Case Study: Facility Planning
Brannan Center
Business planning for proposed arts center in renovated church.
Location: Calistoga, CA | Client: Brannan Center
In 2020, the Brannan Center a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization was established to reactivate the vacant Community Presbyterian Church, known to locals as the “Green Church.”
The Challenge
AMS was engaged in August of 2021 to work with project stakeholders and leaders to develop a facility operations and business plan to serve as a ‘roadmap’ toward success.
Brannan Center
Business planning for proposed arts center in renovated church.
Location: Calistoga, CA | Client: Brannan Center
In 2020, the Brannan Center a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization was established to reactivate the vacant Community Presbyterian Church, known to locals as the “Green Church.”
The Challenge
AMS was engaged in August of 2021 to work with project stakeholders and leaders to develop a facility operations and business plan to serve as a ‘roadmap’ toward success.
Our Approach
We designed a two-phased process guided by several key questions to define community needs, goals, and a establish a clear vision for the renovated facility. Our engagement investigated how the project should be positioned in the community, who the likely partners would be, what could be learned from peer institutions, and what resources would be required to achieve long-term success.
AMS helped the Center’s board articulate their guiding purpose as
“A space that restores, enlivens, and cultivates the human spirit through community, creativity, and learning.”
Bill Blake
AMS Principal
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Interviews conducted across the School of Drama faculty and staff
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Respondents to a digital survey for key stakeholders
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Workshops facilitated with the leadership team
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Not-for-profit theatre leadership structures analyzed
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Interviews conducted across the School of Drama faculty and staff
0
Respondents to a digital survey for key stakeholders
0
Workshops facilitated with the leadership team
0
+
Not-for-profit theatre leadership structures analyzed
Engage Diverse Perspectives
- Listened to faculty, staff, and key stakeholders via confidential interviews.
- Conducted 17 interviews across the School of Drama faculty and staff.
- Managed a digital survey for key stakeholders with 65 respondents.
- Facilitated three workshops with the leadership team.
Engage Diverse Perspectives
- Listened to faculty, staff, and key stakeholders via confidential interviews.
- Conducted 17 interviews across the School of Drama faculty and staff.
- Managed a digital survey for key stakeholders with 65 respondents.
- Facilitated three workshops with the leadership team.
Understand the Industry
- Analyzed 400+ not-for-profit theaters’ leadership structures and discovered that the traditional model for arts leadership required an innovative approach to keep up with the changing industry.
- Researched and developed our original research paper examining the drivers and implications of co-leadership as an alternative to the hierarchical leadership model.
- Leveraged findings from AMS’s theater industry roundtable, a regular discussion group of leaders from 10 of the largest-producing theaters in the US, and added insights on equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility (EDIA) commitments, the evolution of management styles, and changing workplace norms.
Understand the Industry
- Analyzed 400+ not-for-profit theaters’ leadership structures and discovered that the traditional model for arts leadership required an innovative approach to keep up with the changing industry.
- Researched and developed our original research paper examining the drivers and implications of co-leadership as an alternative to the hierarchical leadership model.
- Leveraged findings from AMS’s theater industry roundtable, a regular discussion group of leaders from 10 of the largest-producing theaters in the US, and added insights on equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility (EDIA) commitments, the evolution of management styles, and changing workplace norms.
Our Solution
In obtaining and assessing both quantitative and qualitative data, our work resulted in a strategic vision and business model rooted in a newly articulated purpose that would accomplish the community’s goals with a thorough understanding of the impact of key operational and financial outcomes.
With a clear purpose at its heart, the project has advanced to the capital campaign and construction phase with new energy and focus. This has attracted donors, new board members, and community partners to the project.
Most importantly, The Green Church will serve Calistoga and the Napa Valley into the future and a beloved community building will continue to stand proud.
In obtaining and assessing both quantitative and qualitative data, our work resulted in a strategic vision and business model rooted in a newly articulated purpose that would accomplish the community’s goals with a thorough understanding of the impact of key operational and financial outcomes.
With a clear purpose at its heart, the project has advanced to the capital campaign and construction phase with new energy and focus. This has attracted donors, new board members, and community partners to the project.
Most importantly, The Green Church will serve Calistoga and the Napa Valley into the future and a beloved community building will continue to stand proud.
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.
Is your community considering how to reuse a historic building as an arts and cultural center? We would love to hear about it and see if we can help you develop a plan with a purpose. Let’s talk
Arts, culture and entertainment is our business.
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