The first four Fellows have been selected to join the Arts Fundraising Fellowship Programme in the South West, run through Arts Council England's national delivery partners Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy Consortium.
The first four Fellows have been selected to join the Arts Fundraising Fellowship Programme in the South West, run through Arts Council England's national delivery partners Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy Consortium.
Matt Ashdown, Miriam Battye, Georgina Brown and Robin Peters were selected from over 50 applicants and will participate in an intensive 12-month programme based with arts organisations across the South West.
The Arts Fundraising Fellowship Programme, the first of its kind in the UK, hopes to create the next generation of leading Development Directors skilled with the vision, entrepreneurial expertise and ingenuity to make significant difference to the arts fundraising landscape, which needs more high quality entrants to consider this important career path.
The Fellows will be based with Hall for Cornwall, Circomedia, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Ageas Salisbury International Arts Festival, organisations that represent the breadth of innovative, attractive high quality arts produced and presented in the region.
This will be a rare opportunity to learn on the job from experts in the field, supported by a diverse training and learning programme that includes a bursary to attend the National Arts Fundraising School, run by the Management Centre. All Fellows will be mentored, trained and gain hands-on experience in the many facets of fundraising and will be expected to make a real contribution to their host organisation.
The South West Fundraising Fellows hub is supported by Arts Council England and the University of Exeter, as part of the University's wider development of entrepreneurialism and skills development for arts and cultural organisations.
Phil Gibby, Area Director, South West, Arts Council England, said: 'We are delighted to have been able to extend the reach of the Fellowship programme to the South West. As Sir Peter Bazalgette said recently, we are creating a new generation of arts fundraisers. In that context it's excellent to be able to partner with the University of Exeter and four of our National portfolio organisations to create this opportunity.'
Dom Jinks, Head of Arts and Culture at the University of Exeter, said: 'I am delighted that the University of Exeter is involved in the creation and development of the South West hub for the Arts Fundraising Fellowships programme. We very much look forward to this exciting opportunity and believe it will make a real difference to funding experience and knowledge across the South West.
The programme is being evaluated by the University of Leeds and participants will be awarded certification from the University, based on the achievement of objectives agreed at the beginning of the programme.
The Arts Fundraising Fellowships were created as a partnership between London-based development and fundraising enterprise Cause4 and the DARE Fundraising Academy, a unique collaboration between Opera North and the University of Leeds, together with leading arts and education organisations across London and the north of England.
Michelle Wright Programme Director of the Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy Programme, Cause4 said: 'The Arts Fundraising Fellowship Programme responds to the shortage of skilled arts fundraisers at a time when many organisations have seen significant cuts and need to be flexible and entrepreneurial in the pursuit of alternative income sources. We are aiming to support these Fellows to help redefine the relationships between private and public sector funding leveraging their passion, commitment and know-how to help maximise alternative income streams. We hope, in time, that they become future leaders in this vital field of income generation.'
Further information on the Fellowships Programme can be found at www.artsfundraising.org.uk.
The Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy Consortium were selected to be the national delivery partner for Arts Council England's Transforming Arts Fundraising programme. The commissioned grant came through the National Lottery-funded Catalyst programme.