Flynn Center for the Performing Arts
Burlington, Vermont

Originally built in 1930, the restoration and reopening of the 1,453-seat Art Deco Flynn Theatre in 1981 changed the heart of Burlington, attracting restaurants, stores, offices, and foot traffic – day and night. Today, the Flynn incorporates FlynnSpace, a small intimate performance space; an Education Building housing year-round FlynnArts classes in music, theater, and dance for children, teens, and adults; a greatly enlarged main theater lobby; a visual arts gallery; and additional administrative facilities. It attracts over 200,000 residents and visitors a year, anchoring downtown Burlington and generating millions of dollars in revenues for the City and area businesses. The Flynn enhances the quality of education for area school children and adults, and it serves as a magnet for talented professionals, diverse college students, and active retirees who expect cultural amenities, along with parks, recreation, and educational opportunities.

In 2000, the Ford Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation awarded the Flynn millennial grants (the Flynn was the only organization in America to receive grants from both foundations) to help sustain the facilities and the Flynn's excellence in programming. These grants included $135,000 annually in program funding through 2005. To secure the Flynn's presenting, collaborative and educational leadership into the future, the Foundations also encouraged the Flynn's board to raise endowment funds by offering challenge grants. The successful drive to meet those challenges was the first stage of an Endowment Campaign and resulted in $500,000 toward endowment from each foundation.

2001-2002 Fundraising feasibility study. Halsey and Alice North helped Andrea Rogers, Executive Director and CEO (802-652-4504, arogers@flynncenter.org), her staff, and a committed Endowment Planning Steering Committee plan for and undertake a fundraising feasibility study for the Flynn's first endowment campaign.

The Norths helped:

• Identify and recruit prospective leadership donors to be added to the Steering Committee to provide oversight for the study.
• Develop the case for endowment support, and
• Identify prospective interviewees.

The Norths conducted in-depth, one-on-one confidential interviews with 48 regional leaders and wrote a 97-page report that synthesized the findings; identified the amount that could be raised at that time; recommended strategies to strengthen the Flynn's fundraising capacity; and outlined the staffing, volunteer leadership, and other resources needed to implement the campaign successfully. The report also summarized and analyzed the responses to each question asked during the interviews and gave a sampling of unattributed actual response from the potential donors, concerning their perceptions of the Flynn, its needs, and its management as well as their willingness to work on the campaign, their willingness to give, and at what level.

Summer 2002 and 2003 Board and staff retreats. The Norths facilitated two 11⁄2 day planning retreats for the Flynn's board and senior staff – in 2002 to prepare the organization to undertake the endowment campaign and in 2003 to focus on the future of the Flynn's education programs.

Fall 2002-Spring 2005 Endowment Campaign, including solicitor training. The Norths have helped Andrea Rogers and Ken Dinitz, Flynn Center Endowment Campaign Manager (802-652-4569, KDinitz@flynncenter.org) create the endowment campaign materials, identify potential leadership and major gift prospects, develop the campaign structure and strategies, identify and recruit Campaign Leadership Team members, facilitate meetings of the Campaign Leadership Team, conduct solicitor training sessions, help motivate volunteers to make their calls, conduct prospect research interviews, outline articles for the campaign newsletter, and develop cultivation and solicitation strategies, including a successful $1,000,000 request to the Argosy Foundation. The campaign goal of $6,000,000 in cash and pledges of up to five years was achieved and, in fact, exceeded, protecting and enriching the ongoing operation of the Flynn.