Oklahoma City Philharmonic
Having successfully weathered the challenges of COVID-19 performance disruptions, OKC Philharmonic’s leadership believed it was an appropriate time to develop a new strategic plan to provide a clear, post-pandemic roadmap for the future programmatically, financially, and organizationally. Following a competitive consultant selection process, WolfBrown was engaged to facilitate a collaborative strategic planning process to build consensus and alignment among members of its board, musicians, and staff around a plan that will:
- Articulate an overall approach to program planning and a programmatic vision that transcends individual seasons, and that will attract both philanthropic and audience interest
- Clarify challenges and opportunities stemming from the external environment in which the orchestra operates
- Reexamine institutional identity
- Develop strategies for building on the success of education and community engagement programs
- Develop a multi-year financial plan to assure there are sufficient reliable, recurring earned and contributed resources to support the operating model, as well as adequate capitalization to ensure long-term sustainability
- Identify strategies to insure sufficient organizational capacity to implement strategic initiatives, including staff, board and volunteers
- Create a set of objectives against which progress towards plan goals can be measured
South Arts
South Arts’ Jazz Road program is an artist-centric touring and residency grants program to spread jazz throughout the country, strengthen work opportunities and compensation for jazz artists, and bolster deeper engagement between jazz musicians, presenters and communities.
WolfBrown was selected to conduct an evaluation of the Jazz Road program to inform future program refinements with data and analysis to improve outcomes, and to assess the program’s impact on funded artists’ careers and on the wider jazz ecology. The research will: (a) assess the program’s impact to inform the decision whether or not to continue the program beyond the pilot phase (and to secure funding for a possible continuation before the pilot expires); (b) inform incremental program adjustments (or, potentially, a larger redesign after the pilot phase is completed); and (c) present a concrete plan for managing data collection and analysis beyond the pilot stage of the program if the program is continued.
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
Responding to a set of specific needs in the museum field, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History is taking the lead in designing and piloting a new fellowship program that specifically prepares mid-career professionals in the museum sector to lead institutions whose work is grounded in the African American experience. WolfBrown is supporting the museum’s leadership, and a distinguished panel of advisors, in researching the landscape of current and past leadership training programs in order to guide thinking about program design.
A Far Cry
Boston’s inimitable chamber music ensemble, A Far Cry, reached out to WolfBrown on several occasions to assist with strategic planning and, most recently, to facilitate a process of reimagining the process through which the 17 musicians conceive and design their concerts. Through a series of facilitated meetings and brainstorming session in 2023 and 2024, a new approach to programming was defined and pilot tested, drawing on the concept of programming “frames” as an organizing principle. The work continues in 2024 and 2025, with the goal of installing a regular mechanism for gathering input on “frames” from current and potential audience members.
Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival
Located in the rolling hills of Lehigh Valley just south of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival (PSF) produces an annual summertime season of plays and musicals at a multi-venue theatrical facility on the campus of DeSales University. PSF engaged WolfBrown in the summer of 2024 to assess attitudes about the Festival amongst loyal patrons, lapsed buyers, newcomers, and nonusers, drawing on a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods. Findings from the research will inform Festival leadership as they consider strategic alternatives for rebuilding the audience post-pandemic.
Cabarrus Arts Council
The Cabarrus Arts Council, serving a largely rural county outside Charlotte, NC, is taking bold steps to enrich its community’s cultural landscape. Building on their 2022 strategic priority to expand and diversify programming, the Council has engaged WolfBrown to explore new opportunities in Concord, Mount Pleasant, and Kannapolis. Under the direction of Surale Phillips, Principal, the work includes a county-wide survey and host community conversations, aiming to uncover how both historic and newly renovated venues can best serve local arts entertainment needs. This initiative reflects the Council’s commitment to community dialogue and its mission to weave the arts into the fabric of Cabarrus County life, promising a more vibrant and inclusive cultural future for all residents.
Communications and Media Use Survey 2024 Cohorts
Through our Audience Outlook Monitor program, WolfBrown has launched the second cohort for the Communications and Media Use Survey, which allows organizations to forecast where communications spend has the highest probability for measurable results, based on the specific ways their unique audience interacts with local, regional, and national media landscapes. We’re excited to announce the following arts and cultural organizations from across the U.S. will participate in the survey cohorts.
The following organizations have opted into the 2024 Communications and Media Use Survey Open Cohort:
- African-American Shakespeare Company
- Jazz at Lincoln Center
- Memphis Symphony Orchestra
- St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
- The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts
- Wilma Theater
The following organizations are supported by the Flinn Foundation to participate in the Communications and Media Use Survey Cohort:
- Arizona Theatre Company
- Ballet Arizona
- Children’s Museum of Phoenix
- Desert Botanical Garden
- Mesa Arts Center
- Museum of Northern Arizona
- Phoenix Symphony
- Scottsdale Arts
- Tucson Symphony Orchestra