ASC Kicks Off 2012 Make Your Mark Campaign

Last Tuesday, the Arts & Science Council kicked off the 2012 Make Your Mark fundraising campaign by announcing an $8.7 million goal. The goal represents a five percent increase over last year’s campaign.

Dollars from the campaign allow ASC to invest in arts, science and history organizations, education programs and community projects.

Campaign Chair Bob James announcing the $8.7 million goal

“Diversifying ASC’s revenue portfolio is a key strategy in how we can continue to support the cultural sector,” said ASC President Scott Provancher.  “The Make Your Mark campaign and over 25,000 individuals and 400 companies that participate in it remain a critical piece of our revenue model.  We have also diversified ways the community can support ASC through power2give.org and the restricted fund for education programs.”

Bob James, vice chairman of Fifth Third Bank’s North Carolina board of directors, is leading the community-wide fundraising campaign.

This year’s campaign will run through the end of ASC’s fiscal year, June 30. The final tally of the campaign will be announced at the annual Impact and Investment Lunch in July.

ASC also used the occasion to kick off a murder mystery, called The Lady of Charlotte.  The story, supported by the John

Kicking off the Lady of Charlotte Mystery Story with ASC staffer Alex Aguilar and ASC President Scott Provancher

S. and James L. Knight Foundation, follows the investigation of a murder at the Mint Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts.  Individuals can read the story page-by-page at kiosks in Center City Charlotte and guess the suspects on ASC’s Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/ASCCharlotte. Those who guess the correct villain will be entered in a contest to win a 1 year membership to the Mint Museum and a $100 CarolinaTix Gift card. The mystery’s author and the story’s villain will be revealed at a public event on Feb. 14.

To find out more information about the story, click here.

To make a gift to the Arts & Science Council, visit Giving.ArtsAndScience.org.

Excited to Kick Off The Make Your Mark Campaign!

By Julie Conigliaro, Senior Development Officer

Tuesday, January 31^st, marks the kick off of ASC’s Make Your Mark campaign, our yearly effort to raise funds for arts, science, history and heritage organizations and programs across Charlotte-Mecklenburg. This campaign year is special to me as it marks my fifth campaign with ASC, which is both exciting and unbelievable to me.

When I started in 2007, we were on the brink of raising $11.8MM in the Annual Fund Drive, which would be the most money we’ve ever raised. I was wide-eyed watching the Development department, like cogs in the AFD machine, manage successful workplace campaign after successful workplace campaign, and one major corporate gift after another. I had just come from working on capital campaign in Washington, DC, and was never exposed to a funding model like ASC and the Annual Fund Drive. It was amazing.

Years that followed proved more challenging. The business climate changed completely; tough years of 2009 and 2010 would shape the years to come.

This is why, in 2012, we will ask the community to “Make Your Mark” on Charlotte with a gift to ASC. Times certainly have changed since I first came on board to this organization but I am confident that the level of commitment from the community will remain as steadfast as it was in 2008. While individually we may not think our involvement will make an impact, but when we all make our mark together, we can see big things and make 2012 a banner year for Charlotte.

Please join ASC on January 31^st at the Mint Museum at the Levine Center for the Arts to celebrate the kick off of the 2012 Annual Fund Drive. The event will start at 5:30PM. 

The Many Ways Charlotte Businesses Can Get Involved

Development Wednesday

By Julie Conigliaro, Senior Development Officer

As ASC expands its reach in the community through initiatives like cultural education and power2give.org, businesses across the community have so many more opportunities to get involved.

Cultural Education Fund

We received an overwhelming response last year from businesses and corporations that gave to ASC’s Cultural Education Fund. We raised more than $1MM – that money is currently being invested in CMS to bring cultural field trips back to students and provide professional development opportunities for teachers, among other things.

As we continue our quest to raise dollars for the Cultural Education Fund this year, we will allow more companies the opportunity to give directly to this fund which will further expand the quality cultural experiences to CMS students and teachers. Talk about impact!

power2give

power2give.org is ASC’s newest and most innovative way companies across our region can get involved. The website allows anyone to donate to a specific arts, science, history or heritage project. But how can businesses become involved? Here’s one way: ASC allows companies to give matching grants that will double any gift made on the site.

The other way is through purchasing gift cards and giving them to employees for recognition. Sometimes, a $50 gift card to a restaurant can get a little monotonous. Why not encourage philanthropy during the giving season? It’s also a great gift idea for clients. I know I’d much rather receive a gift card to put toward something meaningful than one of those big tins of 3 different types of popcorn.

Annual Fund Drive

The Annual Fund Drive still remains the largest vehicle through which corporations give to ASC. When leaders pair their corporate gift with a workplace giving campaign, it is most impactful and sends a message that the company truly cares about the community it calls home.

As the community becomes more sophisticated in its philanthropy, it is ASC’s responsibility to adjust and offer innovative and meaningful ways businesses across our region can truly make their mark on Charlotte, and I’m proud to be part of an organization that is open to moving with the changing tides.

