Performing Arts Programs at Pac-12 Schools

Performing Arts Programs at Pac-12 Schools

During the months of January and February I had the opportunity to speak with development officers at ten Pac-12 institutions whose jobs including fundraising for performing arts programs. The following summary is based on my research on those schools and my conversations with development officers. The individuals I spoke to are: Ellen Bussing

Senior Director of Development College of Fine Arts

University of Arizona Bob Darrah

Director of Development School of Music and Dance University of Oregon A. Phoenix Delgado

Assistant Dean for Advancement Thornton School of Music

University of Southern California Valoree Gregory

Director of Development College of Arts & Sciences Washington State University Josh Hesslein

Director of Marketing and Development Department of Theatre, Dance, & Performance Studies

University of California, Berkeley

Heidi Makowski Development Officer College of Fine Arts University of Utah Tom McLennan

Senior Director of Development Division of Arts and Sciences Oregon State University Camille Perezselsky

Constituent Relations Officer School of Music

University of Washington

(Camille is now the Assistant Director of Development at the Pacific Northwest Diabetes Research Institute)

Ruth Cinquini Richerson

Associate Director of Development School of Humanities & Sciences Stanford University

Linda Twichell

Director of Development

School of the Arts and Architecture University of California, Los Angeles Structure

Performing arts programs at Pac-12 institutions fall into one of three categories: • The performing arts are part of a separate arts school or college of fine arts • One or more of the performing arts are their own separate school

• The performing arts are departments within a larger college of arts and sciences College of Fine Arts

University of Utah has a College of Fine Arts which houses six academic units: the School of Music, the Department of Art & Art History, the Department of Ballet, the

Department of Film & Media Arts, the Department of Modern Dance, and the Department of Theatre. The College of Fine Arts is one of seventeen colleges at University of Utah. The five-person development staff at the College of Fine Arts consists of an executive director of development, a senior director of development, a development officer, and two development staff people focused specifically on the School of Music. University of Utah has been in the public phase of the Together we Reach: The Campaign for the University of Utah since 2008. The campaign has raised $1.515 billion, surpassing their $1.2 billion goal.

The College of Fine Arts at University of Arizona is made up of four schools: the School of Art, the School of Dance, the School of Music, and the School of Theatre, Film, and Television. The College of Fine Arts is one of five Colleges of Letters, Arts, and Sciences at University of Arizona. The College of Fine Arts Office of Development consists of a senior director of development, an associate director of development, and an

administrative assistant. University of Arizona will be publicly announcing a comprehensive fundraising campaign this spring.

UCLA’s School of the Arts and Architecture (UCLA Arts) houses six departments: Architecture and Urban Design, Art, Design/Media Arts, World Arts and Cultures/Dance, Ethnomusicology, and Music. Ethnomusicology and Music are both a part of the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, and Television is separate from the School of the Arts and Architecture. A director of development and a deputy director of development each focus on procuring major gifts for three of the six arts departments. The other three UCLA Arts development staff members include an office manager, someone focused on the annual fund, and someone focused on

stewardship. UCLA is gearing up to publicly launch its $4.2 billion Centennial Campaign for UCLA.

At Arizona State University, the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts is one of 15 colleges, schools, and institutes. The Herberger Institute contains five schools, two of which are the School of Music and the School of Film, Dance, and Theatre. Herberger has a two-person development staff.

Separate School

The School of Music and Dance is one of eight schools and colleges at University of Oregon. Within the school, there are 17 distinct departments. The theatre department is located within the College of Arts & Sciences, and the visual arts are located within the School of Architecture and Allied Arts. The School of Music and Dance has a

development assistant and a director of development who focuses on major gifts. University of Oregon concluded Campaign Oregon: Transforming Lives in 2008, in which the school raised $853 million, surpassing its $600 million campaign goal. The University will be publicly launching its next campaign sometime this year.

