Canterbury Shaker Village
Vibrant Canterbury Shaker Village: The Campaign for a National Treasure
Published February 2, 2026
Defining the Problem
A National Treasure at a National Inflection Point
Former board member Ken Burns called Canterbury Shaker Village a national treasure ranking alongside the Grand Canyon and the Washington Monument. The Village preserves 694 acres, 26 original buildings, and more than 100,000 artifacts spanning two centuries of American heritage. Yet only four buildings remained accessible to visitors. The campaign needed more than beautiful materials. It needed a strategic rationale powerful enough to transform quiet regional loyalty into national philanthropic obligation.
What we faced:
- A nationally significant story with a primarily regional donor base, ready to grow
- A campaign identity to build from scratch, with extraordinary raw material
- A lean, mission-driven organization requiring a strategic communications partner, not just a vendor
- An institutional ambition that had outpaced its existing communications
100,000
Authentic Shaker Artifacts
Founded 1792
Over 230 years of history
6
integrated deliverables
Setting the Stage
The Starting Point
When Foster Avenue began working with Canterbury Shaker Village in 2023, the cultural institution faced a paradox familiar to heritage sites across America: the more significant the place, the greater the cost of its stewardship. The Dwelling House, the community’s architectural centerpiece, had closed due to flood damage. Rain cascaded through historic roofs, damaging irreplaceable floors. The infrastructure that held two centuries of Shaker wisdom was deteriorating in real time.
The challenge was not a lack of leadership commitment. Canterbury’s board understood the stakes. The challenge was that no philanthropic language existed to match the site’s national importance. Stakeholders were divided on message strategy: some wanted to emphasize the immediate crisis, while others touted the Shaker legacy’s relevance to contemporary values, and still others believed that only an appeal crafted for national foundations could provide the scale of support needed. Without a unified rationale, the campaign could not move forward with confidence.
This was a campaign that needed to tell the truth: that even beloved and well-stewarded places reach inflection points, and that the right moment to act is always before the window closes. Foster Avenue’s work was to give that truth a language—and a campaign identity—that the board could champion with pride.
Engagement Overview
Strategic Context
CAMPAIGN PHASE ENTRY
Pre-Campaign/ Leadership Phase
ENGAGEMENT MODEL
Counsel-Led Communications
DURATION
6 Months
Sector
Cultural Institution
The Strategic Work
Strategic Discoveries
The National Treasure Frame Was Already There—Unused
The comparison of Canterbury to the Grand Canyon and Washington Monument had never been fully leveraged. As one stakeholder observed: “If someone put a campaign brochure in front of me that said Canterbury Shaker Village is as important as the Grand Canyon, my neck would snap around.” This transformed the value proposition from regional historic site to nationally significant cultural treasure.
Visitors Already Believed—They Just Needed Permission to Give
Comment card data showed 88% of visitors rated Canterbury as “one of the best tours I’ve ever been on.” Word of mouth had become the primary visitor source, indicating powerful organic advocacy. The gap was not the experience; it was connecting that experience to philanthropic opportunity.
Vibrancy Already Existed—Resources Were the Constraint
Discovery revealed a compounding constraint at the heart of Canterbury’s resource challenge. The Village couldn’t open more buildings without staff. It couldn’t retain staff without competitive compensation. It couldn’t fund compensation without endowment. Each limitation reinforced the others. The campaign’s five priorities weren’t a list of needs—they were a coordinated response to a single, compounding problem.
Our Framework Applied
Why Now? Why Here? Why This?
Canterbury Shaker Village had the story. It needed the strategic architecture to tell it. Foster Avenue applied its “Why Now? Why Here? Why This?” messaging framework to transform institutional needs into a compelling case for donor action, shifting the rationale from internal crisis to external obligation.
Why Now?
Two hundred years of Shaker wisdom are deteriorating while we watch.
The last Canterbury Shaker passed away more than three decades ago. Since then, the buildings they constructed with such care have steadily declined—only four of 30 remain accessible to visitors. A leadership cohort with the capacity, energy, and commitment to reverse this trajectory is in place today, but this window is time-limited.
Why Here?
The Most Completely Preserved Shaker Village in the World.
