That’s not the way to win me back!

Posted on July 15, 2019 by Shoshana

I received a direct mail from an organization I have had no contact with for three years. At that time, I was a supporter. I did not say take me off the list when I stopped supporting the organization, and I still get some mail from them from time to time. This year, I received a direct mail with a…

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Branding is you!

Posted on June 10, 2019 by Shoshana

Some of my recent roster of clients were right on target when it comes to branding. I did not have to do a thing in regard to their images and messages. All I could say is, “Keep up the good work!” Let me show you some examples! Gustav Hoyer, Composer and Impresario, did a great deal of work on his…

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Surrounding yourself with good people = great audience development!

Posted on June 3, 2019 by Shoshana

I finally can share something that I was personally a part of. I am one of seven main people on the Development Committee for the Longmont Performing Arts Initiative. Maybe you have heard through my posts on social media, we embarked on raising $75,000 in 75 days in order to fund half of the feasibility study (phase one) for a…

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Bandwidth for audience development

Posted on May 31, 2019 by Shoshana

After over 10 years of blog posts, I hope I am not repeating myself here. I have come across numerous examples of organizations and individual artists that try to take on too much in order to gain a bigger audience. What normally tends to happen is they become spread too thin (in all aspects of their resources) attempting to tend…

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ADS Podcast: “Toying with Twitter” with Erica Sipes

Posted on May 10, 2019 by Shoshana

I had the pleasure of speaking with Erica Sipes, a pianist, practice coach, avid Twitter user, the mastermind behind the blog Beyond the Notes, and a Toy Lady. A Toy Lady? Yes, Erica is also a manager at the Imagination Station in Roanoke, VA. On this episode we speak with Erica about her use of Twitter and her very own…

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Inclusion within

Posted on April 17, 2019 by Shoshana

Wonderful Wednesday to you! I had a quick thought to share today. You may have staff or people in place that are real go-getters. They of course are already in the mix and in the flow of what to do and how to handle a situation. However, there may be another staff person or perhaps a volunteer that wants to…

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ADS Podcast: How to work with the media for arts coverage with guest Peter Alexander

Posted on April 5, 2019 by Shoshana

Peter Alexander holds a Ph.D. in musicology and is the classical music critic and reporter at Boulder Weekly and his own blog sharpsandflatirons.com. He stopped by the ADS Podcast to talk about how we can do a better job of working with the media. What do they require from us? How can we make it easier for them to write…

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What’s in it for me?

Posted on March 29, 2019 by Shoshana

This will be a quick post, at least I think it will. Lately I have been bothered by the “what’s in it for me” mentality. People aren’t collaborating as much as taking what they can and not giving back, or should I say it, in some cases, stealing ideas from other people instead of working with them. Where does all…

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It’s about connecting

Posted on March 13, 2019 by Shoshana

I saw this article this morning: Utah Opera helps visually impaired patrons feel the costumes, props and words of ‘The Magic . It made me happy to know that this program and programs like this one exist. Connecting people to the art in ways they can participate is truly what audience development is about. It’s not about selling a ticket,…

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Venn Diagrams for audience development

Posted on March 6, 2019 by Shoshana

Since I felt like having a little fun today… This is a reminder to keep your audiences in mind at all times and to find the sweet spot. Happy and loyal audiences happen when you not only pay attention to your audiences at every step of the way, but when you combine it with your ambitions too. Everyone wins, or…

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Colorado Music Festival

“Shoshana Fanizza proved invaluable to the Colorado Music Festival during her tenure as Interim Development Director. She’s a quick learner, extremely organized, and understands the importance of donor cultivation and communication. Shoshana helped us meet our development goals for 2008, and helped guide our board to a new level of engagement in fundraising.” —Catherine Underhill, Executive Director

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