, thanks for visiting RSC’s site.