fleisher

Section I: Organization Information

Agency Mission: To make art accessible to everyone, regardless of economic means, background, or artistic experience

Name/Title of Contact: Matthew Braun, Executive Director

Address: 719 Catharine Street

Phone Number: 215-922-3456 x 311

Website: http://www.fleisher.org/

Email: mwise@fleisher.org

Total number of agency staff members: 21

Agency Budget: $2 million

Section II: Community Need

Please state in measurable and quantifiable terms the specific community need that the Philly Fellow will address, including the number of people in the community directly affected by the problem.

Fleisher’s mission is to make art accessible to everyone, regardless of economic means, background, or artistic experience. We serve an annual audience of 17,000 adults and children who learn to make art on-site and in community settings, visit exhibitions in our galleries, and attend other cultural events sponsored by Fleisher or our community partners. Many in Fleisher’s audience have been participating for years, yet others who reside in our immediate community have little or no knowledge about our organization and the positive benefits that the arts hold for personal fulfillment and community development. We have identified a target audience of people whom we want to engage in the arts, specifically families who reside in the 19147 and 19148 areas of Philadelphia, who have family incomes of $40,000 or less, and who have never visited Fleisher. Over the past year, we have been engaged in an in-depth demographic research project to understand the barriers that prevent our target audience from becoming engaged in the arts, and to begin to develop arts education programming that addresses their needs. Over the next three years, our goal is to add 1,750 new arts participants to our audience, and to increase the percentage of our audience that comes from our immediate neighborhoods from 25% to 35%.

Describe how your agency addresses this need, and how the new capacity created by this fellow will help alleviate the problem.

Tactics to reach our new target audience and expand access to the arts at Fleisher is detailed in our long-range strategic plan, and build on a branding platform that was completed earlier this year. To be successful we know we must dramatically increase the effectiveness of our internal and external communications. To date, all of our communication efforts, from our website, to print publications, to press releases, have been handled by individual staff members, depending on the program being promoted. A challenge has been to deliver consistent, compelling messages that tell Fleisher’s big picture story and that effectively promote our work beyond the current cadre of loyal supporters. As we look ahead, this challenge is intensified by our goal to reach a very diverse audience, including families who do not speak English at home, who are living in poverty, and who may face fears related to immigration status. A Philly Fellow will enable Fleisher to meet this goal, by developing compelling messages, investigating and implementing the best strategies to communicate with diverse audiences, and raising the organization’s visibility.

Describe the level of community involvement in the fellow’s project.

Fleisher’s Philly Fellow will work closely with management staff at Fleisher, including the Director for Arts Education and Community Engagement, Manager of Research and Community Engagement Strategies, and Visitor Services Manager, as well as with the Development and Marketing Committee of Fleisher’s Board of Directors. S/he will interact with our target audience through surveys, focus groups, and community meetings now underway. Community involvement will range from attending community meetings as a Fleisher representative, observing and interacting with participants on-site at Fleisher, and working with colleagues to develop events designed to increase participation, including classes and workshops, galleries openings, and art-making festivals.

Section III: Job Description

Please outline in list form the fellow's duties and responsibilities.

• With senior staff and board committee, develop long and short-term strategic marketing, publicity, and communications plans, and actively participate in work toward long-range strategic plan goals
• Lead centralized and strategic management of both internal and external communications efforts
• Provide support for all intra-organizational communications among staff, board, volunteers, and faculty; coordinate messaging directed to student population
• Develop and manage innovative campaigns and strategies to build visibility, awareness, interest and participation in Fleisher’s programs and ensure strong press coverage
• Conceptualize and implement publicity strategies and programs to promote Fleisher’s program, brand, and institutional identity
• Work with registration and exhibition staff to develop and implement strategies to diversify and broaden audiences for classes, and visitors for exhibitions
• Work with development and visitor services staff to increase earned income through facility rental opportunities and assist in promotion of events and celebrations
• Ensure production of high-quality products that deliver targeted messages with modest resources; develop and monitor communications and marketing budget lines with the goal of optimizing return on expenditures
• Create and manage a cohesive plan for web-based presence to inform and connect with Fleisher’s stakeholders, including use of Fleisher’s website, email blast list of 5,000, and social networking tools

Please outline in list form the skills/qualifications a fellow should have to succeed in the position.

