Event Management & Public Engagement
The event management process begins with discerning clients’ intended outcomes for their events—be they events to engage corporate stakeholders, arts & culture aficionados, or social circles. Attuned to clients’ aesthetic, experiential, and financial wishes for their events, Deborah then strategizes with her clients’ on how the event should attract, unfold, and leave lasting memories for participants. Developing the event diligently, and communicatively with clients, then addresses the myriad of details—among them: budget, venue, suppliers, sponsors, attendees, invitations, promotion, marketing, and ticketing. At and in advance of the event, Deborah orchestrates a harmonious flow of the event’s many moving parts, including for load-in, set-up, tear-down, and load-out, but especially to assure the intended experience for participants. Post-event, Deborah helps clients assess the event with respect to having achieved its intended outcomes—making sound recommendations for improvement critically, but cordially.
Marketing & Fundraising Strategy
Called upon by non-profit organizations Deborah helps to strategize their fundraising—specifically to plan from whom and how donations (monetary and in-kind), sponsorships, and grants can be secured. As de facto Development Director, Deborah engages, energizes, and equips boards, executives, and fundraising committees for their outreach to donors and funders, while helping managers and staff develop grant applications and contracts. Especially for the events that profile organizations and their concerns, but also that profile organizations’ products and services, Deborah helps strategize how to best appeal to and confirm the participation or interest of stakeholders, customers, and the public—and how that translates into lasting support.
Project & Program Management
Deborah helps design overall outreach programs for cultural agencies, arts festivals, and corporate product launches—advising and facilitating decisions on the approaches, contributors, and content. Deborah is then often retained to manage especially the more challenging or public-facing of the programs’ projects and other initiatives—among them: cultural film festivals, culinary arts festivals, and events to engage the media and other influencers. Deborah instills the confidence of project sponsors by deploying solid project management skills, including an attention to detail that provides for early risk mitigation and an ability to manage the efforts of multiple project resources.
Budget Planning & Grant Writing
Deborah supports her clients’ requests for funding by developing business cases, project proposals, grant applications, and related budgeting materials. For value-for-money in events, Deborah develops detailed budgets based on her planning experience and vendor relationships—and manages them with clarity to her clients. Deborah develops program budgets that best inform decisions through providing sound indications of likely returns and risks—and manages them collaboratively with her clients’ financial staff.
Strategic Planning & Board Development
As a skilled facilitator, Deborah helps the boards of non-profit organizations and senior managers of businesses give clear form to their strategic aims--and develop realistic plans to pursue them. Deborah works with senior board members to engage and educate new board members on the scope of a board’s oversight role and to help plan for succession. Deborah is also a skilled evaluator, especially in applying the developmental and most-significant-change approaches often appropriate in contexts of challenging change, such as changes to staff or in supply chains.
