Our recent WORK
Oolite Arts is a pioneer in South Florida’s arts community and has become one of the largest supporters of visual and cinematic artists in Miami.
Founded in 1984 as ArtCenter/South Florida, its goal is to empower artists by providing the resources they need in order to achieve their next level of success. The past several years have been a time of dynamic evolution for the organization: the sale of its artist studio building on Miami Beach created a sizable new endowment; a new President and CEO came onboard; the organization adopted a new name and brand; an explosion of new programming has occurred including a new focus on the cinematic arts; and a new and architecturally significant campus for artists and the community is underway in Miami.
NDN Advisors was initially hired to design and lead a comprehensive strategic planning process in order to create a roadmap for Oolite Arts for the next five years. The strategic plan resulted in a new vision and important Bylaws revisions. It also reengaged the Board and paved the way for Oolite Art’s first ever campaign. Based upon this success, Oolite Arts retained Naomi Nixon to serve as interim Chief Development Officer. In this role she established a campaign goal, created a case for support and identified, designed strategies for and solicited several early top donor prospects.
“At a pivotal time for our organization, Naomi led the Board through a critical strategic planning process to create a clear roadmap defining important goals and milestones for the next five years. She built consensus around several key issues, laying the foundation that will allow us to continue to be one of Miami's preeminent arts organizations. She is a great communicator and was able to generate a lot of positive energy within our Board.”
Dennis Scholl
President and CEO, Oolite Arts; Former VP / Arts, Knight Foundation.
Barry University’s President Mike Allen, assumed his new role at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic. He had ambitious new goals to advance the University’s mission, its strong history in the community, and a great story to tell.
But first, he needed to better understand the community and accelerate relationships with community and business leaders who would be pivotal to President Allen’s early success.
With her in-depth knowledge of Miami, and extensive high-level network of relationships, Naomi designed long-term strategies and engaged some of Miami’s most philanthropic families, aligning Barry’s mission with their interests and paving the way for significant future giving. NDN Advisors designed and recruited members for Barry University’s first ever President’s Community Leadership Council enabling President Allen to forge pivotal partnerships and inspire a new level and culture of philanthropy on the Board.
Naomi’s efforts resulted in one of Miami’s preeminent attorneys and civil rights leaders delivering Barry U’s Commencement Address; one of the most significant philanthropists nationally accepted an Honorary Degree from Barry University. Numerous partnerships with community non-profits were created which will benefit Barry University’s students through internships as well as continue to enhance Barry’s reputation throughout South Florida.
“Naomi is a true professional and a pleasure to work with. She quickly integrated herself as a member of the Barry team and immediately was able to understand and communicate what sets Barry apart in South Florida’s higher education landscape.
She is masterful at understanding what motivates each individual donor and was able to establish important new relationships and partnerships that will contribute to our success for years to come. She is a consummate connector!”
MIKE ALLEN
President, BARRY UNIVERSITY
Founded by a small group of parents of children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD), Casa Familia is a non-profit that creates sustainable, enriched and affordable housing opportunities in a community setting for adults with IDD.
Focused on sustainability for the future, Casa Familia engaged NDN Advisors to identify and help recruit the next generation of Board talent, identify new top individual, corporate and foundation prospects, and to develop and implement strategies to achieve the $25 million fundraising campaign for the Village of Casa Familia.
“NDN Advisors developed a successful strategy for Casa Familia to expand our community outreach to enable us to reach another level in our growth. NDN’s work was transformative and has led us to pursue strategic goals for long-term sustainability. The relationships that were developed as a result have already resulted in new Directors for our Board and relationships with significant community leaders which will pay huge dividends. NDN Advisors established footholds in philanthropic and academic circles that will drive our success. The firm was always over-prepared for meetings, with not only agendas and assigned roles but with scripts for key conversations. NDN’s preparation and care about every nuance made these meetings productive and gave confidence to the invitees that we were professional and worthy of their engagement. I would highly recommend NDN Advisor’s as a firm capable of raising an organization’s performance to the next level.”
MARC PLONSKIER
CHAIR OF THE BOARD, CASA FAMILIA, INC.
CO-FOUNDER AND PRINCIPAL OF THE GATEHOUSE COMPANIES
TRUSTEE OF THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BOSTON