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Theatre Lovett named Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year
3rd February 2012
Louis Lovett and Muireann Ahern of Theatre Lovett pictured with John McGrane Head of Business and Commercial Banking at Ulster Bank
Muireann Ahern Lovett and Louis Lovett of theatre company Theatre Lovett have been named this year’s winners of the David Manley Emerging Entrepreneur Awards.
Theatre Lovett were awarded €10,000 in cash and €100,000 worth of mentoring and consultancy services at an awards ceremony at the offices of Mason Hayes and Curran yesterday. Presenting the award, Harmonia chief executive Norah Casey praised the founders’ entrepreneurial and innovative spirit “which sets them apart from their peers”.
Theatre Lovett offers a unique kind of drama aimed at family and young audiences. A highly interactive art-form, it has a strong emphasis on the theatre of play. Theatre Lovett’s show The Girl Who Forgot to Sing Badly , co-produced with the Ark, has recently returned from the International Performing Arts for Youth showcase in Texas.
Previous winners of the Arts Entrepreneur of the Year Award include PhotoIreland Festival, THISISPOPBABY, Arcana, Mother's Tankstation and the Street Performance World Championships.
Death of Kevin J Kelly, Honorary President,
Business to Arts
13th January 2012
Kevin J Kelly, Honorary President, Business to Arts
It was with great sadness that we heard of the death of our friend, former boardmember and Honorary President Kevin Kelly on 4 January. As well as an illustrious career in business, Kevin was a keen supporter of the arts, and an enormous advocate for the mutual benefits that come from partnership between the corporate and cultural worlds.
His obituary can be read here.
David Manley Emerging Arts Entrepreneur 2012 Announced
4th January 2012
Muireann Ahern & Louis Lovett, Joint Artistic Directors of Theatre Lovett at The Irish Times Theatre Awards 2010
Our first piece of good news for 2012 is the announcement that the Arts Entrepreneur shortlisted for the David Manley Emerging Entrepreneur Awards is Theatre Lovett, a wonderfully dynamic young company creating stunning theatre productions for family audiences. They are up against Grace App in the social category, and Safefood 360 in the business category to be named David Manley Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year.
The David Manley Emerging Entrepreneur Awards honour arts, business and social entrepreneurs and the overall winner will receive over €100,000 in consultancy and mentoring and a cash prize of €10,000.
The Awards will be presented by Norah Casey of ‘Dragon’s Den’ and owner of Harmonia Publishing, on Thursday 2nd February 2012 in the offices of Mason, Hayes+Curran Solicitors.
For more information go to http://www.davidmanleyawards.ie
Sky Arts Ignition Series
Briefing Session for Arts Organisations
3rd November 2011
Sky Arts Ignition Series - a new iniatative supporting the arts
Business to Arts is working with Sky Arts and Arts & Business in the UK to bring you further information on the application process for their Ignition Series 2012.
Sky Arts Ignition Series is a new initiative from Sky aiming to bring more arts to more people by investing in the creation of the best of new and innovative arts. Sky Arts will partner with six leading arts organisations over the next three years, directly investing up to £200k into the creation of each of these new groundbreaking art works, projects, events and performances, using Sky’s reach and innovation to take them to more people – on the ground and on screen.
An information session on Wednesday 14 December in Dublin with the decision-making teams at Sky will cover application guidelines and timings, as well as help you explore what they’re looking for, and how arts organisations can work together.
If you are interested in reserving a place at this event please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Venue and timings to be confirmed.
Read more about the Sky Arts Ignition Series here
Arthur Guinness Fund Application
Briefing Session for Arts & Cultural Projects
1st November 2011
Arthur Guinness Fund is Open for Applications
Venue: The Abbey Theatre on the Peacock Stage
Date: Wednesday 9 November 2011
The Arthur Guinness Fund has re-opened for applications, and they are seeking applications specifically from the arts & culture sector. The closing date is 30 November, so time is short, making this briefing session by the Arthur Guinness Fund staff very useful!
There are a number of grants available of between €50,000 to €100,000 for start-up and established projects which have a social impact and are innovative and sustainable.
