Elevate Vocal Arts (EVA) is a Delaware-based 501(c)(3) that books Elevation, our professional vocal ensemble, with churches, universities, performing arts centers, and festivals. We're running a multi-wave outreach campaign to a prioritized list of potential presenters and are starting our next wave of emails and follow-up calls.
Our challenge is pricing. Presenters vary widely in budget and in how often they pay visiting artists, so one fee doesn't fit all. Our leadership has a proven method for estimating each presenter's fee range. The minimum is based on the presenter's annual operating budget. The maximum is based on their track record of bringing in touring or agency-managed ensembles. Applying this method by hand to dozens of presenters takes staff time we don't have while also making outreach calls.
Without these estimates, we can't tailor our pitches. We also can't test whether including a fee range in outreach emails helps or hurts response rates, which is an A/B test we want to run on our next wave.
We haven't had dedicated capacity for this research before. Staff have done a few estimates informally. We have an established method, a shared prospect spreadsheet, and internal fee benchmarks from past contracts, and we'll share all of these with the consultant.
The consultant will research each presenter on our assigned list (only 50 presenters per consultant) and produce:
- A fee range estimate (minimum and maximum) for each presenter, entered in our shared spreadsheet with source links and a one-sentence rationale. Estimates will follow our method. The minimum is based on 1–5% of the presenter's annual operating budget, drawn from 990s, annual reports, or published church budgets. The maximum is based on their history of presenting touring or outside ensembles.
- For each presenter, their type, their presenting track record (active, occasional, or local only), notable past visiting ensembles, and publicly listed decision-makers. For universities, this includes all likely budget holders: the performing arts center, the music school, and any inclusion or belonging offices.
- Notes on routing opportunities, meaning nearby presenters that could be booked around the same dates.
- A short summary memo of 1–2 pages on patterns, such as typical ranges by presenter type or region, with recommendations for future pricing.
This is research only. EVA staff handle all contact with presenters. We'll provide step-by-step instructions, a worked example, spreadsheet access, and weekly check-ins.
Success means every presenter on the list has a documented, defensible fee range. Our team can then tailor outreach, run our A/B test, and go into calls knowing what each presenter can realistically pay.
