Nebraska Journalism Trust – Flatwater Free Press
VGA started with an assessment of the local news media environment. We consulted Pew Research data on local news habits in Nebraska, and we interviewed 20 local stakeholders representing diverse viewpoints across the state – editors from news outlets, current and former journalists, community advocates like Nebraska Appleseed and the Latino Center of the Midlands, […]
Tri-Faith Initiative – United We Walk
VGA created the United We Walk concept and then worked closely with Tri-Faith staff to develop the event. VGA supervised logistical preparations and support (parking, road closures, stage and sound systems, site layout, walk route, and more); communications, PR, and marketing; community outreach; and programming. VGA’s comprehensive outreach efforts ensured all communities felt welcomed and […]
Rock & Soul Forever Foundation
Launched by Little Steven Van Zandt and the Founders Board of Bono, Jackson Browne, Martin Scorsese, and Bruce Springsteen, The Rock & Soul Forever Foundation’s TeachRock curriculum is a standards-aligned, arts integration curriculum that uses the history of popular music and culture to help teachers engage students. Since 2020, VGA has worked closely with RSFF […]
The Rose Theater
VGA has worked with The Rose in a variety of capacities for more than 30 years. From 2004-2007, Vic Gutman served as The Rose’s interim executive director, increasing the theater’s endowment by $13 million and balancing its budget. VGA also developed the theater’s membership program, which increased participation from 480 subscriber families to 3,200 member […]
Do Right, Right Now COVID Campaign
As the COVID-19 pandemic swept the nation in 2020, VGA identified a need for a unified, consistent message about prevention measures among media and community partners. Beginning with a partnership with the Douglas County Health Department, the campaign grew to serve the entire state of Nebraska with a message to Do Right, Right Now. In […]
City of Omaha Celebrates America
This 30+ year tradition risked cancellation for lack of funding in 2019. VGA was brought in to save the event in mid-April of 2019 and the full-scale event took place, on schedule, at the end of June. Even though VGA received no official files or information from the prior event organizers, the team jumped in […]
Omaha Summer Arts Festival
VGA co-founded the Omaha Summer Arts Festival and has worked closely with the Festival’s volunteer board of directors to produce and manage the event since its inception in 1975. Over its history, the Omaha Summer Arts Festival has attracted more than 2.5 million visitors and generated more than $15 million in the art sales. The Festival […]
Omaha Farmers Market
In 1994, VGA helped lead a successful initiative to bring a public market to the historic Old Market District in collaboration with Omaha Mayor P.J. Morgan and Old Market “founder” Sam Mercer and the Mercer family. For the past three decades, the popular Omaha Farmers Market has become an Omaha tradition and attracts thousands of […]
Girls Inc. of Omaha – Lunch for the Girls
Lunch for the Girls celebrated 20 years with its first virtual event in November 2020, featuring writer, activist and feminist icon Gloria Steinem. Over the past two decades, LFTG has hosted a string of remarkable and accomplished speakers including former President Barack Obama, politician, lawyer and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond M. […]
Latino Center of the Midlands
Founded in 1971 as a small community center, today the Latino Center of the Midlands is a growing hub of wellness, education, and opportunity. Based in South Omaha, its bilingual team specializes in serving Latino and Latina students, workers, and families throughout the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro area. The Latino Center has worked with Vic Gutman […]
