Birthplace of Country Music Alliance hires a North Carolina firm to help raise $12 million for a cul

BRISTOL, Va. – The Birthplace of Country Music Alliance has hired a North Carolina firm to oversee next year’s $12 million fundraising campaign.

The Bristol-based nonprofit is trying to establish a world-class cultural heritage center in a vacant Cumberland Street building.

The BCMA Board of Directors recently selected Sims & Steele Consulting of Asheville, N.C., to direct fundraising efforts. The goal includes about $10 million for construction and a $2 million endowment to sustain its operation.

"We worked with several consulting groups to get to this point," BCMA board President Fred McClellan said. "Sims & Steele had the ability to do this and chemistry needed. We feel they’re the perfect firm for this project."

The consulting firm works with a variety of public and private clients, colleges, economic development entities and faith-based programs across Tennessee and the Carolinas.

Actual fundraising is set to begin in early 2008 and could take about a year to complete, said Wilson Sims of the consulting firm.

"The first six months will be the quiet phase, where we hope to raise the bulk of the money through leadership gifts and meet with potential donors throughout the Tri-Cities area," Sims said. "The public phase should begin in the summer of 2008."

The proposed center would include interactive displays, a performance theater, classrooms for school groups and a series of exhibits depicting the performers of the 1927 Bristol Sessions recordings and the music’s worldwide impact.

Music historians call those recordings the "big bang" of country music for launching the careers of Hall of Fame musicians Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family.

The project’s $12 million goal compares favorably with other projects the firm has successfully completed, Sims said.

In addition to private, corporate and foundation donors, the campaign will also solicit grant money from state, federal and other sources, McClellan said.

The alliance has already received a number of challenges, where donors would match public donations.

"We anticipate for every dollar generated locally, we could [secure] matches up to $4 or $5. Which is one reason it is so important we quickly establish the level of local support," McClellan said.

While fundraising appeals may be made to the commercial country music industry, it won’t be a cornerstone of the effort, McClellan said.

"We will be working with potential funding sources in Nashville – the country music center – but there has not been a history of their support," Sims said.

BCMA and the firm have hired Bristolian Amy Shuttle to coordinate the campaign. She will work with Crystal Pace of Sims & Steele, who will be the project’s primary consultant.

Shuttle has been active in a number of civic and nonprofit groups, including the Junior League of Bristol where she is a board member and past president.

Once money is raised, opening the facility could take up to two years, McClellan said.

"We anticipate bringing the architects back in for another phase and the construction phase should take about 18 months," McClellan said.

"Our timeline is not rigid," McClellan said. "This is about the process. We’ll only get one chance to do this. There’s been lots of consulting and studies to determine its feasibility. And we’ve waited for other projects that came before us. Now it’s our time."

| (276) 645-2532