The Transforming arts fundraising commissioned grant is part of the wider £100 million Catalyst scheme. Applications to this grant are now closed.
We have also selected The Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy Consortium as the national delivery partner for our Transforming arts fundraising programme. Specific details of how arts organisations can get involved in the programme will be announced in the coming months.
The consortium will deliver a national fundraising development programme aimed primarily at Arts Council England's National portfolio organisations whilst offering relevance to the whole of the arts sector.
Consortium partners include Barbican Centre East London and City Culture Hub in partnership with Cause 4 , the DARE Partnership comprising Opera North and the University of Leeds, the Arts Marketing Association, and the Philanthropy Foundation. Umbrella bodies including the Visual Arts and Galleries Association; Association of British Orchestras, Dance UK and the Free Word Centre also form part of the group.
Opera North will act as the grantholder for the consortium which will work to provide opportunities for the arts sector to develop fundraising skills and potential.
The funds come from the £3 million Catalyst strand which aims to address knowledge sharing and learning. It has been designed to complement the other Catalyst Arts schemes; endowments, capacity building and match funding and building fundraising capacity.
Transforming arts fundraising will support activity which aims to professionalise arts sector fundraising across England while improving perceptions of the arts as a charitable cause among potential and existing donors.
The programme is one of the commissioned grants in our strategic funding programme.
Our aims for the programme
We expect the activity undertaken through Transforming arts fundraising will address the following objectives:
- ensure more income is generated for the arts from private giving and businesses
- develop the skills of individuals and organisations seeking to fundraise from the private sector
- achieve a demonstrable change in the professionalism of the arts fundraising sector by building on existing best practice across the whole charity fundraising sector from the UK and further afield, and sharing that best practice widely
- build a peer-to-peer leadership community which positions arts fundraising as a competitive, desirable and progressive career and which retains, develops and widens the talent pool
- ensure that arts organisations better address the needs of current and prospective donors, as well as attracting first-time givers to the arts
- develop an enterprising culture in which fundraising is placed at the heart of an arts organisation's business model and ethos, enabling organisations to better integrate their fundraising work with their artistic ambitions and their audience development activity and, by so doing, helping organisations better understand and articulate their case for support
- maximise learning through knowledge exchange, resources and thought leadership
Value of awards
Eligible organisations and consortia were asked to make applications for a total investment of up to £2 million across the three year period 2013-16.
They were asked to outline budgets which demonstrate value for money and clearly outline any proposed costs to arts organisations as part of a pricing structure.
For more information on the application process (now closed) visit our eligibility and how to apply pages.
