RSC Consulting, Inc.

Meet the RSC Team

Bob Swaney, Founder & CEO

For twenty-five years, Bob Swaney has been a leader in fundraising for arts and cultural organizations. Over time, Bob has developed and perfected an Annual Fund growth system that is unmatched in the arts and culture industry. Since 2006, Bob has successfully shared his system with arts organizations all across the country.

Bob's hallmark lies in helping organizations develop sustainable high-leverage / high-return fundraising programs that are strategic, growth-oriented, and donor-focused. His simple yet systematic approach to fundraising is highly effective in virtually any size market and for any size institution.

Bob began his career in arts management as a telemarketing manager and quickly gained recognition as one of the top producers in the field. After a variety of progressive fundraising positions with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Bob joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, where he focused on annual fundraising for both the CSO and its companion training organization, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. He was responsible for individual and foundation fundraising for both organizations and assisted with the $110 million capital/endowment campaign. The Civic Orchestra also afforded Bob the opportunity to be involved in successfully building that institution's first board of directors.

Bob later became the director of development for the St. Louis Symphony, where he led efforts that doubled the annual fund within a five-year period. Bob eventually returned to the Indianapolis Symphony, where he served as the assistant vice president for development and marketing. Under his strategic leadership, the Annual Fund enjoyed three successive record-breaking years and endowment growth of more than $34 million.

On a part-time basis since 1993, Bob has been a fundraising consultant to orchestras, museums and other not-for-profits across the country. In 2006, Bob left arts management to consult full-time through RSC, Inc.

Bob coaches others to build their programs through careful planning and an execution strategy that is based on creating momentum, velocity and leverage to develop successful long-term contributed financial growth. Paramount to this success is a case statement that fully integrates the mission of an institution with the community it represents. But above all, Bob coaches organizations on how to achieve immediate growth, regardless of organizational, community or economic conditions.

You may contact Bob Swaney by email at RSC@rrsconsult.net

 

Scott Giffen, cfre, Senior Consultant

With fifteen years of hands-on arts administration experience, Scott Giffen's fundraising,
marketing, and executive management repertoire spans classical music to modern dance, arts education programming to musical theatre productions, and grassroots organizations to "Group 1" orchestras.

Originally from Dallas, Texas, Scott began his career as an arts administrator in St. Louis, Missouri, serving first as Executive Director for GASH/VOIGT Dance Theatre, then Development Director for STAGES ST. LOUIS. Later as Executive Director for Young Audiences of St. Louis, Scott broadened his industry knowledge into arts education. In 2005, Scott moved to North Georgia and accepted a multi-faceted leadership fundraising position with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO). For each organization, Scott posted double digit contributed revenue growth, consistently surpassed multiple campaign goals, and established new fundraising programs that positioned organizations for future expansion. At the ASO, Scott surpassed the $3 million mark in institutional support for the first time in the orchestra's history and also signed the largest symphony/airline partnership to date.

In addition to his consulting work, Scott accepted a full-time position of Executive Vice President at The Creamery Arts Center in Springfield, Missouri (where he now resides) to assess, design, lead, and complete an innovative, multi-year collaborative endowment campaign in partnership with the Springfield Regional Arts Council, the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, the Springfield Ballet, the Springfield Little Theatre at the Landers, the SRO Lyric Theatre, and the Community Foundation of the Ozarks' Arts Programming Sustainability Initiative. The campaign is raising a multi-million dollar corpus from new and national funders to match and inspire local family donors.

As a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), Scott offers full-scale training for development officers, management executives, and board members to maximize their fundraising potential. He earned his business degree (emphases in arts management and finance) and vocal performance degree from Greenville College, an institution that recently awarded him with its Outstanding Young Alumnus award. Scott also completed a masters-level intensive through New York University's Visual and Performing Arts Administration program in Holland, Germany & Spain. Scott recently joined Drury University's Arts Administration faculty as adjunct professor.

As Senior Consultant for Robert Swaney Consulting, Inc., Scott's specific expertise includes:

• creating prioritized, donor-focused fundraising initiatives
• designing asset-rich and mutually beneficial partnerships
• implementing sound financial structures
• building encouraging and innovative executive management programs

You may contact Scott Giffen by email at sgiffen@rrsconsult.net

 

Jeremy Hatch, cfre, Senior Consultant

Jeremy Hatch brings more than a decade of successful experience in goal-oriented fundraising
and arts management expertise to the RSC team. Jeremy has served in a variety of organizations including museum, zoo, and higher education settings. Most recently, Jeremy served as the founding development director for the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel,Indiana where he built the fundraising program from the ground up. During his tenure at the Center he developed one of the most robust sponsorship programs in Central Indiana and raised more than $8 million in cash and pledges including planned gifts and multiple $1million capital gifts.

