Guest Speaker: Marie Beam

The Arts Administration program is proud to welcome Marie Beam as a guest speaker in the Grant Writing class. Ms. Beam is Chief Development Officer at the Discovery Museums, in Acton, Massachusetts. Marie manages all aspects of The Discovery Museums’ development operation, providing program leadership and the direction of all fundraising, and direct engagement, solicitation, and stewardship of lead individual, corporate, and foundation donor prospects. She is also responsible for designing and leading a capital campaign intended to have a transformational impact both on The Discovery Museums campus and the trajectory of philanthropic support for its ongoing programs.

Ms. Beam spoke with AR 550 students about the complexities of managing the fundraising office, including resource allocation, aligning organizational objectives with fundraising strategies, and the challenges of the continuous stewardship and cultivation phases of development. Ms. Beam also discussed the importance of grantwriting in an organization’s annual development calendar, and how to steward and maintain foundation and government funding relationships. Finally, Ms. Beam gave students tips on building an effective case for support in grant narrative writing, the importance of program evaluation, and current trends in program and grant sustainability.