Sessions & Seminars
Registration for the fall 2026 workshops is closed.
Sign up for out monthly newsletter to be the first to know about the next rounds.
Past workshops
End-of-Year Campaign Planning Seminar
October 2026
Running out of steam to plan an end-of-year campaign? Let us help you set up a chaos-free campaign. You will develop a strategy for managing your donor lists and prospecting, complete a campaign publications calendar, and draft the launch language. We make sure you walk out with immediately useful assets.
Budgeting Seminar
Spring 2025
This training aimed to help arts organizations of various budget levels create a practical, versatile annual budget and learn how to use it in planning and organizational management. We know many smaller groups struggle with budgeting. Our CEO, Sarah Benvenuti, makes this process easier with our simple templates and clear advice on what a budget is and is not for your organization.
Operations Planning Sessions
Spring 2025
Unlike a strategic plan, operations planning helps you determine how to fulfill your strategic vision through achievable goals.
During this month-long, hands-on training, you will collaborate with our consultants to create a 3-year operations plan for your arts organization. Besides the plan itself, we will define your annual goals, quarterly metrics for the first year, and a 3-year budget based on the plan.
Boilerplate Writing Sessions
September-October 2026
Piecing together scattered copy fragments for every new grant application? Let’s fix it.
Within three group sessions and two individual consultations, you will build a system to keep your language organized, updated, and readily useful.
Fundraising Planning Seminar
Spring 2025
Under the guidance of Benvenuti Arts consultants, participants create a comprehensive year-long fundraising plan that adapts to their creative schedule and specific organizational needs. At the end, you will have a ready-to-implement plan with a clear road map that your team (or just you) can follow to success.
FAQ
Who are Sessions & Seminars for?
It is for you if…
- You’re running an arts-based or arts-adjacent organization with a budget of under $750,000, OR you’re an independent artist who doesn’t have the time to upgrade or create from scratch a boilerplate or an end-of-year campaign.
- You feel overwhelmed with the necessity to plan your fundraising and operational activities well in advance, while meeting daily commitments, and would love some professional and community support to figure that out.
- You want to improve your organization’s existing fundraising planning and grant writing.
- The sessions’ or a seminar’s description just sounds like what you need for any other reason 🙂
How many organizations can participate in a program at the same time?
We cap the number of participants in both seminars and sessions at 10 organizations (20 people – 2 team members from each organization).
What is included in each Sessions & Seminars program?
Each Sessions series includes:
- Registration for 2 team members.
- Three working sessions, 1.5 hours each.
- Two 30-minute one-on-one meetings with the BA consultant (one meeting between the 2nd and the 3rd session, and one meeting within a month after the last session).
- All necessary templates.
- Access to the Sessions recordings and slides for 12 months.
Each Seminar includes:
- Registration for 2 team members.
- All necessary templates.
- Email Q&A with the BA consultant within a week after the seminar.
- Access to the Seminar recordings and slides for 12 months.
How do you tailor the workshops to each organization?
Our workshops imply customization in several ways.
First, after you register and before the program starts, we ask you to provide key information about your existing practice so our consultants know each organization’s starting point and context to advise you along the way.
Second, each seminar and session includes guided exercises led by the consultant, who provides feedback and brainstorms with you in real time, helping you to adapt systems and templates to your specific needs.
Third, the session series includes two one-on-one half-hour meetings with a consultant to work on what you most need help with.
Can I register for more than one Seminar or Session series?
Yes! We encourage you to consider registering for more than one program if that is sustainable for you and your workload. While each seminar and session series is a separate, self-sufficient program, they are complementary.
Can I bring more than one person from my organization to the workshops?
Yes! Each program includes registration for 2 team members. We strongly recommend participating together with your teammate, a staff member or a board member. It will help you to maximize the outcomes.
Will I have access to the workshop materials after the end of the program?
Absolutely! You are encouraged to download and keep the templates we provide. You will also have access to the meeting recordings and slides for 12 months after the program ends. For sessions, we also provide a meeting recording and transcript within 2 days of each meeting, so you can refresh what you’ve learned before the next meeting and stay on top of your progress.
Interest in participating in the next workshops? Sign up for updates to know when we launch another round.
Testimonials
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 at Arts & Business Alliance of Eugene
With your help, we’ve seen a steady increase in foundation support, growing from $447K in FY22 to $552K in FY24. Our overall revenue has followed suit, rising from $2.5 million in FY19 to over $3 million by FY24. This expanded capacity has enabled us to increase scholarships, invest in faculty development, and improve our facilities to meet the needs of our growing community. Looking ahead, we’re preparing to build more internal capacity around grant writing in the next 1-2 years, with the goal of dedicating 20-30 hours a week to this work. Thanks to the solid foundation you’ve laid, we’re in a great position to make this transition smoothly.
I’ve truly appreciated how adaptable and proactive you’ve been throughout our partnership.
Erika Atkins
Executive Director, Bloomingdale School of Music
The Benvenuti Arts Fundraising Workshop was incredibly helpful. My producing partner and I run a fledgling arts organization. Sarah walked us through the basics of multiple fundraising approaches, with context from her experience in the field. This helped us understand not just how to fundraise, but the trends and contexts to help us refine our approach. Sarah’s personalized support, including a personal consultation, helped us refocus our strategy towards fundraising and gave us clear first steps, as well as long-term goals and plans. I cannot recommend her workshop enough.
Conrad Kluck
Co-Founder, Co-Producer & Curator at FEAST: A Performance Series
MEET SOME OF OUR CLIENTS
Omnium Circus
Omnium Circus believes that a circus experience with a full spectrum of people representative of our global culture as artists, staff and audiences leads the way to a truly diverse, equitable inclusive and accessible society. We create a safe space where people from diverse backgrounds can experience wonder, laughter and joy together.
Bloomingdale School of Music
Bloomingdale School of Music’s mission is to provide open access to high-quality music education to anyone who seeks it, regardless of economic status, ability level, ethnicity, or religious affiliation. BSM offers a diverse set of learning options for students of all ages and skill levels including in-person and virtual private music lessons, group classes, music ensembles, and early childhood classes.
BTFA COLLECTIVE (Black Trans Femmes in the Arts)
To create spaces for the production and preservation of Black trans art and culture by building community with Black trans femme artists and providing them with the resources and support necessary to thrive. We envision a world where Black trans femmes can create without limitations.
