MacPhail Center for Music, with multiple locations in Minnesota, is the largest and one of the oldest community music schools in the nation. Students range in age literally from infants to 100. Founded in 1907, the school has grown and evolved over the decades. In recent years, leaders recognized the need to expand its endowment to ensure a sustainable future for its mission.

They turned to us for help raising $25 million. The expanded endowment will help fund key initiatives: supporting low-income students’ access to music education, increasing instructor compensation and enhancing technology to reach underserved students in rural Minnesota.

Our fundraising consultants guided the creation of the capital campaign infrastructure, using proven strategies such as volunteer engagement, training initiatives and a detailed campaign plan centered around the theme Up Tempo!

In addition, we recommended multiple strategies to support the campaign and build an emotional connection with donors. These strategies included:

• Authentic storytelling featuring students, faculty and community members.
• Broad application of campaign messaging that focused on the breadth and diversity of their programs and student population across MacPhail’s website and community appeals.
• Events and partnerships to increase campaign visibility and attract donor support, like a kickoff event held during MacPhail’s annual Sounds of Summer festival.

The campaign was an impressive success, surpassing its goal.