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Taking BOLD steps
in the
world of
non-profit arts
often feels risky …
Taking BOLD steps
in the
world of
non-profit arts
often feels risky …
Sometimes you wish you had someone to talk to who’s been through what you’re considering, who knows the pitfalls and how to avoid them, and who can bring the most up-to-date thinking about excellence, fairness, diversity, equity, access and inclusion to all your decision making.
If this advisor could also be well-connected in the California and National arts scenes, that would be a big bonus, right?
Denise Pate
is that person.
Culturally sensitive guidance from a seasoned non-profit arts professional
- Arts Management Consultant
- Grantmaking Program Expert
- Arts Performance Curator
Denise Pate
is an
Arts Management Consultant
WHO
Performing Arts Organizations
Medium to large emerging performing arts organizations approaching a half million-dollar budget.
Problems you may be facing …
Denise has rock solid experience in recruiting, hiring and even terminating upper-level nonprofit managers and executives — and in navigating many other problems that face nonprofit managers every day, including strategic decision-making, board development and more.
WHO
Grantmaking Agencies and Municipalities
Grantmaking agencies may want to demonstrate that their grant programs are equitable and accessible to many different types of grant-seekers. Agencies may need to design a procurement process, Request for Proposals, or grant application for new programming that targets artists and arts programming.
Problems you may be facing …
Denise knows both the 10,000 foot view and the nitty gritty details of setting up new arts programming in the context of governmental regulations and established procedures.
Denise Pate
is a
Grantmaking Program Expert
Asian Art Museum (San Francisco, CA)
Denise Pate
is an
Arts Performance Curator
WHO
Presenters
Conference presenters, corporations, city-wide or county-wide arts agencies or festivals, special events coordinators, producers, planners and fundraising staff involved in conceiving, curating, and shaping stage performances that are integral elements of larger events.
A problem you may be facing …
Denise has hundreds of arts connections throughout the State of California, especially in the Bay Area, as well as many contacts nation-wide. She has a deep background in producing live events and curating a high caliber program that also represents the diversity of a city, county, or region.
Her intuitive understanding of narrative creation and storytelling has assisted me in securing grants to up level my music career.
https://linktr.ee/destinymuhammadmusic
Keeping an arts program or organization afloat and putting forth its best work is challenging in the best of times – requiring the rich collaboration of many people and moving parts.
Arts administrators, professional artists, performers and designers, emerging talents, young children with big dreams – these and many more are part of the rich tapestry of the American arts scene.
Denise Pate can guide you toward sustainability by helping you manage – and fund – these diverse moving parts.
Denise Pate’s clients know she stands out in this multi-faceted environment because:
She’s had a lifetime commitment to the Arts. Denise has “come up through the ranks” and achieved some of the highest arts administration positions in the country, but she’s also experienced many other roles:
- working dancer
- dance educator and mentor
- arts customer and audience member
- performance producer and director
- non-profit arts organization manager
- participant in numerous California and national grant decision-making panels
- funding coordinator for a major American city
- executive role in another major American city — the third largest municipal arts organization in the country
Her interests are diverse, encompassing many art forms and types of arts experiences, from museums to street fairs, bootstrap performances to the philharmonic, and everything in between.
Denise Pate’s knowledge base is comprehensive:
- short- and long-range planning
- defining the mission for medium-sized and large organizations
- grant research and grant writing
- creating functional funding programs within agencies
- communicating with artists and supporting them in putting their best efforts forward
- curating diverse and culturally specific performance events
INward-Facing Appraisal
Denise can help you with an inward-facing appraisal of your organization, including assessing your strengths and shortcomings, as well as setting goals and action plans for increased growth and stability.
OUTward-Facing Appraisal
Denise can help you with outward-facing strategies that help position your organization for the greatest progress toward your mission, including setting goals and action plans to achieve them.
How can
Denise Pate
help me and my organization?
What to expect from working with Denise Pate
Feel confident. You’re in experienced hands! Denise knows how to help you get results.
Learn to earn the public trust. Denise is a BIPOC artist and long-time non-profit professional.
Get access to a broad community of artists and arts experts. Denise knows everybody!
Get right with social justice.
Denise is a respected member of a circle of arts professionals who care about equity and justice.
Receive advice through a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural lens.
You can trust Denise Pate
She has been entrusted with extensive responsibilities as an Arts funding executive for two major U.S. cities …
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA
Cultural Funding Coordinator, City of Oakland, California, for 10 years. She oversaw a fund of over $1 million in annual grants to artists and arts organizations.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
Director of Community Investments, San Francisco Arts Commission. SFAC is the third largest municipal arts organization in the United States, distributing $16 million in grant awards annually.
Creative Corps & Interim Director, Hope SF
Problems you may be facing . . .
Your organization is preparing to hire a new executive director. You’ve had high turnover in your leadership recently and want to find someone who’s a good fit. You need to design a search, create a job description and figure out the best way to recruit an executive director who embraces your current goals and mission. You’re not sure about the compensation nor how to attract the right person.
OR
Your organization is at a critical juncture; new opportunities (or threats) have arisen, and you suspect some reassessment needs to happen. You may be wondering if your board needs a new profile, or a few new people to fill needs currently left unaddressed. You may feel that your board needs to take part in a strategic planning process to take into account changing times, optimize your response to the community you’re serving, reassess funding approaches, or rethink marketing plans for the next few years.
Problems you may be facing . . .
Your community or corporate foundation has received criticism about your funding record, accused of not serving the BIPOC community. You need to review your existing procedures and change some of your practices to demonstrate a sincere commitment to funding new, under served, and diverse communities.
OR
Your city agency has a new funding initiative to provide direct grants to artists and nonprofit arts organizations. You’ve never created a procurement process to serve these types of ‘vendors’ and are having difficulty accommodating the needs of the arts within existing structures and the procedures of governmental agencies.
A problem you may be facing . . .
Your corporate or municipal arts festival or conference wants to feature culturally specific and diverse performers at an upcoming event but lacks the contacts, the experience and the artistic judgment to curate the program to your own high standards.