USC’s Thornton School of Music is one of 21 schools at USC. The brand new Glorya Kaufman School of Dance will open in 2015. Dramatic Arts and Art and Design are

separate from the School of Music. Thornton’s four-person advancement staff consists of an assistant dean for advancement, an assistant director of advancement, and

advancement and events coordinator, and an alumni relations program assistant. USC launched the public phase of The Campaign for USC in 2011. They have since passed the halfway mark in their efforts to raise $6 billion by 2018. USC Thornton School of Music is also halfway to meeting their campaign goal of $75 million.

The College of Music is one of 11 schools and colleges at University of Colorado, Boulder. The Department of Theatre and Dance is located within the College of Arts & Sciences, separate from music and the visual arts. University of Colorado completed its Creating Futures campaign in 2008, having raised $1.52 billion, exceeding their $1.5 billion campaign goal.

Arts & Sciences

At Oregon State University, music is housed in the School of Arts and Communication along with theatre, art, new media communications, and speech communication. There is no dance department at Oregon State University. The School of Arts and Communication is one of six schools located within the College of Liberal Arts, and the College of

Liberal Arts is one of thirteen colleges. Development officers are employees of the OSU Foundation and are all centrally located. Fundraising for music is the responsibility of a senior director of development for the division of art & sciences. Oregon State University is nearing the end of The Campaign for OSU, which entered its public phase in 2007. The university has already exceeded its $1 billion campaign goal and the College of Liberal Arts met its $16.5 million campaign goal in February 2014. One major gift donor

presented a challenge to raise $1 million for performing arts (music, art, and theatre), and agreed to match it. Oregon State University has met that challenge, primarily through 26 large gifts. About 75% of that money is dedicated to music.

At Stanford, the Department of Music, the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies (TAPS), and the Division of Dance are located within the School of Humanities and Sciences. The School of Humanities and Sciences is one of seven schools at

Stanford. Fundraising for music and dance at Stanford is among the responsibilities of the nine-person Office of External Relations at the School of Humanities and Sciences. The development people in this office all fundraise for multiple departments. In 2011

Stanford wrapped up the five-year Stanford Challenge, in which Stanford raised $6.23 billion, including $279 million “to support the arts and creativity”.

At UC Berkeley, the Department of Music and the Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies (TDPS) are among the 19 departments that make up the Arts & Humanities Division of the College of Letters & Sciences. The College of Letters & Sciences is comprised of five distinct divisions, and is itself one of 14 colleges and schools. The College of Letters & Sciences has an Office of Development and College Relations with a staff of 13. Music and TDPS also share a marketing and development director. UC Berkeley just completed The Campaign for Berkeley, which publicly

launched in 2008 and raised $3.13 billion for the University, surpassing the $3 billion campaign goal.

At University of Washington, the School of Music and the Dance Program are located within the Arts Division of the College of Arts & Sciences, along with Art, Drama, and Digital Arts. The College of Arts & Sciences is one of sixteen colleges and schools at University of Washington and has an advancement staff of five individuals. The School of Music also has a constituent relations officer who focuses on broad-based strategies for engaging new audiences. Constituent relations officers report to University

Advancement and to their individual school. In 2008, University of Washington concluded their Campaign UW: Creating Futures, which raised over $2.68 billion. At Washington State University, the School of Music is located within the College of Arts and Sciences, which was created when Arts and Sciences merged in 2013. The College of Arts & Sciences is one of 11 colleges at the University and houses 27 departments. Washington State University does not have a dance department. The College of Arts & Sciences has a development staff of six, including a director of development, two associate directors of development, two assistant directors of

development, and a program coordinator. Washington State University is in the midst of The Campaign for Washington State University, which publicly launched in 2010 with a goal of raising $1 billion for the school by 2015. So far the University has raised roughly $876 million. The College of Arts & Science’s campaign goal is $61 million.

Identifying Prospects

A consistent theme across my conversations with development officers was the high percentage of non-alumni performing arts donors. UCLA Arts, for example, estimates that around 80% of their donors are non-alumni. Development officers at several schools mine lists of board members at local arts organizations for potential prospects. Oregon State University will identify individuals involved with Mid-Willamette Valley cultural organizations, such as the Corvallis Repertory Singers, and target them to give to

scholarships in order to develop cultural life in the Corvallis area. Stanford uses referrals from current supporters of their music school to identify new prospects. Across the board, development officers identified community members with an affinity to the arts as

prospective donors.

