CLIENT STORY · ARTS & CULTURE
Building a foundation for a creative future
Sisters in Cinema celebrates Black girls, women, and gender non-conforming media makers. AltruNext helped the Chicago nonprofit turn its vision for a creative home into a practical fundraising plan, tools, and board engagement.
The challenge
As a start-up nonprofit with an all-volunteer staff and an inexperienced board, Sisters in Cinema needed a clear starting point for fundraising. Limited resources made it essential to focus on the practices and opportunities that would have the greatest value.
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A city grant had enabled the organization to purchase a building in South Shore. Now it needed capital to renovate and open a creative space for media makers—along with the systems to sustain the organization beyond the campaign.
Our approach
01 · Assess
Listen to the founder’s vision and assess readiness for individual, foundation, corporate, and government support.
02 · Plan
Create a fund development plan with short- and long-term steps for giving, grants, events, infrastructure, and the capital campaign.
03 · Equip
Develop a board fundraising toolkit, grant calendar, campaign materials, and a draft case for support.
04 · Coach
Coach board members one-on-one to participate throughout the donor cycle and engage their personal networks.
A shared vision. A stronger foundation.
In the first year of the partnership, Sisters in Cinema and AltruNext translated the vision into systems and tools for development success. Board coaching and a donor moves-management process strengthened the organization’s ability to engage supporters and advance its campaign for a new media-maker space.
Roadmap
An actionable fund development plan
Engagement
Board members equipped to engage their networks
Systems