Fundit.ie was a grant recipient this year, and we have benefited greatly from the mentoring and business support we have received, far beyond the financial investment in the project. We have been working with Diageo to ensure the process is more relevant to arts and cultural organisations, to ensure you feel you have an equal opportunity to apply. Although you might not see yourself in these terms, social entrepreneurs are people with business heads and social hearts – just like you!
Some useful application criteria to be aware of :
• Project applicant (and leader) must be resident in Ireland (North or South) and must be over 18
• Projects should address a social / environmental / community issue in an innovative way
• The project’s primary focus must benefit people over 18 years of age
• The project’s primary focus must benefit communities in Ireland
• You should have a clear plan for growing the initiative
• There should be a clear way of measuring impact
This year’s categories are Culture & Arts; Community Wellbeing; Technology & Social Media for Social Good; Skills for Life; Enriching the Environment; Social and Community Regeneration. There is another open category for projects that do not fit within any of the specific categories, but still work towards social change.
There is more information on how to apply to the fund here.
Click .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to register places to attend.
Allianz Business to Arts Awards honour Collaborative, Cultural & Economic Creativity in Business
7th September 2011
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(L-R) Stuart McLaughlin Business to Arts, Brendan Murphy - Allianz, President Mary McAleese, Declan Collier - DAA and Gerard McNaughton - TileStyle.
Google, BNP Paribas, Carlow and Cavan County Councils and Bank of America Merrill Lynch are amongst the leading businesses and public bodies recognised at this year’s Allianz Business to Arts Awards Ceremony at Dublin Castle on September 5th 2011.
President Mary McAleese, Patron of Business to Arts for all of her 14 year term of office, joined leaders from the worlds of business and culture for the 20th year of the Awards to announce and celebrate the winning partnerships between the two sectors.
Viewed collectively, the shortlisted projects in this year’s Allianz Business to Arts awards reflect the wide and varied means by which these two apparently disparate worlds can come together to foster creativity to both enrich Irish society and stimulate economic activity. From sponsorship agreements, to community-based cultural events and in-kind partnerships, each relationship represents the joining together of business and the arts for mutual benefit.
A complete list of winners can be seen here and images from the event here.
Arthur Guinness Fund awardees 2011 announced – Fund it supported in ‘start-up’ category
13th July 2011
Recipients of the Arthur Guinness Fund 2011 pictured with Diageo Ireland Marketing Director Tanya Clarke.
Business to Arts is delighted to announce that Fund it is among the ten social entrepreneurship projects to be supported with professional business mentoring and financial investment totaling €650,000 over the next two years by the Arthur Guinness Fund.
Established in 2009 to mark 250 years of Guinness, the Arthur Guinness Fund is an innovative investment vehicle designed to support social entrepreneurs and act as a springboard in further developing their initiatives. At the same time, it is continuing the philanthropic spirit and legacy of the brand’s creator, Arthur Guinness.
Stuart McLaughlin, Chief Executive of Business to Arts, said "the Fund it team are thrilled to have been selected to partner with the Arthur Guinness Fund, an initiative we have admired and supported from the outset.
The exciting results of the first 100 days of fundit.ie have demonstrated the tremendous opportunity that exists for us all to play a role in bringing creativity across the island of Ireland to the fore, and by investing in the business the Arthur Guinness Fund have demonstrated that they share our commitment to supporting the ambitions of the creative community across the island of Ireland. This important support adds greatly to the investments already made in fundit.ie by the Department of Arts, Heritage & Gaeltacht, the Bank of America Foundation and the Vodafone World of Difference Foundation."
The 2011 Arthur Guinness Fund awardees are;
Jamie Regan - Hand on Heart Enterprises
John Evoy - Irish Men’s Sheds Association
Robin Blandford - Decisions for Heroes
George Boyle - The Fumbally Exchange (FEx)
Michael Hallissy and John Hurley - H2 Learning
Oisin Scollard - Turn2Me
Stephen Plunkett - U-Casadh
Stuart McLaughlin - Fund it
John Kearney - West Cork Rapid Response
Denis Roche - Vivartes
New Stream Programme is recognised at Irish Fundraising Awards 2011
1st July 2011
Maoiliosa McMahon of Bank of America Merrill Lynch with Rowena Neville of Business to Arts at the Fundraising Ireland Awards
We are delighted that the ‘New Stream’ Programme has been named Best Corporate / Charity Partnership at this year’s Irish Fundraising Awards. The 3 year capacity building programme run by Business to Arts and supported by Bank of America Merrill Lynch was recognised as the most successful partnership between a small/medium sized charity and a commercial organisation. At the end of Year 1 of ‘New Stream’, 28 organisations reported fundraising income of over €1.2m, credited to applying the techniques and skills gained through participation in the programme.