Jeremy has worked on numerous capital and endowment campaigns, including the IU Art Museum’s $17 million effort that tripled the organization’s endowment as part of Indiana University’s $1Billion Marching the Promise comprehensive campaign and the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis $30 million New Visions, Lasting Values campaign. During his tenure at the YMCA, Jeremy worked with four boards of directors and staff leadership teams simultaneously to recruit and train volunteer leadership, coach staff, develop proposals and solicit gifts for a capital effort that helped to build a new YMCA facility in Avon, Indiana as well as building expansions at both the Fishers and Fort Benjamin Harrison YMCAs.

Since 2007 Jeremy has served as Adjunct Faculty at Indiana University, teaching courses in the undergraduate fundraising minor. Jeremy is an enthusiastic volunteer and board member, serving currently on the Indianapolis Fringe Theatre Festival board along with past service with the Hamilton County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Monroe County United Way, and the Bloomington Playwrights Project. Jeremy holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Drama as well as a Master of Arts Administration, both from Indiana University.

Jeremy is a committed professional fundraiser, holding both the CFRE certification and the Certificate in Fundraising Management from the School of Philanthropy and believes passionately in the power of philanthropy as a positive change agent in the United States.

 As Senior Consultant for Robert Swaney Consulting, Inc., Jerermy's specific expertise includes:

• Providing high-level counsel and leadership to annual, capital, planned giving, sponsorship and endowment campaigns.
• Interim staffing for non-profits in transition.
• Training and coaching for both volunteer and executive staff.
• Designing and ongoing support of moves management programs for annual and capital programs.

You may contact Jeremy Hatch by email at jhatch@rrsconsult.net

 

Jack R. Lemmon, Consultant

Jack R. Lemmon has worked in the performing arts for over 30 years as an executive director and as a funder with the National Endowment for the Arts.  In his work across the country he has significantly increased revenues by ensuring efficient fundraising operations and a focus on deepening donor’s connections back to the companies they support.   

Jack believes that fundraising is all about developing relationships – making the essential link between the donors’ passion and the mission of the organization.  True fund development needs time and nurturing, but the end result is a stronger institution that is better able to thrive, grow and prepare for change.

Combined with an emphasis on relationship building, Lemmon also focuses on the critical work that supports the development effort – the ongoing investment in board and staff training, a dedication to planning, execution and analysis to ensure that the efforts to sustain the institution are focused and successful. 

Lemmon has served as Executive Director of the Colorado Ballet, Louisville Ballet, Ballet Idaho, the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago and Tulsa Ballet and as General Manager of Ohio Ballet, Akron, OH.  He has also served as Program Administrator and as a Program Specialist of the Dance Program of the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington D.C. which granted over $9 million annually to the national dance community. 

Jack has served as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Michigan Arts and Cultural Affairs, served on the board and the executive committee of Dance/USA, chaired the Arts and Cultural Attractions Council in Louisville, KY, the Chicago Dance Alliance, was a board member of the Partnership for Creative Economies (KY), Arts for Idaho and the Illinois Arts Alliance.

He holds a B.M. in music education and performance from Coe College in Cedar Rapids (Iowa) and an M.F.A. in arts administration from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. 

You may contact Jack Lemmon by email at jlemmon@rrsconsult.net

 

Jessica Langlois, Project Specialist

Jessica Langlois is an experienced planned and major gift fundraiser who has served with two of the most prestigious
organizations in the southeast.  As both the Assistant Director of Development at the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University and as the Director of Major Gifts and Planned Giving at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Jessica has developed programs and systems that led to substantial contributed revenue growth.

As a Project Specialist for RSC, Jessica will build on her experiences by providing the following expertise:

• developing and implementing planned giving fundraising and stewardship programs to fit any budget
• coaching best strategies towards growing a sustainable major gifts program
• engaging Board members through compelling volunteer service and successful peer-to-peer fundraising experiences

In addition to her consulting role with RSC, Jessica is currently the Director of Development with Odyssey Atlanta; a nonprofit group providing summertime youth development programs for children and teens from economically depressed communities.

Jessica graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Art History from Georgia State University and is a native of Marion, Alabama.

You may contact Jessica Langlois by email at jlanglois@rrsconsult.net

 

Suellen Swaney, CFO and Research Specialist

Since 2006, Suellen has been CFO of Robert Swaney Consulting, carrying out all associated financial duties for the Company. As an outgrowth of RSC's success, Suellen also serves as the organization's research specialist, responsible for the information used to broaden RSC's reach in, and knowledge of, the arts and cultural community.

Suellen is a successful businessperson and educator, having run her own Kindermusik franchise for many years.  Prior to that, she was a dedicated music educator in various Indiana, Illinois and Missouri public school systems.  Suellen has a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Illinois and Bachelor degrees in Vocal Performance and Music Education from the University of Evansville (IN).  She has performed in various musical theater and opera productions and in 2008 completed work on a CD recording.

 You may contact Suellen by email at sswaney@rrsconsult.net