Claire Fassnacht (’17)

Claire Fassnacht (she/her/hers) is a musician from Chicago, IL. She earned her master’s degree in Arts Administration from Boston University in 2017. She currently works as the Development Manager of Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art and Director of Chicago Balinese Gamelan.

Tell me about yourself, when did your artistic journey begin? What led you to get your master’s in arts administration at BU?

I studied music in undergrad at Lawrence University with a background in classical percussion performance. In college I discovered traditional music from Indonesia called Gamelan music, which includes gongs, bronze xylophones and drums. I fell in love with that music and as a result I spent some time after college studying in Bali.

Ultimately, I knew that I wanted to go into arts administration. I loved the strong program that BU had to offer, and Boston also happens to have two community Indonesian Gamelan Ensembles, so it tied two of my interests together. I loved my time at BU and became interested in going down the fundraising path.

How has the BU arts administration program helped with your career trajectory?

It was a very well-rounded program that provided classes in a lot of different administration areas. I think that every nonprofit administrator should know about financial management and have strong writing skills, so Financial Management and the Raising Funds and Grant Writing class were key for me. That class also forced me to read a lot of different grant proposals which is really important for learning what a successful (and unsuccessful) proposal looks like. The professor, Michael Ibrahim was great and offered insightful perspectives from somebody who works in the Mass Cultural Council.

I also enjoyed the Research and Program Evaluation course from Doug DeNatale. And at first, I was afraid to take Legal Issues, but it wound up being one of the most interesting classes during my time at BU.

Overall, the faculty was inspiring, and the classes gave you a well-rounded experience for a career in the arts. When I applied for the program, it was suggested that you spend some time working in the field before coming straight from undergrad, and if I had to do the program over again, I would continue to recommend that. When you have worked in the arts you get a whole different perspective on the program content. Ultimately during the program I did get a full-time job at the Boston Ballet, which was great administrative experience.

What does your job as development manager at Intuit entail?

Intuit is an art museum with a small staff of 11 people, which means I am wearing a lot of different hats as the development manager. I am writing grants; managing the membership program; individual fundraising, which includes any mailed and online campaigns; one-on-one meetings with donors; and helping the museum president prepare for donor meetings. I also plan the annual gala and coordinate one or two smaller fundraising events.

I am also the staff liaison for our organization’s young board that has about 25 people, which is separate from our governing board. In addition, I also manage a development associate which has been great management experience.

In your opinion, what is the most rewarding aspect of a career in development?

Without a doubt the most rewarding aspect is celebrating the success of a fundraiser or a donation with the donor. The golden responsibility of a fundraiser is to connect donors with a change or impact that they are making through their giving.

A lot of people are afraid of fundraising because they think it is just about asking for money. What they don’t realize is that people are generally excited to give you money when they know that they are making a difference in the world. When I hear a yes from a donor to support a new exhibition, or to sponsor a teenager to participate in our summer teen program, or that they are going to make a gift towards our capital campaign to renovate our physical facility so that we can expand our space to accommodate larger audiences, those are always opportunities to celebrate with the donor and make them feel really good about the difference they are making.

Have you ever faced a challenging time or crossroads in your career? How did you overcome it?

Yes. The museum is in the middle of a capital campaign to renovate our facility and make it physically accessible. I joined the organization partway through the capital campaign, and it has been a challenge for me, the museum president, and the campaign committee to raise the funds needed for these changes.

Part of the challenge has been that the capacity of the donors in our circle wasn’t at the level that we needed in order to raise the dollars to achieve the fundraising goal. The campaign has gone on longer than expected, but we have done a great job at building relationships with new donors who have the needed capacity to give, and we have identified and applied for significant grant opportunities through the city of Chicago that would help get us to the finish line.

The lesson to be learned is to find a reliable risk analysis consultant who can measure your donor landscape accurately before embarking on a campaign project, but if you find yourself in a challenge like this, don’t give up. The physical renovation continues to be a priority for our museum so we reexamined our fundraising strategy and pivoted to achieve success—it‘s just going to take a little longer than anticipated.

As having experiences in both the visual and performing arts, what are some of the biggest challenges you see facing the arts world today?

During COVID, lots of organizations needed to pivot how they did programming. I am especially proud of the way my museum Intuit pivoted quickly at the start of the pandemic. We began offering virtual programs and galas immediately, and it has opened doors to engage a wider audience. Today we don’t just serve Chicagoans our programming, but people from all over the world. It was a challenge at first that turned into an opportunity.

Another challenge is that the main patronage for our museum (and museums across the country) tends to skew to older white people. Intuit recognized this and put goals in place to try an broaden the racial and age diversity of our audiences. We have designed programming showcasing artists of color and programming designed for younger audiences.

We also have a teen program to cultivate the next generation of museum goers, especially teens from underserved communities or lower socioeconomic backgrounds. For some of those teens, their first visit to Intuit may be their introduction to what a museum is like, and our goal is to be one of the most welcoming and accessible museums. What that means is anyone, regardless of how much they know about art, is welcome to come and have an amazing art experience.

If you had to interview someone for your position, what skillsets would you want them to have?

They would need to demonstrate passion, interest, and enthusiasm for the mission and the work of the organization. But that is also one of the most rewarding things about working in the cultural nonprofit sector: it is interesting and fulfilling, and we want people working with us who are excited about the work.

Other skills that are important are speaking skills, being able to represent the museum and talk to donors and board members. It is important to present yourself professionally as well as the museum, and know about the programs.

I also recommend candidates have great writing skills, so be prepared to present a writing sample.

Do you have any advice for current or prospective students?

You get as much out of the program as you put into it. If you are just looking to make an A you will probably do fine, but if you want to gain real knowledge you need to be doing all of the readings, saving all of the packets, presentation slides, case studies, and notes from class, because those materials come in handy when you work in the field and you can refer to those resources.

You meet many guest speakers and important teachers during the program. It is vital to be open to making connections and to be courteous, kind, and friendly, because you never know when one of those connections are going to help you. While you are doing the program, go out and see shows and exhibitions, make yourself available and that will take you far. You will meet people naturally by putting yourself out there and experiencing all the amazing things Boston has to offer. Embrace everything.

Learn about Intuit’s exceptional in-person and remote internship opportunities at our website: www.art.org.

Interview conducted by Cassie Pearson