There are other Shaker sites. There is no other Canterbury Shaker Village. Its 26 original buildings, 694 intact acres, and 100,000-artifact collection represent the most comprehensive surviving record of Shaker life anywhere.
Why This?
Preserve the buildings. Endow the people. Share the wisdom.
The campaign’s five priorities—buildings, collections, programs, people, and the annual fund—are the specific, sequenced investments required to transform Canterbury from a beloved but resource-constrained institution into one that can open its doors fully, staff its tours properly, and tell the Shakers’ story with the depth it deserves.
Strategic Foundation
How Strategy Became Story
The campaign theme emerged from a fundamental strategic insight: Canterbury’s challenge was not that people didn’t care about Shaker heritage. It was that they didn’t know what was at stake. The Village had been quietly maintaining a National Historic Landmark for decades without ever fully claiming that status in its philanthropic messaging.
Foster Avenue’s discovery process revealed competing narratives that needed resolution. Some stakeholders emphasized the immediate crisis: buildings crumbling, staff underpaid. Others focused on the Shaker legacy’s relevance to contemporary values of sustainability, craftsmanship, and intentional community. Still others believed only national foundations could provide the scale of support needed.
The theme adopted by the board, “Vibrant Canterbury Shaker Village: The Campaign for a National Treasure”, did real work by unifying these perspectives. “Vibrant” signaled aspiration rather than desperation—a return to demonstrated excellence rather than a rescue mission. “National Treasure” leveraged a board member endorsement while creating permission for donors beyond New Hampshire to participate.
Donor response validated the approach. One supporter, reviewing the completed case materials, called them “the most beautiful and compelling campaign piece I have ever seen,” noting that “the worthiness of the cause is dramatically presented.”
CAMPAIGN Theme
Positioning Statement
Canterbury Shaker Village is one of America’s national treasures—a place where two centuries of Shaker wisdom, craftsmanship, and community still have the power to change how we see ourselves.
What They Said
We all are so grateful for the committed, responsive, talented team at Foster Avenue. Each member of your team did an excellent job in helping us distill our message and bring images and words to paper. It has been a joy to work with you, and receive your supportive counsel all the way.
— Member Board of Trustees
The Creative Work
Our Approach
Foster Avenue’s engagement with Canterbury Shaker Village exemplified the firm’s counsel-led communications approach, beginning with strategic discovery rather than creative execution. The team conducted a series of in-depth interviews with board leadership, staff, and key stakeholders to surface the insights that would shape the campaign’s messaging architecture.
The engagement was principal-led throughout. The team worked directly with Canterbury’s leadership to develop the strategic rationale, test messaging concepts, and build the campaign’s communications hierarchy. The same strategic mind that shaped the framework also guided its creative expression.
Engagement Highlights
3
Stakeholder Interviews
Board members and key leadership
6
Campaign Deliverables
Integrated communications suite
6
Month Duration
From discovery through leadership materials
The Work
Strategy Made Visible
Leadership Case for Support
Customizable proposals connected individual giving opportunities to the campaign’s unified this centerpiece of the campaign communications suite. Built on the “National Treasure” positioning, it gave gift officers language and visual evidence to transform quiet admiration into committed philanthropy. One supporter called it “stunning” and noted that “the pictures tell the remarkable story of the Village.”
Editable Priority Cases
Customizable priority cases connected an individual giving opportunity to the campaign’s unified narrative. Each priority case framed the donor’s potential gift within the “National Treasure” positioning, linking personal philanthropy to national cultural preservation.
Validation & Credibility
What They Said
“Without question, it is the most beautiful and compelling campaign piece I have ever seen. The overall design is stunning; the pictures tell the remarkable story of the Village; and the worthiness of the cause is dramatically presented. Congratulations to you and your team for creating it.”
— Campaign Supporter
“The Vision statement and Priorities are clear and persuasive, and the statements of need are nicely balanced between preservation and program. I am especially pleased to see the effort to endow key staff positions and expand programming.”
— Campaign Supporter
“The total goal is ambitious and bold. ... The statement demonstrates the skill and professionalism of the Canterbury leadership.”
— Campaign Supporter
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