Diversifying Your Funding Landscape 1 Day Regional Workshops
1st June 2011
Glucksman Gallery, UCC, Cork : Friday 10 June
Harbour Hotel, Galway : Monday 11 July
Hunt Museum, Limerick : Monday 8 August
In times of funding challenge we all need to focus on sustainability, achieving as broad a landscape of income sources as possible. This workshop will show you the potential to broaden and maximise income streams, focusing on your impact as an organisation, and how that can drive income growth.
What are the different ways to fundraise? How do I get started? Who would be interested in investing in my organisation? How would I approach them?
This one-day seminar will help you find answers to these and other key questions, and will help you best communicate your organisational impact. The event will help you focus on the future and what your aims are, not for survival, but for growth.
The cost to attend is €75.00 including lunch. If a second person from the same organisation wishes to attend, the total cost for the organisation is €100.00. To reserve places, please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Places are limited.
Call for Nominations Allianz Business to Arts Awards
28th April 2011
Caption : Stuart McLaughlin, Chief Executive, Business to Arts, with Brendan Murphy, Chief Executive, Allianz look at books in the Chester Beatty Library with Harry McLaughlin (7)
2011 marks the 20th anniversary of the Business to Arts Awards which recognise businesses, artists and arts organisations that develop creative partnerships, bringing the arts and artists into the workplace and building mutually beneficial sponsorship relationships.
This year will also mark Allianz’s 10th anniversary of its involvement in the Business to Arts awards.
Although it’s been another challenging year in the arts, this year it is hoped to see an increase in nominations as many relationships have continued and some high-profile and innovative new ones formed. Last year, the value of the nominations represented €6 million in investment from the Private Sector in the Arts with half of the nominations bringing the arts into the workplace or addressing organisations’ CSR initiatives. Nomination forms can be downloaded here.
Closing date 20 May, for further information select here.
New Business to Arts Professional-in-Residence
23rd February 2011
For more information on the British Council Ireland go to http://www.britishcouncil.org/ireland.htm
We are delighted to announce that Dara O’Leary is working with the Business to Arts team one day a week, as a ‘professional-in-residence’, for a period of 3 months, courtesy of the British Council’s Cultural Leadership International Programme.
Dara is currently arts co-ordinator with the Dublin Docklands Development Authority, and holds a MA in Cultural Policy and Arts Management from UCD. She is assisting with the launch of our new crowdfunding initiative Fund it.
See http://www.fundit.ie for more information.
New Stream : Independent Evaluation of Year 1 published
26th January 2011
We’re delighted to announce the publication of an independent evaluation of the first year of ‘New Stream’, Business to Arts’ programme for the development of increased fundraising skills in the Irish cultural sector supported by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, our broad base of business supporters, and the Department of Tourism Culture and Sport.
We have long been committed to the concept of professional development in the arts and ’New Stream’ has allowed us to develop a more detailed programme in one specific field and to measure the outcomes of this investment. The Evaluation was conducted by an external consultant and reviewed by the Director of the MA in Cultural Policy at UCD.
We are particularly pleased that the programme attracted participants from across art form, geography and scale and that, in the first year, over €1million has been raised as a direct result of participation and knowledge gained in ‘New Stream’. Crucially this figure is many multiples of the investment made in the programme and it is a trend that we hope to pursue in subsequent years.
Having achieved a positive outcome in the first year we are currently in the process of implementing the second year of the project, making improvements that take into account the feedback provided by participants.
We are particularly grateful to Bank of America Merrill Lynch for their unwavering support of ‘New Stream'. However, without our broader base of support it would not be possible for us to deliver this programme.
