Making the case that Boulder needs the Dairy
People do not always see everything the Dairy Arts Center holds together. They may come for a movie, a play, a dance performance, a gallery opening, or a class. They experience one part of the building, then head home without seeing the larger network around it. Behind each visit is an organization working to keep stages open, galleries accessible, artists supported, and new work in front of an audience. Ticket sales and rentals cover part of that work, but they cannot carry all of it. The Dairy relies on donors to help maintain the building, support its programs, and give more than 100 arts organizations a place to create and present their work.
That was the heart of the fundraising challenge. For the 2026 Crystal Ball, the Dairy needed guests to understand that they were not being asked to support a building. They were being asked to protect a place that Boulder’s artists and audiences depend on. Our job was to make that clear before the evening’s donation appeal.
About the Dairy Arts Center
The Dairy Arts Center is Boulder’s largest multidisciplinary arts center, but that description only tells part of the story. Inside a former dairy plant are three performance theaters, an independent cinema, galleries, rehearsal rooms, event spaces, and arts education programs. Theater, music, dance, film, comedy, and visual art all share the same home. The Dairy gives established organizations a place to reach audiences, but it also creates room for smaller groups and emerging artists who may not fit inside a more commercial venue.
For Boulder, it is one of the few places where so many parts of the arts community cross paths. That openness comes with a cost. Presenting adventurous work, keeping programs accessible, caring for the facility, and creating space for artists all require support beyond the box office. Donations make that possible.
The challenge
The Dairy does a great deal, and that was part of the problem. Trying to explain every program, performance, organization, and community benefit would have left donors with a long list and no clear reason to care. Many guests already liked the Dairy. They had attended events there. They knew the building. But familiarity is not the same as understanding what would be lost without it.
We needed to move the story away from the number of rooms, shows, and programs. The stronger idea was much more personal: Boulder would not be the same without the Dairy. That became the foundation for the film. The piece had to help a room full of guests see the Dairy as essential to the city’s creative identity. It had to show that supporting the organization meant supporting the artists, young people, educators, arts groups, and audiences who rely on it. And it had to do all of that in a few minutes, just before the fundraising appeal began.
The solution
We started by listening. Through conversations with Dairy staff, artists, educators, and community members, we kept hearing versions of the same story. The Dairy gave people a place to take a chance. It welcomed work that might struggle to find a stage elsewhere. It allowed different art forms and communities to exist side by side. That gave us the direction we needed.
Instead of creating a program overview, we built the film around the Dairy’s place in Boulder. The organization became the thread connecting artists to audiences, young people to opportunity, and the city’s creative identity to the people doing the actual work. The film helped the Dairy say something larger than “support our programs.” It showed donors that their contributions help keep an entire arts community in motion.
That message gave the Crystal Ball a clear case for support. It also gave the Dairy a film it could continue using after the event in donor meetings, sponsorship presentations, grant conversations, community outreach, and future fundraising campaigns.
Dairy is part of what makes Boulder feel like Boulder
The results
The 2026 Crystal Ball sold out, bringing a full house together for the Dairy’s largest annual fundraiser. The film helped set the tone for the evening’s donation appeal by giving everyone in the room the same starting point: the Dairy is part of what makes Boulder feel like Boulder. By the end of the Crystal Ball campaign, the Dairy’s latest financial filing showed that contributions had risen 78% in charitable support. The increase reflected a donor community investing more deeply in the Dairy and the people who depend on it.
The project also gave the organization something useful beyond a single fundraising night. The film became a clear, human explanation of why the Dairy matters and why continued support is necessary. It helped turn a large and complicated organization into a story donors could understand: When they support the Dairy, they help keep art, opportunity, and connection alive in Boulder.
In the Dairy’s words
Rocket House Pictures quickly and thoroughly understood the passion points of our complex arts nonprofit. They were able to distill who we are into a short, inspiring organizational video designed to motivate donors at a fundraising event and beyond. We couldn’t be happier.
Jen Clements, Deputy Director, Dairy Arts Center
