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Services

Denise Pate Can Help

Arts
Management
Consultant

Arts management consulting for performing arts organizations with budgets > $500,000


Coaching executive directors on strategic and management issues


Advice on recruiting and training non-profit boards of directors


Executive recruitment and hiring

Grantmaking
Program
Expert

Developing funding programs for agencies and foundations and municipalities


Designing a procurement process


Designing a new grant application to reflect changing emphases of your organization, foundation or municipality


Ensuring diversity, equity, inclusion, and access in your grantmaking

Arts
Performance
Curator

Curating arts performances that reflect the cultural mix of a city, county, or corporation for live event producers: conferences, festivals, corporate events


Developing a roster of culturally specific artists, drawing on Denise’s extensive contacts


Designing performance events, including choosing artists to ensure diversity, equity, inclusion, and access


Conducting auditions, managing artist communications

CURRENT AVAILABILITY

“I am currently taking new clients for small projects only.  If your project exceeds the scope of what I can engage in, I will often refer you to someone else or to other resources.” ~ Denise Pate

Note: Denise is often booked out for weeks or months in advance, but she would like to talk with you. She has one-hour consultations available more often than she has space for major projects. (See the link near the bottom of this page.)

  • Denise’s expertise and excellence transcends her vast and enduring relationship with the Bay Area arts and non-profit community. Her deep knowledge of non-profits, their experiences, struggles and concerns, and how she holds her grantees, their strengths and challenges, demonstrates a total commitment as she embraces them.

    She matches her relationship building with fastidious systems programs plans and is one of the most gracious grant makers you would be lucky enough to know and work with.
    Eugenia Bowman, M.S.
    Community Organizing Reaching Everyone (CORE), Founder
    Berkeley Community Fund (former Executive Director)

Strategic planning for emerging organizations can be fun

Denise is experienced in leading interactive strategic planning retreats for boards and staff. Her retreats are often designed to motivate and educate team members while encouraging open communication and a supportive group process.

Denise will lead your organization through a strategic planning process that’s FUN and all about TEAM BUILDING. By the end of this process, you’ll have defined your vision and goals — and created a plan for implementation – all while having a good time together.

Strategic planning for emerging organizations can be fun

Fund development research

Denise will create a report of grant opportunities that are best aligned with your organizational needs and goals. 

  • She will research detailed listings, databases, grant websites, donor websites, and personal resources
  • Your final research report will include the names and locations of recommended funding agencies, their history, websites and contact information, application deadlines, and applicable strategies for your approach. 
  • In addition, clients can request a grants calendar that prioritizes certain funding opportunities with deadlines.
Fund development research

Culturally Specific Grant Program Development, for funders

Denise works with government and foundation grant making agencies to provide guidance and resources that better serve culturally specific, marginalized, and immigrant communities. 

She provides a racial and cultural equity lens for grant making with BIPOC and other marginalized communities.

Her services include:

  • designing grant guidelines, applications, and panel review processes for grant programming that targets artists and organizations.
  • conducting panelist trainings to familiarize them with scoring rubrics, artistic aesthetics, and narrative language for reviewing and evaluating culturally specific programming.
Culturally Specific Grant Program Development, for funders
Culturally Specific Grant Program Development, for funders

Performing Arts Consulting and Curation

As an artist resource person, Denise advises corporations, organizations and municipalities who want to produce performances that are culturally specific and/or culturally diverse, at events such as conferences, conventions and corporate events. She works with producers and directors as they:

  • examine what they want to accomplish
  • determine the best mix of venues and event types, including details such as which performers to feature, the optimal duration and diversity of events, and so on
  • recruit and select performers 
  • plan logistics for different venues and art forms, and much more. 
Performing Arts Consulting and Curation

(Note: Denise does not PRODUCE events; she is a senior performing arts consultant who advises producers and directors who want to create high quality, culturally diverse events to achieve their aims.)

Explore more

What can Denise Pate do for you?

Let’s talk!

One-Hour Consultations
available for $300.

Schedule your
One-Hour Consultation

In the meantime, CHOOSE A GIFT

01

BEFORE
you call a
GRANT WRITER …

Use this proven
cheat sheet to get
“grant ready!”

Get Yours

02

CURATING
for
DIVERSITY

Your checklist for creating
a culturally specific performance event

Get Yours

03

GET the
Board
ON BOARD!

7 key responsibilities
of nonprofit
board members

Get Yours
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