Development officers also identified three groups of prospective alumni donors. First, there are degree-holding alumni who majored or minored in the performing arts. Next, there are alumni who participated in the performing arts while at the university through ensembles, classes, lessons, or the marching band, but did not graduate with a performing arts major or minor. Finally there are alumni who, despite not having participated in the performing arts while in school, have an affinity for the performing arts. Oregon State University’s Tom McLennan counts on development colleagues to identify alumni who might have an affinity to music. He also seeks to identify which major university trustees might have an interest in music.

Alumni Relations

Because most of the development officers I spoke to are focused on major gifts, very few of them engage in any sort of broad-based alumni outreach. Most alumni relations at Pac-12 schools are conducted through a central alumni association or alumni affairs office as opposed to in the individual schools and units. Performing arts alumni hear from their university’s alumni association through annual mailings and phone-a-thons. Stanford and University of Washington’s alumni associations will occasionally feature student

performances or artwork at their events.

UC Berkeley, University of Arizona, USC, and Washington State University include alumni in their regular e-newsletters or e-blasts. UC Berkeley also distributes an alumni newsletter once a year and is considering starting an arts-specific alumni association to help maintain their alumni network. Development officers mentioned using social media sites, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, to keep track of alumni and grow their network. A. Phoenix Delgado from USC and Ruth Cinquini Richerson from Stanford recommend inviting alumni to recitals and other on-campus events.

Events

Oregon State University and USC both host events celebrating graduating seniors each spring. USC invites parents, students, and major donors to these celebrations, providing scholarship donors with an opportunity to engage with scholarship recipients. Along similar lines, University of Washington’s School of Music hosts an annual scholarship concert followed by a reception.

Several development officers mentioned holding small cultivation events or receptions for donors and prospective donors before and after shows. Ellen Bussing at University of Arizona recommends asking board members to invite prospects to mini-concerts or soirees at their homes. Heidi Makowski at University of Utah has found that donors like attending events which feature student performances and allow them to interact with the students. The Dean of the College of Fine Arts at University of Utah leads a tour of the department once or twice a year which concludes with a luncheon. University of Oregon’s School of Music and Dance has also begun experimenting with department tours for donors.

Development officers also mentioned fundraising events where attendees are charged an admissions fee. For some of their larger performances, UC Berkeley’s music department will offer a “dinner and a show” package and charge a per-plate fee. This year, University of Utah’s Department of Theatre is raising money by charging admission to a prominent musical theatre alum’s one-woman show. University of Utah’s School of Music recently hosted a series of piano concerts around the country as part of their 100 Years of Piano Campaign. Washington State University hosts a number of small regional events centered on performances by jazz faculty and invites music and non-music donors to attend.

Several development officers recommended hosting events around homecoming or football games. However, UC Berkeley’s music department gave up hosting receptions during homecoming after discovering that their alumni were not interested in attending football games. The School of Music and Dance at University of Oregon, on the other hand, is hosting its first football tailgate party next school year after discovering through a survey that the majority of school supporters do attend athletic events.

Volunteer Board

There is little consistency across the Pac-12 schools in terms of the size, structure, and expectations of volunteer boards. Of the ten schools I communicated with, only three do not have arts-specific volunteer boards. Those schools are Oregon State University, Washington State University, and UC Berkeley.

University of Utah, University of Arizona, and UCLA have volunteer boards which oversee multiple arts departments. University of Utah’s College of Fine Arts has a 23-person advisory board whose members are required to make an annual gift of $2500. University of Utah’s music school also has its own separate advisory board. Like the College of Fine Arts at Utah, UCLA Arts has a Board of Governors which plays an advisory role and does not have any fiduciary responsibilities. University of Arizona has a College of Fine Arts board in addition to boards for the each of the four schools within the College of Fine Arts. University of Arizona Development Director Ellen Bussing indicated that having multiple boards created a great deal of work for the development team without producing significant fundraising results.

