Todd M. Ahrens
Vice President
Revenue Enhancement Practice Leader
Chicago
201 West Lake Street, Suite 133
Chicago, IL 60606-1803
tahrens@ArtsConsulting.com
Tel (888) 234.4236 Ext. 216
Todd M. Ahrens (he/him/his) has 30 years of nonprofit experience in the arts, museums, and education sectors, including 15 years in senior-level management positions. In addition to his extensive experience organizing and leading capital and endowment campaigns, his areas of expertise include major and planned gifts, corporate sponsorship, memberships, and grants. He is experienced in revitalizing earned revenue streams, including subscriptions, retail sales, and facility rentals, as well as with marketing, communication, and branding strategies. Since joining ACG, he has provided invaluable support to clients and the field in identifying gifted leaders and strategically advancing capital campaigns and revenue enhancement strategies.
Prior to joining ACG, Ahrens spent two tenures with the Toledo Museum of Art. He was involved in a $75 million capital campaign to build a new building and sculpture garden, and later led a $40 million endowment campaign. Additionally, Ahrens developed new strategies to engage art collectors and nearly doubled the number of members in the museum’s acquisition society, providing more than $500,000 annually for art acquisitions.
“The arts inspire creativity and evoke empathy. They represent and unify our communities. Quite simply, they are essential and fundamental to our humanity.”
“Donors are essential and fundamental to the health of nonprofit organizations. Our role as arts advocates and advancement professionals is to connect people with their passions and help them understand how they can advance an organization’s mission.”
Ahrens has worked in the education sector as Director of Leadership Gifts at the University of Findlay, Director of Advancement at St. John’s Jesuit High School & Academy, and Director of Development for the University of Michigan Museum of Art where he led a $40 million campaign for art. He began his career in the arts at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in finance and marketing.
Ahrens has served on the boards of numerous arts organizations, including Arts Commission of Greater Toledo, Black Swamp Arts Festival, and Ohio Museums Association. Fluent in German, he completed two internships at Daimler Benz in Stuttgart, Germany, and spent a year studying at the University of Salzburg in Austria. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in international business and German from Simpson College and a master of arts degree from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Ahrens is credible in the knowledge and application of Target Training International’s Success Insights, per his certification in DISC and 12 Driving Forces®.
Ahrens' ACG client work includes:
- Albany Museum of Art
- American Conservatory Theater
- Arlington Museum of Art
- Atlanta Ballet
- Baltimore Museum of Art
- Bay Area Discovery Museum
- Boston Court Pasadena
- Broad Stage
- Center of Creative Arts
- Chrysler Museum of Art
- College Art Association
- Corning Museum of Glass
- Exploring the Arts
- Folger Shakespeare Library
- Long Wharf Theatre
- National Independent Venue Foundation
- Native Arts and Cultures Foundation
- New Art Center
- Newark Museum of Art
- North Carolina Museum of Art
- Saint Louis Art Museum
- San Francisco Conservatory of Music
- South Dakota Symphony
- Springfield Museum of Art
- Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art