Download New Stream Evaluation Year 1 1MB
Introducing Fund it
19th January 2011
Fund it Ireland’s first crowdfunding website for creative ideas
We’d like to introduce you to Fund it; a project we’ve been quietly working on for the last few months which we’re now ready to shout about from the rooftops!
Fund it is Ireland’s first crowdfunding website for creative ideas which will provide a new way for designers, artists, film-makers, inventors, producers, performers, writers, musicians and other creative individuals, groups and organisations to bring their ideas and passion to reality. In fact, there’s no reason why anyone with a creative idea shouldn’t engage with the site! If you know of someone in your network who you think would be interested in using the platform, please let them know.
If you are interested in finding out more, there is a short animation up on http://www.fundit.ie explaining how the site will work.
Vodafone Ireland World of Difference Success
24th December 2010
Martin McNicholl at the Conversation About Culture
We are delighted to announce that Martin McNicholl, our candidate for the 3-month Vodafone Ireland World of Difference placement programme was successful with his application to the Vodafone Ireland Foundation. Martin is our master all things technical and will be working as Project Manager on Fund it, our new crowdfunding website which will launch in 2011. Martin is a former Management Consultant with Accenture and earlier this year implemented the cloud-based CRM system salesforce.com at Business to Arts.
Martin was one of 30 recipients (from 185 high-quality applications) of three-month paid placements with the charity of their choice. For more information on the World of Difference Programme go to http://www.vodafone.ie/foundation/world-of-difference and to register interest in Fund it, go to http://www.fundit.ie
Social Media Internship
27th October 2010
Social Media Internship - Do you have what it takes to be a part of our team?
Social Media Internship
Are you an intelligent, energetic and professional social media fiend who is able to perform well in a fast-paced deadline-oriented environment? Would you like to learn how to turn your social media acumen into a career in fundraising and development? If so, we might have the perfect opportunity for you.
Business to Arts is looking for a highly motivated candidate interested in a career in social media and fundraising/ development to join our team.
The internship will support the Project Management Team and will research and assess the online marketing and communication strategies of leading international organisations as well as providing general project support.
What we require:
- Excellent internet research and social media skills
- Data entry and analytical skills
- Excellent communication and organisation skills
- Fluency in English
Previous experience with salesforce.com is also desirable but not essential.
The internship offers the opportunity:
- to be part of a small but dynamic project team
- to be actively involved in the development of a new venture
- to gain experience in online fundraising planning and implementation
- to gain general project management and communications experience
Interested applicants should send a CV and cover letter to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) before Friday Nov 5, 2010. Short-listed candidates will be contacted for interviews on Nov 10 & 11. Internships are offered for a three month period and will commence in mid November 2010. The internship comes with a small weekly stipend.
Irish Times Training Sponsorship Update
14th September 2010
We are delighted to announce that Irish Times Training have worked with us to financially support the participation of Donough Cahill, Director of the Irish Georgian Foundation on the Diploma In Management Practice and Denise Kennedy, Head of Human Resources with National Library of Ireland, in the 2 year MSc in Executive Leadership run jointly by University of Ulster and Boston College
The one-year programme aims to improve the competitiveness of organisations by developing the business skills and personal competencies of key experienced managers and executives. It combines practical experience with management theory, enhancing participant’s skills and enabling them to achieve business goals.
The Irish Georgian Society is a not-for-profit organisation that promotes the conservation of Ireland’s architectural heritage and decorative arts.
A Conversation about Culture
22nd August 2010
A Conversation about Culture gets underway at the O2.
Photo: Peter Fingleton
“If you want to create change, start a conversation.” Professor Theodore Zeldin
30 people from business and the arts joined us at The O2 on August 18 to participate in the first stage of a nation-wide project that will explore the contribution that culture makes to our lives. The event and subsequent outcomes are supported by Accenture, and are part of New Stream, a project supported by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and operated by Business to Arts.
More information on A Conversation about Culture will be available soon.
Derry-Londonderry is the UK City of Culture for 2013 - THEY SAID YES!
