Noetic Changemaker Series
Ashley Magnus -Executive Director, The Acorn Center for the Performing Arts
What was your experience like working with Noetic Search?
I have worked with executive recruitment firms in the past, and my experience with Noetic was just the right combination of warmth and professional expertise. I got a complete picture of the organization I’d be joining and felt that I had advocates in the room working to ensure it would be a good fit all around.
I felt that I could speak candidly with Noetic and that they were able to gather information for me quickly and with ease. The process felt so good. The team at Noetic were great communicators throughout the entire process. It was a high-touch experience that made me feel supported as a candidate. I know that I was a late applicant to the process, and I was grateful that Noetic was still willing to review my materials and consider my candidacy.
What impact are you most proud of on behalf of your organization?
We are in the quiet phase of our capital campaign, and have raised $700k. The public phase, with a goal of $1.6M, will launch once we reach the $1M mark. We have a board meeting today and will vote to move forward with some upgrades in the theater. The area that we are having the most success in fundraising is individual contributors and major gifts. We are launching the campaign while building a culture of philanthropy that previously didn’t exist.
In terms of staff, we still have the same full-time team that I inherited – I’ve been able to retain them, and I think that speaks to the healthy culture of the organization and the strong board that supports us.
We’ve grown the board from 12 to 18 since I joined, which feels great.
How do you stay connected to the communities you serve?
In terms of community, it’s been a joy to build out our community programming. We added youth education programs – we are in our 3rd year of partnering with Jazz Reach, who comes and does a residency with us each year, which is fueled by grants. This is a K-12 program that benefits our community, and we also bus in 500 kids from surrounding rural areas. We also partner with the School of American Music to reach homeschool kids. This happens each November. Jazz was such an integral part of the civil rights movement and is a rich part of the fabric of America, and is important to share with our community youth. Out of this, the River Valley Jazz Orchestra formed at our local school. Last year, there were 18 students who participated!
We also formed TADA, the Acorn Dramatic Arts Camp. This summer is the 3rd year for this 4-week intensive half-day theater camp for kids around acting and singing, and it culminates in a fully produced musical that the kids perform at the end of the summer. This year, we are doing The Jungle Book. We secured funding for this, so we can fully subsidize it for the kids who participate. We partner with Neighbor by Neighbor to identify their client families to join us for TADA, which feels so good.
Do you have a motto or mantra you live by?
What I always come back to is “connecting the community through great live music.” It’s all about connections and coming up with ways for everyone to benefit.
