How did Anne Marie Forbes, Vice President of Development for the Charlotte Symphony get her start in fundraising? The daughter of a librarian and attorney/college professor, she grew up in Omaha, Nebraska and actually started fundraising when she was 5 years old! She remembers, “I was one of those kids who went door to door raising money for the Jerry Lewis telethon. I watched all 22 hours of it with my dad. And usually at around 2:00 a.m., Jerry Lewis would look at the camera and say, “the phones aren’t ringing, it’s time...” And I would turn to my dad, and he would agree to let me call to make my $2 pledge. There was just something about knowing that my $2 was a part of that big number. I instantly made that connection.”

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She went to the University of Kansas as a theater/voice major, but switched to journalism and graduated with a journalism degree. Her last year of school, she was the director for an on-campus fundraising event where sororities, fraternities, and residence halls all submitted scripts of original music to be performed at a show. “I thought that if I could just find a job where I got to do something like this...well, that didn’t happen for many years, but I started on my path with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and had 19 years there in different roles. I worked for them in Kansas City for 3 years, and then in Denver, CO in a national role, traveling the country.” Despite her travels, while in Denver, she became a singer with the Colorado Symphony Chorus.

 

About her career move here, Anne Marie says, “I moved to Charlotte (in 1994) because I wanted to be in a community and not traveling all of the time. For 13 years, I was the Executive Director of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society chapter here, and I loved it. During those years, all of these new treatments were developed for MS, so it was a really amazing time in their history of providing solutions for people with MS.”

 

Once in Charlotte, she auditioned for and sang with the Oratorio Singers (a.k.a. Charlotte Symphony Chorus; a.k.a. Charlotte Master Chorale).

 

Anne Marie decided on a career change and went to Merrill Lynch to train to become a financial advisor. “I entered the Merrill Lynch training program just in time for the recession in 2008.” Despite it being 2008-2010, Anne Marie built her book and graduated from the program. However, a volunteer collaboration with a former colleague led Anne Marie to a relationship with the Alzheimer’s Association, where she was offered a job. “I realized that I was meant to be in a non-profit. It’s who I am.” She was there for 6 years traveling to Chicago or another market every week.

 

“Then, I went to work for Autism Speaks for 3 years. I was traveling to New York City or a different city every week, so I could no longer continue to sing with the Oratorio Singers. But that’s ok because I am a great audience member!  I still sing in church and for weddings, too.”

 

In order to spend more time with her family (who all moved to Charlotte in 2007), Anne Marie knew she needed to travel for work less and began to work for the Humane Society of Union County. “There’s just nothing like going to work every day and having puppies and kittens around.”

 

“When I learned of this (CSO Development) position opening, I thought, could this really be true that after all of this time, (my) vocation and avocation can meld and align? And it just so happens that they chose me, and everything came together...well, except for the puppies and kittens!”

 

She began her work at the CSO 7 months ago, and despite the pandemic part of it, has not found it hard to tell the story of the CSO. “People are so excited to have live music again. It is something normal, even though we are not completely back to normal. Even with social distancing, even with masks on...they are getting something back that is part of their souls. And that is a pretty easy story to tell. People are in awe of how we hung in there together during the pandemic because many symphonies weren’t able to. And the CSO was able to work together to figure it out. There was so much innovation. Every single facet of the CSO had to innovate to make this work. And if that doesn’t show the power of the team, I don’t know what does!

 

When asked if Development was working on any big projects at the moment, Anne Marie responds, “We are working on significant initiatives to build our financial stability and our artistic vitality to continue to strengthen our organization.” She adds that “there is always a way for people to support us: making a gift of any size that works for them.” Because, as she remembers from her 5-year-old self making her $2 pledge to the Jerry Lewis telethon, “if what someone can give is $20, that becomes part of the whole. And if what someone can give is a million dollars, that becomes part of the whole. And we love both, and we need both. We want people to know that their gifts matter.”

 

Is there a typical day in the life of the Charlotte Symphony VP of Development? “One reason I love this work is that it’s not typical. There is a nimbleness that needs to happen to be able to be responsive to what comes in during the day. On any day, I get to interact with the very talented members of my development team and other CSO teams, board members, donors and volunteers. Every day, there is something related to stewarding all of the wonderful people and companies that support the symphony. And we truly can’t do what we do without their support.”  

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