3rd August 2010
As you may have heard Derry (the only bidding city supported by a country!) has been successful in its bid to become the first ever UK City of Culture! A tremendous achievement and a great reward for all the hard work and and the incredible energy behind the Derry bid. We know that Declan Kelly and all the team in Derry were tremendously grateful for your support for the bid and we will, of course, be in touch soon to allow the team to share more of their plans for 2013 and talk about the role we can all play.
Thank you for all your support so far and CONGRATULATIONS to Derry!
For more information go to the City of Culture 2013 website.
Festivals are good for Ireland's economic health!
22nd June 2010
Photographed at the launch of Shining the Light on Successful Sponsorships (L-R) Loughlin Deegan, Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival, Ronan Murphy, Senior Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ann O’Connell , Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Stuart McLaughlin, Chief Executive, Business to Arts
At the launch of Shining the Light on Successful Sponsorships, Chief Executive of Business to Arts, Stuart McLaughlin stated that Ireland’s greatest festivals are not just fun to enjoy, they are great economic drivers as well.
The research report produced with PricewaterhouseCoopers, focuses on Ulster Bank’s Festival sponsorship portfolio and identifies the ‘immediate’ economic benefits associated with the Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival and the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s. The report also looks at the characteristics of a good model of practice for business sponsorship of the arts. Among the report's key findings, is the economic impact of the two festivals on the island of Ireland in 2009 amounted to approximately €8.4m and the employment generated by the festivals was equivalent to 67 FTEs (full time employees).
Shining the light on successful sponsorships. An assessment of Ulster Bank's festival sponsorships
[Full Report]
Shining the light on successful sponsorships. An assessment of Ulster Bank's festival sponsorships
[News Release]
US Envoy Calls for Irish support for ‘Legen-Derry’ Bid
18th May 2010
Caption : John McColgan, US Envoy to Northern Ireland Declan Kelly, Paul Brady and Stuart McLaughlin of Business to Arts, at an advocacy event in support of the Derry-Londonderry City of Culture 2013 bid hosted by Mason Hayes+Curran. Photo by Robbie Reynolds
Business to Arts CEO, Stuart McLaughlin and Economic Envoy, Declan Kelly gathered a number of prominent members of Ireland’s business and arts communities at an event hosted by Mason Hayes+Curran to call for support for the Derry-Londonderry City of Culture 2013 bid. The City is currently one of four finalists competing for the inaugural title.
Derry-Londonderry was one of 29 cities to submit an application in 2009 to host the first UK City of Culture which will take place in 2013. The purpose of the competition is to build on the success of Liverpool’s year as European Capital of Culture 2008, which has had significant social and economic benefits for the area. Derry-Londonderry, Birmingham, Norwich and Sheffield are the final four shortlist entries. Final bids will be made by the cities on May 28 2010.
Following the support expressed from Taoiseach Brian Cowen for the Bid, Declan Kelly is calling on the business and arts community to become champions and advocates for Derry-Londonderry in its Bid to be named UK City of Culture 2013, which will have a positive impact on the island of Ireland.
To read more about the bid, go to City of Culture 2013.
Creative Potential to Drive Economic Activity Honoured at Allianz Business to Arts Awards 2010
5th May 2010
Caption: Peter Keegan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch; David Douglas, ebow; John Ives, BMW Ireland; Eoin McGonigal, IMMA; Brendan Murphy, Allianz Ireland and Stuart McLaughlin, Business to Arts at the announcement of the winners of the 2010 Allianz Business to Arts Awards at the Irish Museum of Modern Art.
Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard, AIB, An Post and Ulster Bank are just some of the leading businesses set to be recognised at the prestigious Allianz Business to Arts Awards ceremony and luncheon at The Irish Museum of Modern Art on May 24 2010.
For the 19th year, the award sculpture has been commissioned by Dublin Airport Authority, and this year was designed and created in porcelain by the award-winning Cork artist Nuala O’Donovan.
The award categories cover a wide range of partnership areas from sponsorship to using creativity in the workplace, and from commissioning to corporate social responsibility awards which highlight community initiatives and demonstrate how the business and arts community can foster creativity to pave the way for Ireland’s recovery.
Within the Highly Commended projects, initiatives from Pfizer, taxback.com, the HSE, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Accenture among others are also set to be acknowledged. Involving children in the arts through education is a feature of many of the winning and highly commended projects.