University of Washington, University of Oregon, and Stanford all have music-specific advisory boards. Stanford’s music department is unique in that they have their own 501(c)3. Stanford also has a separate advisory council for its concert hall.

The level of involvement of these boards in department activities varies wildly. While many volunteer boards are not very engaged in fundraising, University of Arizona’s School of Theatre, Film, and Television board recently raised $400,000 for an endowment to bring agents to see the student’s annual showcase. The most common activity volunteer board members participate in seems to be hosting and attending events. Washington State University’s board consists of development, stewardship, campus involvement, and communications task forces. Heidi Makowski at University of Utah invites faculty members to attend board meetings to participate in panel discussions. Parents

Very few performing arts development offices focus significant energy on targeting parents. While parents may be invited to participate in events at the wider university level, individual academic units don’t tend to reach out to parents. UCLA and USC are the two exceptions. UCLA Arts hosts a reception for parents at an art gallery during parents weekend and USC Thornton School of Music hosts a Meet the Dean event for

new students and parents during Move-in Day. USC will also on occasion invite high-capacity parents to dinners with the Dean before performances featuring their students. Audience Information

Most Pac-12 schools do not consistently capture audience data at their performances. The most common practice is to collect information only on audience members who purchase their ticket online or pay with a credit card. UC Berkeley collects this information

through the ticketing program Arts-People.com. University of Utah and University of Arizona both collect information from season subscribers and upload that information into the database semi-regularly. Stanford and University of Washington collect audience information at their major concert halls, but that information is not uploaded into the universities’ fundraising databases. For that reason, University of Washington tries to capture audience data by conducting audience surveys at shows and incentivizing participation with entry into a drawing for a free year of concerts.

Membership

Of the ten schools I communicated with, five have membership programs in place and five do not. The schools with membership or giving societies are Stanford, University of Arizona, USC, University of Utah, and Washington State University. Many development officers indicated that their membership programs were helpful for growing their pipeline and allowing donors to get more involved in the school at a relatively low entry point. The minimum annual donation for entry into these membership societies ranges from $250 to $2500. Member benefits include CDs of concerts, recognition in programs, priority seating, and invitations to special events. For example, USC Dean’s Circle members are invited to an annual private dinner and the annual Thornton School of Music tailgate party.

Faculty

The general consensus on faculty involvement in fundraising was that some faculty members have natural instincts when it comes to interacting with donors, while others do not. Development officers expressed varied levels of involvement by their deans,

depending on those individuals’ comfort level with fundraising. Multiple development officers, including A. Phoenix Delgado at USC and Bob Darrah at University of Oregon, mentioned strong relationships between their dean and school donors.

Faculty members perform a number of functions in relation to their school’s fundraising efforts. Faculty members at University of Arizona and at University of Utah are invited to attend receptions and interact with donors and prospective donors following

performances. Washington State University music faculty are asked to write thank-you notes to donors and the jazz faculty promotes the school at their out-of-town

performances. At University of Oregon, music faculty will accompany the development officer on visits to donors interested in a particular program or emphasis area.

Heidi Makowski at University of Utah has created a faculty scholarship fund in order to teach students the value of philanthropy via faculty example. The development office asks faculty to contribute $5 a paycheck to go toward an annual scholarship. Heidi indicated that while not all faculty members participate, she is convinced that the faculty giving will help create a culture of philanthropy at the school.

While many development officers will recruit faculty to work with them from time to time, faculty involvement in fundraising is frequently inconsistent. Josh Hesslein at UC Berkeley articulated a common issue: development officers frequently are unaware of faculty’s relationships with alumni, and therefore cannot act upon those relationships. Students

While student philanthropy is usually outside of the scope of major gift officers, a couple of development officers spoke of initiatives to increase student awareness of giving. University of Utah’s faculty scholarship is one example of this. Another example is senior class gifts. Josh Hesslein is currently working with a student group at UC

Berkeley’s music school to start a class gift program. Since UC Berkeley’s music school doesn’t have a board, Josh hopes that an individual donor will express interest in