• Dynamic writing and verbal skills, able to develop and communicate compelling messages
• BA in public relations, communications, English or related field
• Additional communications, publications, or PR experience helpful
• Ability to communicate thoughtfully and clearly with audiences of diverse ages, backgrounds, and ethnicities; excellent interpersonal skills
• Ability to work collaboratively with a wide range of colleagues, while introducing a new organizational approach
• Working knowledge of print production and public relations
• Knowledge of interactive and electronic media preferred
• Computer proficiency with Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite, and constituent management database software
• Creative, hard-working, organized and efficient
• Commitment to lifelong learning and community arts
• Strong attention to detail and ability to work accurately under deadline

Please describe your agency's plan to orient and train the fellow.

Fleisher’s management staff meet weekly to collaborate on organization-wide issues, share progress on initiatives, and seek assistance from peers. All staff meets monthly to share interdepartmental news and engage in updates on our strategic plan, income and expenses, and topics in the field of community arts. The fellow will participate in all of these meetings. During the first several weeks on staff, the fellow will meet individually with all staff to learn about their job responsibilities, challenges and goals, and to receive guidance in becoming acclimated to the organization. Fleisher is a member of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance (GPCA), and participates in the professional development sessions it offers; the fellow is encouraged to attend relevant GPCA trainings, using funds provided in Fleisher’s general operating budget.

Section IV: Project Plan

Please describe the proposed project goal(s) you expect the fellow to achieve. These should relate to your community need and reflect the long-term impact of the fellow’s project.

• improve Fleisher’s efficiency in internal operations to position the agency to better fulfill its mission and provide much needed arts education programming to an underserved audience
• broaden media coverage that promotes Fleisher’s arts education initiatives and the importance of the arts to low-income, at-risk youth and families
• increase participation and contributed income resulting from strategic and targeted marketing campaigns
• generate awareness of Fleisher’s presence in neighborhoods immediately surrounding Fleisher
• use data more effectively in communications to track progress and impact of programming and make stronger case for support and investment

Section V: The Nitty Gritty

Will fellow be working at the same address listed above?

Yes

Please describe the fellow's work environment.

Fellow will have a shared office.
Fellow will have their own desk.
Fellow will have their own computer.

Please list the name and title of the fellow's immediate supervisor.

Matthew Braun, Executive Director

Please approximate the percentage of time fellow will work:

Independently: 65%
As a team member in a group setting: 25%
As a team leader in a group setting: 10%

Travel:

Will the fellow be expected to travel as part of the position?

Will the fellow need the following to carry out the position?

A driver’s license: No
Their own car: No

Section VI: Supervision/Resources

Please briefly describe plans for supervision of fellow:

The fellow will report directly to Fleisher’s Executive Director, and will be an important member of the management team, working along side department leaders in development, arts education, research, visitor services, and facilities. The fellow’s workspace will be located in the development office, and it is expected that the creation of marketing communications messages will complement Fleisher’s ongoing development efforts. Board members with expertise in marketing communications will also provide guidance and mentoring to the fellow.

What methods, information, or data will you use to evaluate the fellow’s success in their position and your agency’s success in meeting your community need?

The fellow’s success will be measured through attainment of the performance milestones detailed below, which will be discussed at ongoing informal meetings with his/her supervisor, and at an annual, formal performance review. The fellow’s impact on the agency’s success will be measured through annual surveys that capture the demographic make up of our audience and the degree to which we successfully engage underserved community residents in our arts education programming.