Schapiro Group eUpdate: Spring 2009

Spring 2009
25 Years of Strategy Economy Can Grow with the Arts, TSG Shows We’re Proud of Our Clients TSG Says Hello and Goodbye TSG Serves the Community		25 Years of Strategy What does 25 years in business signify? For a strategic consulting practice like The Schapiro Group, it means that clients believe your work improves their prospects for success. They keep calling you and telling others about you. They bring you assignments of increasing challenge, requiring that you expand your capabilities, expertise and horizons. This firm starts our second quarter-century at a time when uncertainty prevails literally throughout the world. From our vantage point, here is what is sure - the purpose of TSG is to unearth opportunity for our clients, and we are very good at this. The need for what we do has never been greater, and our capabilities are right for the moment. Looking back, TSG is a very different firm in 2009 than when we opened our doors in 1984. Back then I was fresh off a stint at Research Atlanta, and the firm’s initial focus was policy and politics. We served clients who needed help with their strategy as advocates for a cause or who wanted to win an election. High-quality public opinion research became part of our arsenal, augmented by sophisticated interpretation and analysis. We gained a reputation for sifting through data to find the gold, then using it to create unique strategic value. "Data driven" became the TSG mantra, and still is. Our clientele expanded beyond the policy/politics arena. We grew to serve businesses of all sizes, non-profits with a wide range of missions and budgets, and government agencies seeking to serve the public more effectively. One of TSG’s differentiating advantages proved to be our conviction that practically everything of strategic significance can be measured. With imagination and work, it is possible to frame any situation quantitatively, and thereby develop strategy based on real answers instead of artfully disguised best guesses. While our clients are generous in the credit they give TSG, we have learned more from them. Their leadership is amazing, and so is their beneficial social impact. Our view of the future is more optimistic because we see first-hand the breadth and depth of their contributions. Our clients also have confirmed a fundamental value of TSG - the importance of being easy to work with. Great results are a necessary, but not a sufficient condition of client satisfaction. Enjoyment is part of every solid business relationship, on both sides. And even more, trust. So on this 25^th anniversary, I thank the clients whose loyalty has allowed the firm to grow and prosper. I thank the staff who make professionalism an integral part of The Schapiro Group brand. And I thank friends who have supported, encouraged and inspired this practice from the start - and still do so today. TSG looks forward to our next 25 years with a strong commitment to get better and better at what we do, so that our clients can continue to do the same. Back to Top Economy Can Grow with the Arts, TSG Shows Grassroots arts organizations may have modest budgets, but together they are giving a big boost to the metro Atlanta economy. An analysis in late 2008 by The Schapiro Group for the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund showed total annual impact of $109 million by small and midsized non-profit arts groups operating in a 23-county area around the city. The $109 million of economic impact identified by TSG encompasses payroll, expenses paid to vendors and service providers, and taxes to governments at all levels. It reflects the combined financial effect of more than 300 community-based non-profits that offer dance, design, folk arts, literature, media arts, music, opera, performing arts, theater and visual arts. Most of these organizations comprise the potential client base of the Arts Fund. Validation of impact for donors The study was commissioned to measure the economic contribution provided by the type of arts groups the Arts Fund has been serving for nearly two decades - metro area arts organizations with budgets under $1.5 million (most are well below this ceiling.) In 1993 The Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta and Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce jointly established the Arts Fund to help small and medium-budget arts groups achieve stability and grow. Arts donors committed to this purpose use the Arts Fund to pool their gifts. Grants from the Arts Fund have made a broad and sustained difference on behalf of small but professional community-based arts. Director Lisa Cremin said of the study, "Our donors and prospective donors want to see the full result of Arts Fund grants, including economic vitality. This is not an easy thing to measure, which is why we chose The Schapiro Group." Measuring the hard-to-count The study demonstrates a distinctive TSG capability that sets the firm apart in the strategic consulting field - skill at developing meaningful measures for results that are anecdotally clear, yet difficult to quantify. TSG President Beth Schapiro explained, "Many organizations covered by the