The art-forms celebrated cover festivals, visual arts, music, film and literature and in the current climate, businesses looking more and more to providing opportunities for access to the arts by bringing arts out onto the streets for anyone to experience.
Speaking at the announcement of the winners, Brendan Murphy, CEO of Allianz said, “These awards demonstrate yet again the contribution and creativity in both the business and arts community, and its importance to our economic and cultural recovery. As Ireland Inc starts on the road to recovery, it looks to the creativity of our artists to help inspire and in many respects lead the way to economic renewal and recovery at both a local and national level.”
Stuart McLaughlin, Chief Executive of Business to Arts, congratulated all the winning and highly-commended projects. “This year’s entries clearly demonstrate that business and arts organisations are working harder to establish goals for their partnerships and ensure quality engagement with all stakeholders. The Jury Panel applied stringent criteria in their deliberations to select the projects that they’re recognising this year, and we’re enormously grateful for the attention they gave to the task.” Read more...
Ahern & Co, Boyle Arts Festival and de Veres Auction for Haiti
13th April 2010
Patrick Scott - Untitled 2009
A major auction of quality contemporary Irish Art is to be held at 6pm on Monday 26 April in Dublin to aid the victims of the Haiti Earthquake.The auction is being organised by Fergus Ahern, Chairman of Boyle Arts Festival in association with John de Vere White of de Veres Art Auctions. Viewing takes place at the D4 Ballsbridge Court Hotel (formerly The Berkley Court Hotel) from the 24 - 26 April, where a full auction catalogue will also be available.
Information on the auction is available from Ahern & Co (Ph: 071 9662215) and de Vere's Art Auctions (Ph: 01 676 8300)
Diageo Reveal 2010 Arthur Guinness Fund Judges
25th March 2010
Clockwise from Top Left - Ivan Yeats, John Kennedy, Managing Director, Diageo Ireland, Rowena Neville, Director of Marketing & PR, Business to Arts & Gavin Duffy, Entrepreneur and CEO Media Training
Business to Arts members Diageo Ireland have revealed the external adjudicators who shortly will help to choose the successful projects in 2010 to receive funding of up to €100,000 each from the Arthur Guinness Fund, while also benefiting from mentoring support from the company and Social Entrepreneurs Ireland’s Alumni Network.
The adjudication committee includes some high profile names from the business and arts world with the background and skills to help identify the most impactful and innovative projects. Judges include Dragon’s Den star and entrepreneur Gavin Duffy, Lord Iveagh of the Guinness family, Java Republic CEO David McKernan, Business To Arts CEO Stuart McLaughlin & Director of Marketing & PR Rowena Neville, Newstalk’s Business Editor Conor Brophy, former CEO of the IDA Kieran McGowan and Arts & Business Northern Ireland Director Mary Trainor. The adjudication committee, which is also made up of executives from Diageo Ireland and Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, is judging projects on a range of criteria including innovation, reach & scale and impact.
Art and Architecture Merge for Awards
19th March 2010
L-R Stuart McLaughlin, Chief Executive Business to Arts, Sculptor Nuala O’Donovan and Declan Collier, Chief Executive of the DAA
Announcing the sculptor for this year’s Allianz Business to Arts Awards at Terminal 2 in Dublin Airport were Business to Arts Chief Executive Stuart McLaughlin, Declan Collier, Chief Executive of the DAA, and sculptor Nuala O’Donovan. Commissioned by the DAA for the last 19 years, this year’s award constructed in porcelain is entitled ‘The Sum of its’ Parts’.
The closing date for nominations for the awards is Wednesday 24 March. For more information select here
Calls for Nominations Launched for Allianz Business to Arts Awards 2010
10th February 2010
L - R. Stuart McLaughlin - Business to Arts and Brendan Murphy - Allianz at the Royal Hibernian Academy
The Call for Nominations has gone out for this year’s Allianz Business to Arts Awards, the annual programme which recognises businesses, artists and arts organisations that bring the arts and artists into the workplace to respond to real business challenges, as well as important sponsorship relationships. Now in its ninth year, Allianz is proud to continue its support of Business to Arts in 2010.
