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Anne Bergeron & Co. was approached by U.S. Biennial, Inc. to create and lead the fundraising efforts for this new start up arts organization. We developed and successfully implemented a fundraising plan to underwrite a new international biennial of contemporary art designed to help rebuild the cultural economy of post-Katrina New Orleans. Working in partnership with the director, board members and staff, we solicited individual major gifts, corporate sponsorships, and foundation and government grants, and we created a “founding friends” program. In addition, we trained the staff in best practices, and established the internal systems for cultivating, tracking and stewarding donors and prospects. We liaised with the client’s special events and public relations firms to ensure fulfillment of donor benefits, and provided counsel to the director on governance and management concerns. We also wrote a short-term operational plan for building organizational capacity following the inaugural year.
“In a remarkably short time, Anne Bergeron and her company helped to transform U.S. Biennial, Inc. from an idea into a fully implementable plan of action. With her guidance and expertise, we were able to raise over $3 million in under a year, covering a full range of sources, from government and foundations to individuals and businesses. Anne Bergeron & Co. also provided guidance around our opening festivities and oversaw the work of our in-house external affairs associate so that all aspects of our donor cultivation and board stewardship were consistent, professional and highly effective." – Dan Cameron, Founding Director and Chief Curator
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Following a staffing transition in external affairs, Anne Bergeron & Co. was hired by the World Monuments Fund, the leading international heritage preservation organization headquartered in New York City, to strengthen its fundraising program. Over the course of a year, we worked closely with the management team, board committee and fundraising staff to provide interim leadership to the development department. We recommended a revised staffing structure and helped to recruit the new vice president of development. We established a prospect research and ratings program and trained the staff to better identity and cultivate major donors. We helped the annual fund staff to revamp its direct mail program, which subsequently raised 90 percent of its revenue goal in six months and increased the average gift by nearly 50 percent. In addition to researching and writing grant proposals for major initiatives, we stewarded a planned gift that resulted in a substantial estate contribution. We also guided an institutional planning process and co-authored a two-year operational plan that emphasized the interdependencies among program development, fundraising and public relations.
“Anne provided critical expertise, direction and leadership during a period of change for the World Monuments Fund. As the incoming vice president of development, she ably assisted my transition to a new organization, while continuing to raise funds through foundation grants, as well as individual annual and major gifts.” – Christine Squires, Vice President of Development
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