Capital campaigns, endowment campaigns and campaigns to retire debt are all critical to the growth and future of organizations. Planning and executing a successful Campaign for the Future requires first thoughtfully creating and crafting the vision, plan and path forward.
CSTAR can help create and craft that vision, conduct a campaign feasibility study, identify campaign leadership for a campaign committee, prepare a case for support, develop a campaign plan, and/or help engage, inspire, solicit and secure lead and major gifts.
Theaters and performing arts centers are essential to the success of organizations, presentations and productions and positively impact the cultural and economic life of communities. CSTAR can facilitate community meetings for needs assessments, develop operational models, programming plans and budgets, and work with architects and theater designers to develop appropriate, cost-effective and exciting renovated or new venues.
CSTAR will help secure underwriting and produce a special event, performance or series, a new music, dance, theater, musical theater work, exhibition or film. We have extensive experience working on unique projects with exceptional artists.
A good, concise development plan describes what you are going to do and how you are going to do it. But that plan must reflect an organization’s mission, structure and strategic or long-range plan.
CSTAR will help create development plans, facilitate strategic or long-range planning, capital campaigns and/or advise on how best to enhance the structure and culture of the organization. Years of experience with development, marketing, branding & PR, finance, HR, programming and more enables us to quickly and readily help you make a difference.
Today, the average tenure of a development director is 18 months. The time and resources that are expended in searching, selecting, training and introducing a development director are substantial. A revolving door of development directors negatively impacts the donor base and contributed income. Due to the shortage of talented, experienced development directors, small and mid-sized organizations have the greatest challenges.
CSTAR will assist with your search and help ensure that you choose the candidate that has the greatest likelihood of success. This is one area of executive search where “it takes one to know one.” We will not only help you consider those outside your organization but identify any on the inside that might have “the gift.” We can also provide interim development staffing to ensure that your donors continue to be engaged, solicited and acknowledged. We can also help support and mentor development staff to ease the transition.
As noted on our home page, development is an art and a science. We can work with individuals or small groups to help everyone with their technique. Then we can help those who have learned the technique (meeting & greeting, getting acquainted, sharing stories, inspiring, soliciting and acknowledging) to perfect the art.
People give money to people and every one of us has the capacity to contribute at least twice what we are currently giving. But that requires our being inspired, by someone. CSTAR knows and will share how to connect, engage and inspire!