When I started working with Dance for PD - Mid-Atlantic, they were doing incredible work in the Washington DC area. They had partnerships with prestigious institutions like the Kennedy Center, INOVA, and The Washington Ballet. The program was making a real difference in people's lives. But the lack of strategy and marketing was inhibiting their efforts.

The program was running on the passion and dedication of a few key people, which is how many great organizations start. But that also meant everything depended on those individuals. There weren't systems in place to support growth. Communications were happening, but there was an opportunity to elevate and drive more audience engagement. Program management was more reactive than strategic. And there wasn't a clear path forward for how to grow from a beloved local program into something that could serve more people without losing what made it special.

Getting Started

We kicked things off with Strategic Discovery—deep dive into the current state of things and the potential ahead. I talked with stakeholders, dug into the Parkinson's healthcare landscape, and took a hard look at what was working and what wasn't. From there, we built a strategic roadmap with clear recommendations and a plan for how we'd work together moving forward.

How We Work Together

I function as Dance for PD's external strategy and marketing department. I'm embedded as an ongoing resource, which means I'm there for the big-picture thinking and the day-to-day reality of what we can actually accomplish.

Here's what that looks like in practice: We meet quarterly for 90-minute strategic planning sessions to keep our eyes on the long-term goals. Then we have weekly 30-minute working sessions, plus I'm available via email for the questions that pop up in between. Every other week, I support their newsletter and outreach with strategic messaging. When partnership opportunities come up or they're making decisions about program expansion, I'm there to help them think it through. And when special projects come along that need attention, I jump in.

Here's what the Executive Director had to say about our work together:

"Shannon has been an invaluable strategic partner for Dance for PD Mid-Atlantic. She brings both high-level thinking and hands-on execution to help us strengthen our communications and expand our reach. Her expertise in brand positioning has helped us articulate our value more clearly, and we're seeing results—we've seen increased engagement with our dancers and growth in individual giving. Shannon is a delight to work with and her understanding of our unique needs has added tremendous value to her work with us. Shannon fills critical gaps on our team and helps us show up stronger in everything we do."

What We've Accomplished

In just the first six months, we saw exciting results:

• Growth in individual giving—and more importantly, we established a real culture around donor development.

• Secured first corporate sponsorship with more opportunities in the queue

• Implemented quarterly stakeholder communications so all their partners stay in the loop about what's happening and the value Dance for PD Mid-Atlantic is creating.

• Launched the Dance for PD Mid-Atlantic Facebook page

  
  

The work continues, and it's rewarding to see this organization building the infrastructure it needs to reach more people while staying true to what makes it special.