Wells Fargo Makes Its Mark

Development Wednesday

By Julie Conigliaro, Senior Development Officer

This week Wells Fargo focuses its month-long Community Support Campaign on the great impact that the Arts & Science Council has on our community. Within the walls of Wells Fargo offices across our region, team members are learning that by giving to ASC they can help make Charlotte a better place to live, work and raise a family.

I stood at an ASC table in the Wells Fargo Atrium yesterday afternoon with local fiddler/guitarist/drummer extraordinaire Bob Ennis to talk to employees about ASC – it didn’t hurt that I was offering a chance to win free tickets to see a Broadway Lights show at the Blumenthal.

I was so pleased at the response of Wells Fargo employees to our information table and of course to Bob the fiddler as his whimsical songs bounced throughout the vaulted ceilings of the Atrium. Some people stopped to watch him, some clapped as they passed, many craned their necks as they went up the escalator to the second floor.

For a variety of reasons, my 90 minutes with Bob the fiddler was well spent and I feel confident knowing that those people who were affected went back to their computers and made their appreciation known by supporting our community through a gift to ASC. And for that we are so grateful.

If you are under 40-years-old and a Wells Fargo employee, please join us tonight from 5:30-7:30PM at The Mint Museum for Wells Fargo’s Young Donor Event to learn more about becoming involved! 

The Art of Storytelling

I love a good story, as most people do.  That’s what makes being a fundraiser so great.  I get to tell stories as part of my job. 

My “first” career was that of an actor.  I loved being onstage and changing people’s lives after they left the theatre – after hearing a good story.  When 9/11 came, I decided to take a turn in my career path.  I knew I wanted to stay in the arts, but what could I do that would be as fulfilling as a performing career?  What could I do for a living that would make a difference in the lives of others? 

I started to research arts administration and began working as a fundraiser.  The more I worked and learned about this type of work, the more it became like acting or being a storyteller.  Through grant writing, I could put my story on paper.  But, it was when I started working directly with individuals and corporations that the fun really started.  I began speaking to individual, corporate executives and various service groups about the organizations I worked for – not only telling folks about the organization, its mission, and the importance of its presence in the community, but I was then able to tell a story.  A story about someone involved with the organization that had been transformed for the better thanks to programs provided by that group, or I had the opportunity to give a personal testimonial about my own my experiences in the arts. 

There’s power in a good story.  Long after the specific facts from your organization have slipped from the individual’s mind, your story will linger, and they will share it with others. 

A story should always convey the emotional soul of the work of your organization powerfully every time that story is told.  It may be a true story about one particular person or group or it may be a combination of several stories of real people whose lives have been changed by your organization.

Your story should move you every time you tell it.  And if it does, it will move those listening and inspire them to invest in your organization.

Chase Law is Senior Development Officer at the Arts & Science Council, and Storyteller-in-Chief.

It’s All About The Donors

Development Wednesday

By Amy Tribble, Vice President of Resource Development

Over the past 51 days, since joining the staff of ASC as VP of Resource Development, I’ve been reminded again and again of what I believe is the key to success in a fund development program. It’s a belief that I recently shared with a young woman who was writing a paper for a class at UNC- Charlotte. She asked me, “What three things are essential to a successful fundraising program?” My response may surprise you. I told her that success in fundraising comes down to one essential fact – it’s all about the donor. Pure and simple. If you are willing to listen to and learn from your donors you will be successful.

My belief that it’s all about the donor is related to my belief in a model that is based on abundance rather than scarcity. Because I know there is enough to go around I do not feel competitive when it comes to donors. And, if it’s all about the donor subsequently my role is to align the donor’s interests with the donor’s passions – even if that means pointing them in the direction of an agency other than my own. While this is my ethical obligation as a fundraiser, for me it goes much deeper – it’s my calling, my passion. It makes this work fulfilling.

Over the next several months, ASC will use survey tools, focus groups, phone calls and visits to learn more about the people who make our mission possible. We plan to use this information to build a donor-focused program. Our hope – a program built with direct input from the donors themselves to address their needs. Our goal – donors who know that they matter as much as their gifts and understand the important role they play in shaping a vibrant cultural life for all.

Wrapping up a Whirlwind Campaign Year

Development Wednesday

By Catherine Miller, Development Officer

Tomorrow evening, at the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, ASC invites all supporters and friends to gather to learn the outcome of the 2011 Annual Fund Drive. This finale celebration marks the end to a whirlwind campaign year that began on January 19, with a goal to raise $8.3 million.

Each year we ask the community to come together to raise funds, that through ASC distributed grants, benefit more than 100 cultural institutions and programs throughout Charlotte-Mecklenburg. And, each year we are amazed to see the outpouring of support we receive from the community. It is apparent that a vibrant arts and cultural sector is important to those who live and work here.

To me, this is what makes Charlotte a special place to be. Residents take pride in their community and invest in organizations like ASC to ensure that Charlotte is a world class city. Did you know that 87% of all donations to ASC’s Annual Fund Drive are less than $250? Talk about strength in numbers!

