Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture

Case Study: Business Planning & Strategy / Facility Planning

Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture

Location: Chicago, IL | AMS Team: Bill Blake, Jon Faris, Meg Friedman

The Athenaeum engaged AMS to facilitate a thoughtful planning process. The focus would be on striking a balance between faithful adherence to the Athenaeum’s mission and values, while aligning the operations with the Chicagoland marketplace for venues and performance offerings. AMS worked with a subcommittee composed of the Athenaeum’s staff and board leadership to map out the marketplace, define “success,” and create an actionable path forward to a fully operational cultural venue.

The Challenge

The Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture had an exciting opportunity – and a daunting one. The organization, informed by its Catholic values, had acquired a 900+ seat venue with ancillary event and meeting space in a busy cultural district north the Loop in Chicago. The Athenaeum’s partner, the Chicago Archdiocese, was prepared to assist in funding a significant renovation, but the organization needed to determine which spaces to prioritize. A long-term plan for activating the building was essential to making progress.

ATHENAEUM CENTER FOR THOUGHT AND CULTURE

Location: Chicago, IL | AMS Team: Bill Blake, Jon Faris, Meg Friedman

The Athenaeum engaged AMS to facilitate a thoughtful planning process. The focus would be on striking a balance between faithful adherence to the Athenaeum’s mission and values, while aligning the operations with the Chicagoland marketplace for venues and performance offerings. AMS worked with a subcommittee composed of the Athenaeum’s staff and board leadership to map out the marketplace, define “success,” and create an actionable path forward to a fully operational cultural venue.

The Challenge

The Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture had an exciting opportunity – and a daunting one. The organization, informed by its Catholic values, had acquired a 900+ seat venue with ancillary event and meeting space in a busy cultural district north the Loop in Chicago. The Athenaeum’s partner, the Chicago Archdiocese, was prepared to assist in funding a significant renovation, but the organization needed to determine which spaces to prioritize. A long-term plan for activating the building was essential to making progress.

Our Approach

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Interviews with stakeholders

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Complete responses from a cross-section of genres

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Venues inventoried in the market area

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Interviews with stakeholders

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Complete responses from a cross-section of genres

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Venues identified

We began by digging into the Athenaeum’s documentation related to programming and the building itself. At the same time, we examined the marketplace for arts, culture, and entertainment in Chicago and in the neighborhoods surrounding the venue. We also conducted survey research into the demand for cultural venues in the Chicago area. Once a clear, shared understanding of the “lay of the land” was developed, we worked with the Athenaeum, as well as their architect and theater consultant, to create a financial model showing a normalized year of operations.

Define the marketplace

Interviews with 15 stakeholders spanning staff, board, major donors, the neighborhood Chamber of Commerce, and more
Surveyed potential users, receiving 39 complete responses from a cross-section of genres including dance, music, theatre, education, and non-arts sectors
We mapped the marketplace in terms of people (participants) and venues (competitors/benchmarks)
- Over 150 venues of were identified as relevant based on their location, capacity, operating model, or other characteristics
- Census data was paired with information from the Chicago Archdiocese to form a clear understanding of the consumer marketplace

Define the marketplace

Interviews with 15 stakeholders spanning staff, board, major donors, the neighborhood Chamber of Commerce, and more
Surveyed potential users, receiving 39 complete responses from a cross-section of genres including dance, music, theatre, education, and non-arts sectors
We mapped the marketplace in terms of people (participants) and venues (competitors/benchmarks)
- Over 150 venues of were identified as relevant based on their location, capacity, operating model, or other characteristics
- Census data was paired with information from the Chicago Archdiocese to form a clear understanding of the consumer marketplace

Detail a growth path

We developed a menu of three unique scenarios, each of which responded to the marketplace and specific resources the Athenaeum had or would need
Facilitated a workshop with Athenaeum staff and board leadership to select a preferred scenario
Created a dynamic financial model to illustrate how the chosen scenario would drive financial results
Delivered a dynamic planning tool for the Athenaeum team to use as their renovation and programming plans unfolded over the next 10+ years

Detail a growth path

We developed a menu of three unique scenarios, each of which responded to the marketplace and specific resources the Athenaeum had or would need
Facilitated a workshop with Athenaeum staff and board leadership to select a preferred scenario
Created a dynamic financial model to illustrate how the chosen scenario would drive financial results
Delivered a dynamic planning tool for the Athenaeum team to use as their renovation and programming plans unfolded over the next 10+ years

Our work with AMS has helped us define our future vision and lay out a path forward to achieve our mission and become an internationally recognized center for Catholic-aligned thought and culture.”

Lawrence Daufenbach

Executive Director/Founder, Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture

Our Solution

In 2022, the Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture in Chicago came to AMS Planning & Research for guidance amidst a major renovation.

They had begun an initial $4 million revamp of their first floor event space, and they had questions about how to move forward with the rest of the building.

The original structure is over a hundred years old and was built to serve as a faith-based gathering center. So it was important to the owners of the building to preserve its history and core values while creating new opportunities for activity and revenue.

To help them move forward confidently, we offered recommendations–some of them surprising–based on real data and input from stakeholders.

AMS gave the Athenaeum the direction they needed in order to grow into this new phase of the institution. 2022 is the center’s first full season. 2023 will allow the new operator to see the full season cycle post-implementation. The client has already started their own mission-aligned programming, premiering an in-person production titled Dante 360, a concert by the Hillbilly Toners, and other small scale performances.

In 2022, the Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture in Chicago came to AMS Planning & Research for guidance amidst a major renovation.

They had begun an initial $4 million revamp of their first floor event space, and they had questions about how to move forward with the rest of the building.

The original structure is over a hundred years old and was built to serve as a faith-based gathering center. So it was important to the owners of the building to preserve its history and core values while creating new opportunities for activity and revenue.

To help them move forward confidently, we offered recommendations–some of them surprising–based on real data and input from stakeholders.

AMS gave the Athenaeum the direction they needed in order to grow into this new phase of the institution. 2022 is the center’s first full season. 2023 will allow the new operator to see the full season cycle post-implementation. The client has already started their own mission-aligned programming, premiering an in-person production titled Dante 360, a concert by the Hillbilly Toners, and other small scale performances.

What is the leadership model in your organization? More importantly, what should it be? Or are you beginning to search for your organization’s next leader? It is important to look at your structure, future goals, and purpose, and determine what needs to change going forward.

Contact AMS to learn how our knowledge base and our team can help you get on the right path to answer these critical questions.