study publish very limited or no information about their revenues, payroll, expenses or attendance. Our challenge was to fill in the blanks in a reasonable, realistic way. We improvised an effective model by integrating the real data that were available locally with similar data from national studies." Artful adaptation A key tool for the project was an economic impact calculator developed by Americans for the Arts, a national non-profit that advances the arts through research, advocacy and providing information. TSG adapted this tool and applied it with conservative imputed values for average annual operating budget ($192,424) and average yearly audience (4,570). Factoring in community populations of the arts groups, TSG estimated an average annual impact per organization of $250,000 - which totals $109 million when multiplied by the universe of 400 groups. "This study is a very useful tool for the Arts Fund," said Lisa. "Demonstrating economic impact is one of our strategies, and the work of The Schapiro Group shows definite economic leverage in supporting community arts." Back to Top We’re Proud of Our Clients The Georgia Department of Transportation TMC (Transportation Management Center) won the International Association of Business Communicators Atlanta 2008 Silver Flame Award for Integrated Communications Programs. If you want to minimize your time sitting in traffic, be sure to visit www.georgia-navigator.com and take advantage of the TMC’s full array of services. Georgia Trend named the following to its Most Influential Georgians and Notables lists: Chick Krautler, Director, Atlanta Regional Commission (www.atlantaregional.org) AJ Robinson, President, Central Atlanta Progress (www.atlantadowntown.org) Sam Williams, President, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce (www.metroatlantachamber.com) Alicia Philipp, President, Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta (www.cfgreateratlanta.org) Street Smarts (www.streetsmarts.us) moved into its brand new headquarters in beautiful downtown Duluth, Georgia. Here’s Street Smarts president - and Duluth City Council member - Marsha Anderson Bomar cutting the ribbon on their new digs. The YWCA of Greater Atlanta is honoring the following at their upcoming Salute to Women of Achievement: Renay Blumenthal, SVP Public Policy at the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce (www.metroatlantachamber.com) Linda Klein, Managing Shareholder at Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz (www.bakerdonelson.com) Lesley Grady, Vice President of Community Partnerships at the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta (www.cfgreateratlanta.org) Voices for Georgia’s Children (www.georgiavoices.org) has been selected by BoardWalk Consulting to receive a Leadership Stimulus grant. The grant covers 50% of the cost of BoardWalk’s services to support board development. Voices will apply the grant toward identifying prospects for the board and a board development session with the entire board. Back to Top TSG Says Hello and Goodbye TSG extends its best wishes to Alex Trouteaud, who has helped form an innovative public relations firm - Spry PR ( www.sprypr.com). We appreciate his many contributions and wish him well as he moves forward in his new venture. Nonprofit organizations in particular should check out Spry PR's new e-fundraising solutions. TSG welcomes new Strategist Bobby Jo Otto. She received her MA in Applied Sociology from East Tennessee State University and her BA in Sociology from Eastern Illinois University. Bobby Jo is currently enrolled in the PhD program at Georgia State University in Sociology with an emphasis in Race and Urban Studies. Back to Top TSG Serves the Community Downtown Doin’s....TSG is proud to have been a sponsor of the Central Atlanta Progress ( www.atlantadowntown.org) annual meeting. It was another inspiring event about the dynamic place we call home. Can we talk?... TSG President Beth Schapiro has shared her insights recently at the Association for Corporate Growth "Implications of the 2008 Elections" forum and the ITS GA/TIME conference. She also moderated panels at the Board of Directors Network "Politics: Should Businesswomen Care?" forum and Georgia's WIN List "Sex, Religion, Race & Politics" forum. Group fun... Beth is helping Atlanta’s WNBA team, the Atlanta Dream (www.atlantadream.net), identify groups to come enjoy a Dream game. The season starts in June and the games are fun, affordable, and family-friendly. For more information, contact Christopher Stephens (Christopher.stephens@atlantadream.net) and tell him Beth sent you! Hazardous duty... A former member of the teen group at Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, Office Manager Heather Beckett has now been recruited as a volunteer and chaperone for the group. She survived her first adventure: accompanying the teens on a camping trip to Stone Mountain! Back to Top In January 2004, The Schapiro Group began the eUpdate to keep clients and friends of TSG informed about the firm's activities. Feel free to forward this email. To add yourself to or remove yourself from this eUpdate list, please send an email to info@schapirogroup.com.