Branding, Website & Audience-Building RFP

Location: MN — Twin Cities Metro
Type: RFP / RFQs
Categories:
Design

Deadline: 04/05/2024

Apply

ABOUT MINNESOTA WIND ORCHESTRA

The Minnesota Wind Orchestra is a new performing arts nonprofit started by two former school band students—Meagan Bachmayer and Katherine Bergman.

Our journeys began as student wind musicians in our 5th grade concert bands (Meagan played clarinet and Katherine played saxophone). We were part of wind ensembles through middle school, high school, and college where we met as members of the Gustavus Wind Orchestra. Over the years, we formed special bonds with our fellow musicians as well as our band directors. The lessons we learned about personal responsibility, the value of practicing your craft, working together as a team, and the power of music have shaped the people we are today.

A decade after graduating from college, we reconnected and realized that though there are thriving wind music programs in the schools, there are hardly any wind ensembles at the professional level in the entire country. Without professional ensembles, band students don’t have opportunities to see their art form outside of the classroom, and educators have shared that the number of students in band programs has declined since the pandemic. We want to help change this.

We created the Minnesota Wind Orchestra to celebrate this unique music and share it with new audiences, grow the art form itself, and inspire wind music educators and students everywhere. The ensemble will feature 40 musicians playing woodwind (e.g. clarinet), brass (e.g. trumpet), and percussion instruments—there are no strings.

We have received our 501(c)(3) nonprofit status from the IRS and are currently in our startup fundraising phase. Our objective is to hold auditions for the ensemble in the fall and produce the first concert in early 2025.

OUR PEOPLE

Meagan Bachmayer, Co-founder & Executive Director, brings over a decade of management and fundraising experience to the Minnesota Wind Orchestra. She previously served as Vice President, Advancement & Chief Administrative Officer at Milkweed Editions, one of the nation’s largest independent book publishers, and as Deputy State Director for Operations in the office of U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar.

Katherine Bergman, Co-founder & Artistic Director, is a Minnesota-based composer who draws on environmentalism, literature, and found materials to create music that has been described as hypnotic and visceral. She has received commissions and performances from leading ensembles throughout the United States and abroad. Her compositions have received support from the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Jerome Foundation, the Metro Regional Arts Council, and New Music USA.

Dr. Karrin Meffert-Nelson, Board Chair, is the Principal Clarinetist for the Minnesota Opera Orchestra and Associate Professor of Music at Gustavus Adolphus College.

Elizabeth Winslow, Board Vice Chair & Treasurer, is the Director of School Partnerships at MacPhail Center for Music.

Paul Kile, Board Member, is the Director of Bands at Edina High School and the Associate Conductor of Minnesota Symphonic Winds.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

We are seeking a partner or partners to work with us on branding, website development, and digital audience building.

Branding deliverables:
-Logo
-Brand guidelines
-Refine messaging: mission, vision, values, etc.

Website deliverables:
-Refine site map (we currently have a basic site up on Squarespace)
-Update website to incorporate brand guidelines
-Set up website analytics & train us in on how to utilize the data

Audience building deliverables:
-Collaborate on an overall marketing plan
-Email list building strategy
-Social media strategy
-Social media content creation
-Crowdfunding campaign strategy

TARGET AUDIENCE

One audience segment for our work includes wind band students, their families, and their teachers. By our estimate, there are over one hundred thousand students, ranging from fifth grade through college, participating in school band programs in Minnesota today.

Another audience segment includes the countless Minnesotans who know and love this artform from their time in school band programs. Some band alumni even join volunteer community ensembles after they leave school so that they can continue to play. There are roughly 130 of these community bands in Minnesota right now composed of players from their 20s to their 80s. We hope that the Minnesota Wind Orchestra will serve as a rallying point to bring these various groups together into one community celebrating all things wind band. By extending this art form from the academic setting to a professional stage, we also hope to introduce new audiences to wind music as well.

TIMELINE & BUDGET

We would like to begin this work as soon as possible, and our next priority is branding the organization. As a startup nonprofit, our budget is somewhat dependent on fundraising and could range from $5,000 – $20,000+. We know that even the high end of this is a smaller budget, and we are ready and willing to do a lot of work ourselves to keep costs down. We would be grateful to talk through what would be possible with the high end of the budget versus the low end.

Thank you for your interest! We look forward to hearing from you.