Event Info

Location: Ruth Page Center for the Arts | 1016 N Dearborn St, Chicago
Cost: $45/person — only 30 seats available

What’s In It for You:

Your casual audience members came to your show and loved it. That doesn’t mean they’re ready to put a ring on you. Loyalty takes trust, and trust takes work.

That work starts with intentional relationship-building — with your audience, and with your colleagues in marketing or development.

Marketing and development don’t always move in sync. Sometimes your relationship is tense. Sometimes it’s great. Either way, both teams benefit from understanding how the other thinks, what drives their decisions, and how they measure success. Without that insight, even the best-intentioned strategies fall flat.

This workshop creates space for both sides to learn from each other, spot new opportunities, and get cross-trained in the mindset and mechanics behind audience growth and donor readiness. Whether your teams need a reset or just want a smarter way to collaborate, you’ll leave with practical strategies you can use immediately — and meaningfully connect with your coworkers and industry peers.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

💡 How to build a community of super fans, not just passive ticket buyers
Led by Nicole Wetzell, marketing strategist

💡 How to know when someone’s ready to give — and how to ask (without weirdness)
Led by Amy Funk, fundraising expert

💡 How to ditch the tense meetings and actually work better together
Led by Keli Frazier-Cox, leadership coach

If you’re thinking you’re too busy with 26/27 season planning for this, that’s exactly why you should come.

The most common thing we hear at our Roundtable Discussions:
“I wish we planned this sooner.”

This is a working session. It’s the time you always wish you have to plan, collaborate with your team, and swap ideas with peers facing the same challenges — and walk away feeling like you got something done.

Your Workshop Leads

Amy Funk | TWB Fundraising | Development

Amy Funk brings 20+ years of nonprofit leadership to the table, with a sharp eye for pairing bold strategy with sustainable practice. She's worked with arts organizations like Hyde Park School of Dance, Porchlight Music Theatre, Cafeteria Kids Theater, and the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music — along with healthcare and education nonprofits across the country.

Her development career started at Sarasota Opera and includes key roles at Florida Grand Opera and Have Dreams. She's also deeply committed to mentoring the next wave of fundraising leaders through her work with AFP Chicago and DePaul University.

Amy holds a Master’s in Nonprofit Management from DePaul (with distinction, no less).

Keli Frazier-Cox | Promote Leaders | Leadership

Keli Frazier-Cox is the founder of Promote Leaders and a builder of high-performing teams. With 25+ years of leadership experience — from scaling global departments to coaching emerging execs — she knows how to balance growth, people, and performance without losing the plot.

A Wharton grad and former Chief Commercial Officer at Mind Gym, Keli led teams across 15 countries and helped turn around a 40% revenue dip during the height of Covid. Her coaching framework, Intentionally Balanced Leadership, helps leaders grow sustainably and organizations scale without burnout.

She’s proof that investing in people delivers real returns — for culture, performance, and the bottom line.

Nicole Wetzell | NEW Marketing Solutions | Marketing

Nicole Wetzell brings 20+ years of experience working at the intersection of marketing, ticketing, and customer experience — a trifecta she’s lived and led across the arts and culture sector.

She helps organizations grow audiences, reduce friction, and create emotionally resonant experiences that keep people coming back. Her approach blends behavioral science with hospitality-forward strategy, turning good intentions into practical implementation.

With a background that spans everything from sales and subscriptions to audience development and Tessitura systems, Nicole is known for connecting the dots, asking the questions others miss, and helping teams move forward with clarity and confidence.