Spartanburg Adult Learning Center
Spartanburg Adult Learning Center helps to educate and train over 1000 adult students per year. With the economic downturn, ALC’s gift receipts and revenues had been down, and the Board wanted a fresh look at its fundraising options.
Sims & Steele outlined two phases of work: (1) an assessment phase, and (2) a Board Training phase. Working with a small committee of the Board and E.D, the consultant interviewed community leaders, major donors and Board members and distilled the interview data into an assessment report. Then, the Board came together in a facilitated workshop. Over the course of the workshop, the way forward began to crystallize for everyone in the room and the recommendations found consensus.
The Board had buy-in to what was required to successfully fundraise in a challenging economy. Their work became better focused on community awareness and messaging, prospect cultivation and major gift requests, and restructuring the Board composition.
Resulting from S&S’s work, the Board is transitioning over the next three years from the founding Board to a younger one, and is better equipped to meet the community awareness, messaging and fundraising challenges.
