Category: clients

In one of the largest public works projects in the city since the Denny Hill Retrograde, Seattle is remaking its waterfront.

With the Department of Transportaion (DOT) as the lead agency, the City of Seattle brought in Fife Consulting to lead a Cultural Programs Planning process, particularly focused on a potential site for festivals and concerts on Pier 48 at the south end of Seattle’s historic waterfront.

We spent six months working with a joint taskforce to research similar projects nationwide, assess the local inventory of existing venues and producers, and engage the local arts, music and performance communities.  The project culminated in a recommendations and research report offering options and guidance for design and technical specifications at the site, as well as program and management concepts for cultural programming throughout the waterfront.  The document can be viewed here.

Agencies and organizations involved in the taskforce include Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture, Office of Film and Music, Department of Planning and Development, Department of Transportation, the Arts Commission, the Music Commission and the Friends of the Waterfront.

TeenTix is a revolutionary arts access program for teenagers in Seattle that helps arts organizations connect with young audiences and empowers teenagers to engage with the arts on their own terms.

After 10 years as a program of Seattle Center, TeenTix is in the process of establishing independence.

We are working with the TeenTix leadership and advisory board to help coach and facilitate elements of their strategic planning process.

Capitol Hill has long been known as one of the more vibrant and active neighborhoods for arts and culture, not just in Seattle but anywhere. As the neighborhood changes, there is a desire to keep its cultural assets strong, and to coordinate cultural planning, infrastructure, resource and programming development.
Fife consulting will work with the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with Capitol Hill Housing, to lead a neighborhood cultural planning process.

Established in 1994 with the help of Dale Chihuly, Hilltop Artists is a 501(c)3 non-profit glass arts program that provides classes and individualized instruction for over 500 students each year.Hilltop Artists provides youth, ages 11-20, with hot glass instruction, related arts training, and adult mentors focusing on increasing students’ academic and interpersonal success. 

Over the course of an 18 month period, Fife Consulting provided a series of strategic retreats for the board to define campaign priorities, coach engagement strategies and establish a long-term strategic plan.

eSe Teatro is a company of professional theatre artists from the greater Seattle area actively promoting diversity in the local art scene, building artistic bridges w/local, underserved populations & providing a sense of place for Latino artists.  They employ Latino & Spanish-speaking theatre artists often marginalized on the mainstream stage. eSe strives to give these artists space for self-expression: physical, creative and/or developmental space; space for dialogue w/Latino communities or simply, space to have their work honored & validated.

Fife Consulting provided coaching and facilitation for strategic planning conversations by the board in summer of 2013.

The Food Empowerment Education and Sustainability Team (FEEST) is a weekly youth-run organic dinner program that engages young people in issues of civic and social justice, food security, cultural expression, systems change and community development.  It is a practical laboratory for new and unique methods for youth engagement and development around food that provides a new model for communities nationwide.

FEEST started as a program of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center in 2006 and has been nested in a couple of other organizations during its growth and development since then. With a generous multi-year award from the WK Kellogg Foundation, FEEST began the process of development towards autonomy and larger instutitonal sustainability.

Starting in early 2013, Fife Consulting began working with FEEST on an eight-month series of projects to articulate a strategic plan, develop an organizational structure and define a system of operations.  During that time we developed an employee handbook, improved the benefits and compensation packages, drafted a communications plan, built logic models and program development plans, grew the stakeholder base of the organization and engaged them in strategic planning, established the first formal board of directors and wrote bylaws.  All culminated in the establishment of a new Business Manager position and the publication of a five-year strategic plan.

Currently, we continue to provide coaching support to the Executive Director and board through our partnership with The Ostara Group.

The Austin Creative Alliance (ACA) is a central Texas service organization established to shepherd the work of the community-led Create Austin Plan.  It’s mission to advance, connect and celebrate Austin’s arts, cultural and creative communities in order to nourish and strengthen the character, quality of life and economic prosperity of the region.

The ACA was born out of a legacy organization, the Austin Circle of Theaters (ACOT), and is going through a period of redevelopment as it grows its activities beyond the ACOT programming and expands its base of support.

Early in 2013, Fife Consulting was brought in to do an organization-wide strategic assessment, help facilitate board discussions, provide technical support to program management and coach the executive leadership.