After several years of leading an organization he created and expanded from nothing more than an idea, Des Moines Social Club executive director Zachary Mannheimer is stepping down from the organization’s helm.

The announcement was made on the heels of the Social Club’s one-year anniversary in its $3.5 million firehouse home downtown, and as the organization rides high on a year filled with milestones and accomplishments.

“It’s been eight years, and (the Social Club) needs some new blood,” Mannheimer said. “But if I’m going to hand it off to someone else, I want to do it when we’re doing well. … It’s not for lack of ideas, but we need to keep pushing the envelope.”

As for what’s next, Mannheimer told the Business Record he plans to stay in Des Moines and currently is in discussions with the Greater Des Moines Partnership and the University of Iowa to advance the missions of both organizations in the Central Iowa area and beyond. 

He will remain in his role with the Social Club through the end of this year, and then become director emeritus on the Social Club’s board of directors. 
The Social Club board of directors will conduct a national search for Mannheimer’s replacement this summer. 

A transition committee led by Chad Cox, who served as the 2013-14 board president, will launch the search June 1 and plans to accept applications through June 30. The transition committee consists of several board members, community leaders and Mannheimer, who said Social Club leaders hope to have his successor on board by Oct. 1.

Now in his eighth year as a resident of Des Moines, Mannheimer — who is originally from Philadelphia — moved to Des Moines after a road trip across the country, one during which he visited 22 cities in order to decide where to put down roots. 

But Mannheimer’s journey to Des Moines started before that, and his story here and with the Social Club spans many chapters after. 

I sat down with Mannheimer as he reflected on his decision to come to Des Moines, the current health of the Social Club and what’s next for him and the entity he created eight years ago. 

Was there ever a point where you thought this was what you might do permanently, or was that never in the cards?
It was never temporary, but there is a certain level of new blood that has to come in. There was a point last year where I was in a meeting and we were talking about new ideas with Social Club staff. I said, “Let’s do this.” Everyone stopped and Mickey (Davis, the Social Club’s program director) said to me, “Zack, we just did that.” And in the back of my head I thought, “I’m stale.” That’s OK, though — that should happen. But that’s the moment where I thought it might be time to consider something else.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced getting the Social Club from idea to successful reality?
There were two challenges. First, when I arrived here, I was an unknown factor. Des Moines likes to take care of its own, and for the first two years, I was an unknown entity selling an untested product in an unknown market in the worst economic times. Everything was against this idea. It took two years of convincing everyone who I was and that I was not the Music Man.

Once the community became comfortable with me, it took two more years of becoming comfortable with the concept of the Social Club. That was the first four years. There were three of us here (including Matt McIver and Julie Betts), and we had to test the product. After that, the hurdles were all the normal ones — finding money, marketing, running a venue. 

What was the Social Club’s biggest accomplishment?
The biggest accomplishment was establishing this building, the firehouse. On opening day, all the people who came were those who signified they also believed in this idea. 

Why is now the right time to leave?
If I’m going to leave, I want to leave at the height of what the Social Club’s accomplished. If I’m going to hand it off, I want to hand it off when it’s doing well. Things are going well, and now we need new ideas and management. We’re doing a ton of new things, and at this point, it’s maximizing the things we’re doing and making these things work efficiently. There’s no lack of ideas, but we still need to keep pushing the envelope, and I don’t think I’m the best person to do that at the moment. I think someone else should do that. I have personal reasons, too. I have three kids under age 5, and this is a 70- to 80-hour-per-week job. 

What are you hoping to do next?
After I realized now might be a good time to leave, I started thinking of what could be next. I also have developed other interests — rural development, bus rapid transit, and things like that — that don’t necessarily fit with the Social Club and its mission. Because that’s where my passion lies now, it would be unfair to the organization if I stayed in this position. I plan to stay in Des Moines, and I’m looking forward to a new opportunity.

How’s the Social Club doing from an organization and financial standpoint?
Our budget has tripled in two years, and we will soon have a staff of eight full-time employees. We have an incredible staff. They are the support structure here. We are bringing a new marketing director on this month. We have stability at a staffing level for the first time, so I feel like I’m leaving this place in very capable hands.  

We’re having a record year. We have cash reserves for the first time ever and record attendance to events and classes, and we’re holding a record amount of events. Everything is falling into place. There are still 100 problems to solve, and there always will be, but this crazy idea is what is now because so many people came and shared their art. 

Can you share some of those numbers?
We served anywhere between 15,000 to 25,000 people per month. Right now, we’re at 45 to 50 percent earned revenue. If things continue as they are today, we could land at the end of the year somewhere between 58 and 65 percent earned revenue. That’s a big deal for a nonprofit our age. There are some that have been around 40 years and don’t see that. Our 10-year goal is 80 percent. We’re in year two, and we know that last 10 to 15 percent will be most difficult. We’re doing really well, and the Social Club is doing everything I wanted it to do, and that wasn’t true until the past year.

What’s the transition plan between you and your successor?
The board should finalize their choice for my successor in September and bring him or her on by Oct. 1. That gives me plenty of time to train the person. I will remain here until the end of the year. Once I leave, I’ll be named director emeritus, so I will always be attached to the organization. It’s impossible for me to not stay connected, and I want to stay connected. Plan is for me to stay in Des Moines. Looking forward very much to coming here as a patron. I think my biggest hope is to go to the bash. Buy a ticket and go. I want to experience the Social Club now. I’ll probably still walk in and see 10 problems and want to fix them. That’s the plan. 

