WHAT WE LEARNED THIS CONFERENCE SEASON—

AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR ARTS FUNDRAISERS

Five Themes Shaping Arts Fundraising—and Three Fundamentals That Can Help Organizations Move Forward

By Catherine Heitz New

This summer, RSC traveled from Baltimore to Bozeman and many places in between, spending time with arts leaders at conferences and gatherings, and having plenty of conversations over coffee. We went to share our best practices and advice, but conference season is also one of our best opportunities to listen.

And this year, something felt different.

The challenges haven’t disappeared. Arts organizations are still navigating leadership transitions, shifting consumer preferences, financial pressures, evolving communities, and considerable uncertainty. But the tone of the questions has changed. Instead of asking, “What’s going to happen to us?” more leaders are asking, “Given today’s environment and my situation, what’s the right next step?”

That’s an encouraging shift—and one that says a lot about where arts fundraising is heading.

Five Themes We Heard Everywhere

What did we learn by attending these various conferences? In short, we learned that the conversations, celebrations, and concerns across these different communities and diverse arts organizations are remarkably similar.

1. Navigating change has become the normal course of business.

Executive transitions. Music director searches. New strategic plans. Evolving consumer and revenue models. Amongst all this change, the strongest leaders aren’t waiting for things to settle before engaging donors. They’re communicating early and often, inviting donors to join the journey.

Transparency builds confidence, and confidence inspires philanthropy.

2. We need better Board engagement—not less of it.

We heard organizations questioning whether development committees and other volunteer fundraising structures are worth the effort. I’ll put my stake in the ground: reducing Board involvement is not the answer.

The answer is greater clarity and more meaningful engagement. With one RSC client, we defined the development committee’s role simply: advance relationships through action, not ideas. Each member took responsibility for advancing just three relationships. Within months, those relationships were progressing in meaningful, valuable ways.

3. The Annual Fund is back where it belongs.

One of the most encouraging shifts was a renewed focus on sustainable fundraising—especially the Annual Fund.

The Annual Fund isn’t simply this year’s contributed revenue. It’s where organizations get donors, keep donors, and help them deepen their investment over time. It creates cash today while building tomorrow’s donor pipeline.

Major donors rarely start out as major donors. They grow with us. They experience our artistry, build trust, and increase their investment over time. The Annual Fund is where many of those relationships begin, making it the centerpiece of any sustainable performing arts organization.

4. Sometimes sustainable growth needs a bridge.

Many arts organizations are doing the right things to build recurring revenue. The problem is that those strategies take time, while expenses keep rising.

That’s why we’re hearing more discussion about focused major gift efforts and bridge campaigns. Used well, bridge funding can provide the runway needed for sustainable fundraising strategies to mature. But it must be accompanied by a plan.

Bridge funding should create both cash and confidence.

5. Planned giving is a conversation for today.

The Great Wealth Transfer isn’t something coming someday. It’s here.

Arts organizations are recognizing that donor-advised funds, beneficiary designations, and estate gifts shouldn’t be reserved for later conversations. Strong organizations are introducing planned giving as another natural way for donors to invest in their organization’s future.

Don’t Chase Five Different Solutions

Five themes can quickly become five new initiatives—and nobody needs five more things added to the list.

Instead, focus on three fundamentals that address nearly all of them.

Engage your Board. Board members should do what only Board members can do. Staff manage the work; Board members can build peer-to-peer relationships, open doors, advocate, tell your story, and say two powerful words that staff simply cannot: “Join me.”

Have a plan. Strong fundraising programs know who they’re talking to, when they’re reaching out, and how. Every campaign has a calendar. Every major prospect has a strategy. Every dollar has a name, and every name has a plan. The fundamentals aren’t flashy, but they work.

Build systems rather than chasing windfalls. Sustainable fundraising isn’t about finding the next campaign, grant, or major gift. It’s about building repeatable systems: an Annual Fund that consistently acquires, retains, and upgrades donors; planned giving that initiates legacy conversations early; and major gift strategies that strengthen, rather than replace, long-term fundraising.

Fundamentals Still Win

Perhaps the most encouraging thing we heard this summer was greater clarity and confidence from arts leaders.

Fundraising hasn’t become easier. But organizations seem less interested in finding the next silver bullet and more interested in building strong, repeatable fundraising systems.

That matters because, while environments change, fundraising fundamentals don’t.

If your arts organization is navigating change, strengthening its Annual Fund, engaging its Board, or working toward a more sustainable fundraising model, schedule a complimentary 30-minute Zoom conversation with Catherine Heitz New, CEO of RSC Associates. Together, we can talk through what you’re facing and identify practical next steps.