Featured Clients
The Vera Project
A series of strategic plans over a decade taking the organization from inception to leader in all-ages music and art in Seattle and the nation.
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The Vera Project, Seattle
AdvisArts worked with the founders of the Vera Project to develop a strategic plan following a successful inaugural year of providing all-ages popular music programs in partnership with youth in 2001. The planning brought new focus and direction to the initial energies and enthusiasms of committed community and music activists and resulted in The Vera Project Strategic Plan 2002-2006. This led to the development of A Business Plan for the Vera Project by AdvisArts that examined operational scenarios and opportunities for partnership with private and public funders. The Business Plan also included an audit of the organization’s fundraising and communications. The depths of the planning garnered significant support for the Vera Project as the organization developed new ways to serve urban youth through popular music and arts programs, and solidified Vera’s role as a national leader in this emerging field.
The Vera Project moved to its first long-term full-time venue at Seattle Center in 2007. AdvisArts worked with the organization’s leadership to develop a Bridge Plan during that transition, and in 2008 provided Vera with consulting services to support and facilitate The Vera Project Five Year Strategic Plan: 2008-2013 to guide Vera’s programming and organizational direction. The development of the plan involved staff, board and youth membership as well as extensive community participation. Evaluation of the first six years of Vera laid the groundwork for identifying challenges and opportunities in the Seattle Center venue. The process reflected constituent, stakeholder and outside community perspective on Vera’s value, programming, direction and mission and underscores Vera’s approach to creating a transformative, engaged community with youth at its center.
City of Eugene, Oregon
A cultural plan and review of cultural policies setting the stage for invigorated public private collaboration.
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City of Eugene, Oregon
The City Council of Eugene, Oregon initiated a Cultural Policy Review (CPR) process in 2006 to inform the future of the arts and cultural sector and define the role of the City’s Department of Library, Recreation and Cultural Services. Eugene is home to a rich variety of noted cultural offerings as well as the site of the University of Oregon, and the city has a strong identity related to both the arts and outdoor recreation. Claudia Bach, AdvisArts Principal, worked with WolfBrown on this year-long community cultural planning process that involved nearly 3,000 Eugene residents through extensive interviews, focus groups, community dialogue sessions, and a cultural census survey, in addition to a facilities inventory and assessment. The results include a major report outlining five goals and sixteen strategies involving the public, the private sector, and city government; and an extensive technical volume. The plan was accepted by the Eugene City Council in July 2007 and implementation continues with significant activity around joint public private efforts to support the arts and culture in the community.
Centrum
A five-year strategic plan for an established arts organization linking its strong history with a shifting environment.
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Centrum, Port Townsend, WA
Nearing its 40th anniversary as a noted gathering place for intergenerational music festivals and workshops, Centrum was poised to look back as well as plan for an invigorated future. AdvisArts worked with board and staff to develop a five-year strategic plan that reflects the characteristic of this organization that offers a broad range of cultural programming in the extraordinary setting of Fort Worden State Park. The process included assessment of data and evaluations from many years of programs, a reexamination of mission, vision and core values, and the definition of strategic goals across the organization for the next five years. This formed the foundation for the development of two-year objectives for each of the goals, supported by tools for implementation. The planning process was designed to strengthen internal collaboration and communication, enhance clarity with external stakeholders, and provide a flexible roadmap for the organization’s next five years.
Wing Luke Museum
Planning for leadership succession and increased staffing in an expanded facility following a major capital campaign. learn more
Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience
The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience (WLM) opened a significantly expanded new facility in late spring 2008 in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District. This unique museum engages multiple Asian Pacific American communities and the larger public in exploring issues related to Asian Pacific Americans. In preparation for the transition to their new home, WLM undertook a planning process to identify the human resource needs of its more than four-fold increase in size, greatly expanded programming, and increased administrative and operational activities. AdvisArts Consulting worked with a WLM’s Expansion Staffing Planning Team in an intensive process involving the full staff and board, and supported by WLM’s grant as an Americans for the Arts Exemplar institution. The goal was to capture the important ideas, attitudes and characteristics that make WLM an “exemplar” and to provide the Museum with a sustainable staffing structure. An Expansion Staffing Plan set the stage for the Museum’s growing contribution to local, regional and national understanding and appreciation of the cultural, historic and creative contributions of Asian Pacific Americans. Additional Board retreat facilitation and executive coaching was coordinated with implementation phases.