Testimonials
What clients say about working with us!
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This fundraising workshop was incredibly valuable. It offered insightful one-on-one and group sessions that helped clarify my goals and equipped me with effective tools to plan out the year for my organization. With boundless gratitude!
– Kelly Johnson
Executive Director, Arts & Business Alliance of Eugene
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Wanted to express our gratitude for this opportunity. Your guidance has given us so much positive insight and direction. We appreciate all you do to keep your organization thriving to help support fellow artists, and theater companies as ours. Thank you.
– Alba Albanese
Actor & Producer, Actors Theater
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Sarah knows how to breakdown the ins and outs of the grant systems. She gives you endless amounts of resources and tools to ensure you know which grants you are eligible for and how to make a good application! I highly recommend her workshops and working with her!
– Rachel Berger
Executive Director, The Artist Co-op
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This was truly the first time we have entered into a session or ‘coaching’ about grant writing where those leading had the experience and expertise we needed to further our game. All direction was specific and actionable. The agenda and journey we made over the course of the month made total sense and allowed us enough time with our busy summer programming to then complete the homework assignments in the way we wanted as well.
– Christina Perry
Director of Development, Chain Theatre
BA SESSIONS FAQ
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Can I register for more than one Session?
Yes! We encourage participants to consider registering to more than one Session only if that is sustainable for them and their workload.
Is there an order you recommend to attend BA Sessions?
We particularly suggest groups take Boilerplate Writing and Operations Planning Sessions first, as they complement one another. The Boilerplate Writing Session prepares participants to dig in deeper into the specifics of their work while Operations Planning provides long-term strategy and goal-setting. With those two Sessions completed, Fundraising Planning Sessions can really take off.
Can I bring more than one person from my organization to the Sessions?
Yes - we strongly recommend two people (staff or board members) per organization to bring fresh ideas together to maximize the outcomes of your Session.
Do I need a Gmail account to participate in these Sessions?
No - anyone with any email account can use the Google Suite tools. We use Google Workspace as we have determined that it is one of the more affordable, user friendly set of systems to use for our arts management work. This contributes to our ability to offer high-quality services at low costs for small and mighty individual artists, artist collectives, and arts organizations.
What payment methods do you provide?
We accept payments via the Registration Form, with Paypal or Debit and Credit Cards.
Will I have access to the documents we worked on during the Sessions after the ending meeting?
Absolutely! At the end of every meeting part of the Sessions, you will receive a meeting transcript and video recordings, as well as downloadable documents that you will work on with our guidance. You can read more about what documents will be created in your Session on our website and in your registration form. You can read more about what documents will be created in your Session on our website and in your registration form.
Further Questions
If you have any further questions, please contact sessions@benvenutiarts.com, ideally before the beginning of your Session.
Sarah on Working with IndieSpace
As noted in this month’s blog, Indie Theater Fund – now IndieSpace – was one of our very first clients. I feel so lucky to have been a part of their journey over the years, and to learn so much from Randi Berry. Randi has taken on a bit of a mythical status on our team as someone with incredible vision and dedication who is also a joy to work with. Seeing the incredible good IndieSpace has done, especially since COVID as they facilitated the Cultural Solidarity Fund amongst their other programs, I can say without a doubt that they are one of the most exciting, responsive, and innovative cultural organizations in the USA today. Check them out at www.indiespace.org!
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I’ve truly appreciated how adaptable and proactive you’ve been throughout our partnership. And now, as we dive fully into our 60th-anniversary campaign, I’m excited to see what we’ll accomplish together in this next phase.
– Erika Atkins
Executive Director, Bloomingdale School of Music
Sarah on Working with Bloomingdale School of Music
Bloomingdale has been led by two incredible Erika’s in the 10 years we’ve worked together. Working with Erika Floreska – now the President of Long Island Children’s Museum – we helped build out their annual fundraising events and support their expanding development department. Erika Atkins took over in 2020 during an impossible time and navigated the organization through expanding to remote teaching, renovations of their longtime home on the Upper West Side, and a continued expansion of programming both in their townhome and across other neighborhoods and schools around the city. We’ve gotten to play many roles over the years – event coordinator, interim development manager, and now, grant writers and strategists – and I couldn’t be more grateful to have gotten to work with such an incredible, historic organization in partnership with these two, brilliant women. Check them out at their website here!
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What can I say about Sarah and Benvenuti Arts – other than that they saved David Dorfman Dance!!! Just about every dance company or not for profit, for that matter, has its low moment(s). Ours came a few years after we had, thankfully, started working with Sarah – and at that time, just Sarah. We had overspent and under saved, etc. etc. Sarah put us on a spending diet, and enriched us with incredibly innovative development work – and changed our course, and for these last number of years, we have had the benefit of the lovely organization that she has built. We are now healthier than ever and having a renaissance, both artistically and financially – what a difference a decade with BA makes! Thanks and congrats Sarah et al.”
– David Dorfman Dance
Executive Director, David Dorfman Dance
Sarah on Working with David Dorfman Dance
David Dorfman has been a leader in dance since the late 80’s. When I first moved to NYC, I had interviewed with him for a job but ended up taking another position. But meeting him and his dancers was such a beautiful experience that, when I started BA, he was one of the first people I reached out to. It turned out that I reached out just when his organization was most in need of some help. In a tough financial situation, they were a few years out from their 30th anniversary season and not sure how to financially make it there. I partnered with them to make some tough financial decisions, while also reinvesting in the incredible wealth of relationships that David held. I’m so proud of the work we did together during those challenging years. When their 30th anniversary finally came around, not only were we out of debt, but we were able to raise $30,000 from individuals to celebrate that season- far more than they had raised from donors in years! One of the most thrilling days of my consulting career was when I got to hand off the company to their phenomenal Managing Director, who has worked with David to ensure that the impact of his work continues to be felt for years to come. I’m so grateful and honored that David trusted me with his company, and still allows us to work with them to this day. Check them out at their website here!
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Sarah and Benvenuti Arts team definitely helped us build relationships with funders, continuity in grants management, building the backend of our development activities, applications out to foundations. […] We were able to build a stronger relationship with the city council and with Sarah, we got so much work done for our organizational growth. […] Developing the language we needed was so helpful. This is something every organization needs, and doesn’t always have the capacity to. As a person who is a founder of own business, like many people in this industry, I know how much grit it takes, […] and I was so happy to work with Sarah.
– Amanda Selwyn
Executive Director, Amanda Selwyn Dance Theater, Notes in Motion
Sarah on Working with Amanda Selwyn
Before I even started Benvenuti Arts, I began working with Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre and Notes in Motion as a grant writer. I learned so much about how I wanted to work with groups from Amanda. Since we stopped our work together in 2018, they have continued to grow and inspire with their dance performance and education work. After 25 years of being an itinerant company, they have recently secured a permanent space for themselves – Congratulations to Amanda and everyone at Notes in Motion/Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre. Check them out at their website here!
