Who We Are

    Red Olive Culture Commons is a Black woman-owned and -led creative universe. We value working closely with our clients to produce an action plan that is rooted in best practices and the organization’s current assets and aspirational capacities. We believe in process and plan as well as activation; we believe the success is in the doing.

    Red Olive values beauty, truth—even if it is brutal—rigorous analysis, the amplification of assets, and most importantly, a collaborative practice.

    Why

    We believe everyone should have access to professional fundraisers to move people and resources towards their mission. 

    Founded in 2013 by DéLana R.A. Dameron to address the growing needs of fundraising and organizational development for small cultural organizations, we have expanded to support small and community-based Black arts organizations, lending capacity to arts and culture, growing leaders of the field, and nurturing the hyper-local Southern and residential neighborhoods—where art also resides. Our work expands across the country, and our community of collaborators (donors, volunteers, clients, grantees, etc) expands across the globe.

    What We Believe

    We do not want to know a world without cultural institutions and commit our work to making sure they are sustainable and have a long vision into the future.

    We serve primarily cultural organizations and projects who are committed to working in and with communities of color.

    How We Work: Our Core Values

    1. We put the people of the work first
    2. We don’t let you do it alone; practice in community
    3. Leave organizations better than we found them
    4. We insist on excellence, while not letting perfect be the enemy of good
    5. We utilize global approaches for problem solving; the answer could be anywhere
    6. We make it our mission to get inside the room before mapping a way out
    7. WHY → HOW → WHAT
    8. We center the Black experience + expertise
    9. In our work, we know STORY > anything else

    Where We Work

    In the Universe!

    Red Olive has always had a remote practice, and continues to lean into that space for 2021 and beyond. We do strong + impactful work with groups regardless of geographic location.

    Our founder is based in Columbia, SC; however, our core group of Red Olive team members span two time-zones and five states.

    Our Clients

    Red Olive Creative Consulting specializes in working with small and medium-sized arts & culture organizations as well as foundations.