To finance a permanent home for their school and dance company, Kansas City Ballet undertook a $39 million capital campaign in 2001. By 2006, the campaign had stalled, with only half of the needed funds secured. The executive director and key leadership asked Campbell & Company, with a national perspective and deep experience in campaigns for the arts, to reignite the fundraising campaign.
Campbell & Company initiated a mid-campaign assessment, which indicated the Ballet’s need to focus in three areas: organizing, training and mobilizing staff and volunteers; sharpening the campaign messages; and helping identify, cultivate and solicit a broader pool of donors. With Campbell & Company’s strategic direction and counsel, a new group of major donor prospects was identified through peer and electronic screening, a new organizational structure was established for the campaign committee, and the key campaign messages were revised and focused. The proposed changes were effective in kick-starting the campaign so that construction could go forward on the Todd Bolender Center for Dance & Creativity.
“Campbell & Company partnered with us on our strategy and helped keep our focus. They helped us persevere during the last phase of a decade-long campaign.”
-Jeffrey J. Bentley, Executive Director, Kansas City Ballet
On August 26, 2011, Kansas City Ballet hosted the grand opening of their permanent facility. As of the opening, all construction costs had been covered and more than 95 percent of the $39 million goal had been raised.