With the closing date set for Wednesday 24 March, arts organisations and companies have just 6 weeks to prepare nominations on their collaborations and partnerships.
Last year, the value of the nominations represented €6.3 million in investment from the Private Sector in the Arts with half of the nominations bringing the arts into the workplace or addressing organisations’ CSR initiatives.
Stuart McLaughlin, Chief Executive of Business to Arts said “We look forward to 2010 with great optimism having seen a number of significant new sponsorship relationships emerge in 2009, together with some exciting projects between business and the arts. With this year’s Allianz Business to Arts Awards we hope to create a sense of the potential of these partnerships and how they will contribute to our recovery.”
“After a challenging 2009, it is great to see our potential to innovate and be creative still remains undimmed,” said Brendan Murphy, Chief Executive, Allianz. “Business to Arts plays a crucial role in unlocking creative and innovative potential that will not only encourage talent but will show us how we can regain our cultural and economic prowess.”
Call for Nominations - Allianz Business to Arts Awards
Gabriel Byrne Makes a Case for the Arts
15th December 2009
L-R : Stuart McLaughlin – Business to Arts, Gabriel Byrne, Declan Moylan - Mason Hayes+Curran, Peter Keegan - Bank of America Merrill Lynch
At a recent special event for Business to Arts supported by Mason Hayes+Curran, actor, Gabriel Byrne gave a talk to a small group of senior business people on why the arts and business should work together.
Declan Moylan, Chair of MH+C and Peter Keegan, Country Executive of Bank of America Merrill Lynch talked also about the reasons that their organisations seek opportunities to support culture in Ireland.
After hearing their stories Gabriel Byrne gave an inspiring speech on the reasons why arts and culture was such a critical aspect to Irish society saying “When you look back at our cultural history, which we often take for granted, it can sometimes really be humbling and a source of wonderful pride to think of what we have actually contributed as a culture to the world from this small island”.
Gabriel went on to talk about the vital role that the corporate and philanthropic community will play in ensuring that we continue to build on this rich history at such a difficult juncture for all aspects of society in Ireland and, importantly, to dispel some of the myths around ways in which business and the arts can work together. He commented that “When money and art go together and that doesn’t mean that art has to be censored, that’s a fear I think that a lot of artists have, you cease to be insular because you move out into the world. And when you move out into the world of ideas, it benefits you artistically, economically, socially and spiritually. That is something that is a gigantic contribution that will pay off down the years. And to be part of that, to be part of being responsible for making the world move in that direction is a wonderful thing to be involved in. The generosity of these people to say, ‘ok, we’ll put money into this’ I guarantee it will pay off in years to come from the artists point of view and from the business point of view. Artists and corporations must sit down together and see what common ground we have, and see how we can mutually benefit each other. I think it is the way forward.”
A call to action for all of us invested in working towards a sustainable model of both public and private support of the arts, and an inspiring evening for those who joined us.
Stuart McLaughlin named ‘Fundraiser of the Year’ for his work supporting the Arts
17th November 2009
Mary Kennedy and Stuart McLaughlin at the National Fundraising Awards (Robbie Fry Photography)
Stuart McLaughlin, Chief Executive of Business to Arts has been named ‘Fundraiser of the Year (Small Organisation)’ at the 2nd annual National Fundraising Awards organised by Fundraising Ireland and The Wheel.
Stuart was recognised for his work promoting and encouraging the development of alternative sources of funding for the Arts Sector, in addition to the public purse, and for creating collaborative networks of fundraisers amongst cultural organisations. In the last year alone, Stuart has negotiated a number of multi-year investments and sponsorships for Business to Arts and the sector as a whole worth over €1,035,000.
Speaking at last night’s event, Stuart McLaughlin said “I am delighted to receive this award on behalf of our team in Business to Arts. Through our success in the last year we hope to bring greater recognition to the importance of fundraising as a core skill in the cultural sector, and raise the profile of the arts as an effective recipient of public, corporate and foundation support. At a critical time for our sector we must learn new skills that create sustainability in our organisations and recognition of Business to Arts via the Fundraising Awards is an important way of building awareness of the value of pursuing excellence in this field.”
