Foundry Capacity Support Empowers Abendmusik's Audience Research and Legacy Giving Initiative
"Both Kelly and Ethan were a great pleasure to work with and followed up on the progress of our work after the projects were completed. I highly recommend The Foundry's Base Camp resources for any nonprofit that needs assistance in running their operation."
—Matthew Finkner, Executive Director at Abendmusik
With grant funding for nonprofits increasingly competitive and difficult to secure, organizations like Abendmusik are finding that strategic resources, not just dollars, make all the difference. Abendmusik, a Lincoln-based performing arts nonprofit, was able to complete two major organizational advances through Base Camp Foundry resources. The collaboration has resulted in a data-driven audience outreach strategy and the launch of Abendmusik Forever, a planned giving program.
In an environment where many nonprofits are feeling the pressure to deprioritize capacity-building work due to cost, the Base Camp Foundry resource model offers a compelling alternative. By partnering with Base Camp Foundry resources, Abendmusik gained access to professional expertise, which allowed it to accomplish work it could not have undertaken on its own. The Foundry team provided expertise through two dedicated projects:
- Project One: Audience demographics survey, statistical modeling, community outreach strategy, including new outreach to retirement facilities via livestream
- Project Two: Planned giving research, intake form design, and informational brochure development for the Abendmusik Forever estate giving program
The audience survey conducted by the Foundry team revealed that a significant portion of Abendmusik's audience is over the age of 60, a finding that directly shaped new initiatives in fundraising, livestreaming, and community outreach. Notably, the data prompted Abendmusik to begin connecting with retirement facilities and individuals whose mobility or transportation limitations prevent them from attending concerts in person.
In the second engagement, the Foundry team researched best planned giving practices and helped Abendmusik design an intake form and informational brochure for Abendmusik Forever, providing the option for donors to include Abendmusik in estate giving plans.
"Without the Base Camp Foundry resources, these projects simply would not have happened," said Finkner. "Base Camp’s developers gave us the talent and capacity necessary to build something lasting for our organization and our community."
The partnership between Abendmusik and Base Camp Foundry resources stands as a model for how nonprofits can adapt in a challenging funding landscape, leveraging collaboration and shared expertise and resources to do more with less, and to build the kind of long-term organizational infrastructure that grants alone cannot fund.
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