At this pace, given everything we’ve talked about, where is the Social Club poised to move in the future?
The goal is to make this place stable, and we’re headed in that direction. We’ve only been in the firehouse for a year, but I’d love to see us teach others how to establish something like this in other cities. Whether the board chooses to go in that direction, I can’t say. But I’ll still be here, taking a culinary class and seeing a show. I’m looking forward to making a night out of it. 

What others had to say on Zack and the legacy he leaves at the Social Club

On first impressions …

“Shortly after he arrived in Des Moines, Zack took a job as maitre d’ at what used to be the Embassy Club at 801 Grand. I was a member and encountered his great service. I was very impressed with his professionalism, and we hit it off. He became one of my mentees, and we had some great conversations about his vision. I was blown away by his bold thinking, and I remember telling him to “soften” his approach i.e. changing his style to one better suited to Iowans. He listened, and I was absolutely convinced that this young man was indeed going to realize his dream.”
Suku Radia, president and CEO, Bankers Trust Co.

“I first met Zack during the initial planning stages of an art exhibit I was producing. … I made the pitch, Zack responded with a simple, “Cool. I like it. Shoot me some dates, and we’ll make it happen.” That was it, but that was all it took to leave me impressed. He was professional. He listened. He validated me as an artist. And he engaged in the process. Those qualities are consistent with the man I have come to know over the past five years.”
Chad Cox, past president, Des Moines Social Club board of directors, and general manager at Hillyard Des Moines

On his accomplishments with the Social Club …

“Zack’s biggest accomplishment was building community. He rallied an entire city when we presented thousands of signatures to the Des Moines City Council as part of our acquisition of Fire Station No. 1. We had over 4,000 people attend our grand opening event at the firehouse. We’ve collaborated with numerous nonprofits, colleges and local governance on creative projects focused on creating community through the arts. Zack built not only an arts community, but a greater Des Moines community, a community of organizations, and a community that reaches beyond political differences.”
Chad Cox, past president, Des Moines Social Club board of directors

“Clearly, Zach’s biggest accomplishment is bringing talented and creative people together and inspiring them to collaborate.” 
Ellen Yee, board member, Des Moines Social Club, and law professor and director of international programs at Drake University

On his leadership style …

“Look in the dictionary under ‘visionary,’ and there’s a picture of Zack. True leaders can not only create and articulate a vision, but also can get other people to see the same vision and want to be a part of it. Zack has that ability.” 
Neil Salowitz, current president, Des Moines Social Club board of directors and retired marketing director at Principal Global Investors

“Zack is full of ideas and energy. His enthusiasm is infectious, and it inspires his colleagues to contribute the same level of passion to their work.” 
Ellen Yee, board member, Des Moines Social Club

In Zack’s words …

How the Social Club came to be

How did the Social Club become your path?
We’d have to start back in 2004, when I lived in New York City. I did a lot of leftist-based political theater, and I saw this as an opportunity. We started an off-Broadway group … in an oversaturated market, but what were we supposed to do? Maybe we needed to think about leaving, but that was never on the table. We did five political plays in 2003 during the Republican National Convention, all geared toward Republicans, whom we honestly believed would come see this play and change their minds about their beliefs. It was a great show, but toward one of the last performances, I realized there wasn’t a single person who walked in that didn’t already share our views. I began to think, ‘What was the point of this?’ It didn’t accomplish anything close to what we wanted.

That made me wonder what’s next. Here we were in this oversaturated market doing theater that wasn’t relevant. Finally, I participated in this anti-war march up Sixth Avenue. I was there with my friends, and I  remember looking up at a building, and 20 floors up, there was a guy watching us. After a few moments, he just closed the curtains and went back to work. That spoke volumes to me — that this million-person march literally had zero effect on him. All he had to do was close the curtains and he wouldn’t see it.

The way I was thinking was not healthy. After reading books about voting strategies and how people often vote based on where they lived, my mind just clicked — I didn’t have to stay in New York City. If I want to change people’s minds, I had to let them change my mind first. When I was looking for the right place, I could not have chosen better than Des Moines, because all of my hopes and dreams have come true here. I’ve changed dramatically as a person since I moved here. 

Why did you originally decide to form the Social Club?
I came to Des Moines because I wanted to go somewhere else and wanted to make it work. I moved here at a great time because amazing things were happening here. What I did before instilled in me that the only way to change a person’s opinion is to befriend them. You can’t rally, you can’t shout, you can’t march against them, but we were 24 years old, and we thought it would. All these things pointed out to me that this was not the way it worked. 

So, how do you befriend them? It’s an old acting tool. If you’re going to befriend them, you have to understand the person. How do you apply that to real life? Well, here’s Dave, and he thinks climate change is false. Am I going to yell at him about this? No. I’m going to buy him a beer and become friends with him, and he’s probably going to change my mind about some things as well. 

But most people are not open to that, so we decided to use arts as a catalyst. The model is about shared experiences — getting different groups here for different reasons, but at the same time — and you have to be open to that. That’s why we produce 700 to 800 events — you have to keep the train moving. The important thing is that it brings out a reaction in you, so much so that you turn to a perfect stranger and ask if they saw it, too. But then, how do you capture them and make them stay and form real relationships? We had to build a venue conducive to that.