Each and every gift that comes to ASC goes such a long way to support the health of the cultural sector, and ensures that the entire community has access to all this sector has to offer. Because your support is so integral to the success of the campaign, I hope you will join us tomorrow evening to celebrate its close. Details are below. We hope to see you there and THANK YOU so much for your support!

 

2011 Annual Fund Drive: Campaign Close Celebration

Bechtler Museum of Modern Art Lobby

March 31, 2011

5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Click Here to RSVP

What Do A Chili Cook-Off and ASC Have In Common?

CCI Wednesday

By Emily Hunter, Workplace Campaign Associate

OK, so let me preface this first by stating that I’m a foodie.  I love food so much I want to marry it.  Buffets are my best friend.  So when the Town of Mint Hill invited me to speak at their chili cook-off to raise money for the Arts & Science Council (ASC) workplace campaign, my first thought was: “Bring it.”

I arrived at the Mint Hill Town Hall to a line wrapped around the front of the building and more than 20 different chilis all simmering in crock pots waiting to be eaten.  $5 bought you a bowl to refill as often as you wanted, and all the money went directly to ASC.  What could be better?

The Mint Hill Chili Cook-off is an annual event, and people flock from all over the area to compete and enjoy the concoctions.  There was every type you could imagine.  White bean chili, five meat chili, Italian chili, and chili so hot it came with a warning.  I fell in love with “Bambi’s Revenge”.  Deer meat (and don’t you dare say eww) with plenty of spice.  But it wasn’t just about the chili, it was about the community.

Robin Edwards, the coordinator of Mint Hill’s ASC campaign, put together a celebration of arts and culture in the Town of Mint Hill.  I was fortunate to hear the Queens Grant Community School’s Band and Choir perform. Mint Hill’s famous Dwight Moody and Lee Jones played blue grass and told stories from their days on the road.  I sat with locals as they regaled tales of award winning biscuit recipes that span 100 years, and I talked with a woman who volunteered for the ASC fund drive phone banks back in the late 70’s.  It reminded me of my childhood growing up in my small town, and it was perfect.

Honorary chili judge Janet Malkemes, of CPCC’s Levine Campus, declared Ken Snyder the winner with his “Old San Antonio Chili” (classic chili with sour cream, chives, onions, and cornbread on the side).

Eventually things wrapped up, people headed back to their homes and workplaces.  The foodie in me wanted to stay longer and gorge on seconds (and thirds), the small town gal wanted to hear more stories, but in the end it wasn’t a bad Tuesday at work.   And if anyone knows of any other chili cook-offs going on in the area… help a girl out!

We showed you ours! What Does Your Top 10 List Look Like?

Development Wednesday

By Chavon Carroll, Donor Marketing Manager

As we enter the final 22 days of our Annual Fund Drive, I can’t help but thank all of our amazing donors who support arts and culture in this community through their generosity.

Our lifeblood. Our champions. Our donors.

There must be a ton of reasons they support us, but as a donor and advocate in my own right, I wanted to put together my own Top 10 List of reasons to support ASC. Check out the Flickr stream here

With economic impact provided by arts and culture topping $158 million annually; arts, science and history education programs in our schools helping build the next generation of leaders; and the way our arts and cultural organizations make our community a better place to live, work and visit, I’ve captured some of my favorite reasons to support ASC.

I must be missing a few, though.

Because the most important reason to support ASC is whatever your own personal reason is.

Without your support, we couldn’t make any of the amazing impact possible. This fund drive is not about us, but about how amazing our nearly 30,000 donors (and counting) are that make all of it possible

Feel free to comment on why YOU support ASC below. We’d love to hear your reasons!

P.S. If you haven’t had the chance to support ASC yet with a gift this year, why not do so today with a gift and pass it along to your friends to do the same?

Mardi Gras and ASC Take Over Transamerica

Development Wednesday

By Kate Newton, Workplace Campaign Associate

Workplace campaign kick offs for our ASC Annual Fund Drive come in all shapes and sizes and as a development officer, sometimes you think you’ve seen it all.  Every company has their own way of rallying employees in support of our campaign, but nothing could have prepared me for how unique my experience would be on Monday at Transamerica Reinsurance.

ASC President Scott Provancher and I arrived at the Transamerica building promptly at 2 p.m. to find that Mardi Gras had come to Charlotte this year.  With glittery masks and beads, live artists and a sea of green, purple and gold decorations, we were transported straight to Bourbon Street.  The scent of King Cake and smoky New Orleans coffee filled the room as the Cajun Queen herself, Ms. Nancine Bowman, fluttered about seeing to it that everything was in line.

With a calendar full of events laid out for the next two weeks, Transamerica sets the bar high for workplace kick offs.  Their sense of creativity and enthusiasm is certainly contagious and Scott and I reluctantly left the building that day with renewed energy and purpose. Whether a campaign is large or small, enthusiasm is key, and Transamerica proved they have it in spades.