Fundraising for our community theaters
and performance groups
This meeting is going to be fun!
30-person cap so sign up / Also come prepared to share a fundraising event you've held
Monday, October 21 from 7-9 PM
location: Gallery Theater
129 Main Street, West Chicago, IL 60185
map
Fundraising ideas
Joseph Leonard,
Chef & Wine Guy |
We'll kick the night off experiencing first hand how we can raise some funds while also creating an amazing arts-going experience for our patrons. Yes, there will be food and wine! I will also provide non-alcoholic beverages.
Joseph Leonard is a popular caterer in the Chicagoland area having catered for TV shows like "Empire" and for corporations like Here Technologies. As an experienced restaurateur and vintner, Joseph is now combining his love of food, wine, catering, and theater to help organizations like ours create show-related, customized experiences that also raise money for our organizations. Along with a pre-show wine and food pairing experience, you can offer all patrons the option to purchase wines by the bottle or case with a label personalized to your show or organization. How fun is that?! Joseph will walk us through the experience and detail the logistics of this experience including cost, your profits, licensing, his insurance, and costs your village or town may require. Joseph will be happy (after the meeting, I have a schedule to keep) to discuss your specific situation with venue, village, and options. Side note: While I have made my friend Joey (Joseph) sound very fancy, I have know him for about 10 years and he is one of the funnest, real life living, most approachable people I know. My point being, he has fleshed this program out to make it work for almost everyone. He is an amazing showman who makes these events (including our meeting) easy-going, fun, and something patrons will walk away from raving about. Personally, I can't wait for you all to meet him! Your Part - Come Prepared! After this portion we will hear from all of you with fundraising events you've used and the success of these. I've seen cabarets, murder mystery dinners, go-fund-me campaigns, community engagement events...share with us what worked for you! Show me the money! A big thank you to Gallery Theater for hosting us! |
Meeting Agenda
- 7 - 8 - Taste some wine paired with food, hear from Joseph and let your brain start feeling inspired!
- 8 - 8:45 - Each group will share a short story about a fund-raising campaign they've done and it's success.
- 8:45 -9 - Gallery Theater will give us some history, talk about creating amazing theater in their small space, and give us the (literally, I'm told) 2-minute tour
- I doubt there will be any time buffer in this meeting. We will officially end at 9.
Reach out to Amy Bamberger if you plan to attend or have any questions or complete the form here
Additional Resources
In the past, I have referenced The Wallace Foundation whose mission is to foster improvements in learning and enrichment for disadvantaged children and the vitality of the arts for everyone. They provide articles, reports, case studies, and guides on many subjects including audience building. Below are a few that I found particularly relevant to us.
A quote from the Audience Building report " A widespread theme in the literature is that audiences
do not attend solely, or even primarily, for the art presented, but for an arts experience, and that arts organizations are not currently responsive to this desire. Answers vary, however, as to what experiences audiences seek and how organizations could provide these. Among the strategies proposed are providing opportunities for more active audience engagement; performing in nontraditional venues; creating a more welcoming, social, and/or informal environment; making increased use of technology and digital media; and better understanding audiences through market research."
I hope you find the reports below useful in your endeavor to build your audience and create an exceptional audience going experience for your patrons.
A quote from the Audience Building report " A widespread theme in the literature is that audiences
do not attend solely, or even primarily, for the art presented, but for an arts experience, and that arts organizations are not currently responsive to this desire. Answers vary, however, as to what experiences audiences seek and how organizations could provide these. Among the strategies proposed are providing opportunities for more active audience engagement; performing in nontraditional venues; creating a more welcoming, social, and/or informal environment; making increased use of technology and digital media; and better understanding audiences through market research."
I hope you find the reports below useful in your endeavor to build your audience and create an exceptional audience going experience for your patrons.
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