€400k investment from Bank of America Merrill Lynch to deliver income-generation skills to the Arts
17th November 2009
Stuart McLaughlin, Business to Arts; Minister Martin Cullen & Allen Blevins, Bank of America Merrill Lynch at the Abbey Theatre, Peacock Stage to announce ‘New Stream’
Some 80 people from the business and arts sectors gathered in the Abbey Theatre bar on 8 October 2009 to hear the details of ‘New Stream’ a landmark project to be run by Business to Arts over 3 years, supported by an investment of c.€400,000 from Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Designed to support organisations of all sizes, Business to Arts and its partners will provide access for the arts and cultural sector to specialist training and consultancy, information, peer support networks and professional advice. With participants’ feedback, New Stream will continue to develop and will be evaluated in association with the University College Dublin MA in Cultural Policy and Arts Management. This will ensure that it achieves the high standards required and identifies opportunities for further innovation.
Earlier in the day at a media briefing, Minister for Arts, Sport & Tourism, Martin Cullen said “the ‘New Stream’ Programme is significant on a number of levels. Firstly, it demonstrates a faith in the ability of Business to Arts to consolidate its past successes and to deliver robust training to the arts community. In addition, it signals a confidence, not only in the arts in Ireland, but also in business in Ireland, into the future. I think it will also act as a catalyst to our business and arts community to strive for even higher achievements.”
Reacting to a question as to why Bank of America Merrill Lynch would invest in the sustainability of the arts in Ireland, Allen Blevins, Art & Heritage Programmes Director for the bank who travelled from the US for the launch, said “the Bank has long observed that cultural organisations are the anchor of communities. We know that as a bank we thrive when the communities in which we do business thrive.”
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Events
Our regular e-bulletins for patrons, members and friends give details of our upcoming events. Be sure to keep an eye out and book early, as some events have a limited capacity.
Recent treats have included a behind the scenes visit to Grand Canal Theatre and a special event with Gabriel Byrne at Mason Hayes+Curran Solicitors.
Our events can often be a launch pad of ideas to create events of your own. Business to Arts is happy to help you replicate events, or will help source unique entertainment for your events.
Theatre Lovett named Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year
3rd February 2012
Louis Lovett and Muireann Ahern of Theatre Lovett pictured with John McGrane Head of Business and Commercial Banking at Ulster Bank
Muireann Ahern Lovett and Louis Lovett of theatre company Theatre Lovett have been named this year’s winners of the David Manley Emerging Entrepreneur Awards.
Theatre Lovett were awarded €10,000 in cash and €100,000 worth of mentoring and consultancy services at an awards ceremony at the offices of Mason Hayes and Curran yesterday. Presenting the award, Harmonia chief executive Norah Casey praised the founders’ entrepreneurial and innovative spirit “which sets them apart from their peers”.
Theatre Lovett offers a unique kind of drama aimed at family and young audiences. A highly interactive art-form, it has a strong emphasis on the theatre of play. Theatre Lovett’s show The Girl Who Forgot to Sing Badly , co-produced with the Ark, has recently returned from the International Performing Arts for Youth showcase in Texas.
Previous winners of the Arts Entrepreneur of the Year Award include PhotoIreland Festival, THISISPOPBABY, Arcana, Mother's Tankstation and the Street Performance World Championships.
Death of Kevin J Kelly, Honorary President,
Business to Arts
13th January 2012
Kevin J Kelly, Honorary President, Business to Arts
It was with great sadness that we heard of the death of our friend, former boardmember and Honorary President Kevin Kelly on 4 January. As well as an illustrious career in business, Kevin was a keen supporter of the arts, and an enormous advocate for the mutual benefits that come from partnership between the corporate and cultural worlds.
His obituary can be read here.
David Manley Emerging Arts Entrepreneur 2012 Announced
4th January 2012
Muireann Ahern & Louis Lovett, Joint Artistic Directors of Theatre Lovett at The Irish Times Theatre Awards 2010
Our first piece of good news for 2012 is the announcement that the Arts Entrepreneur shortlisted for the David Manley Emerging Entrepreneur Awards is Theatre Lovett, a wonderfully dynamic young company creating stunning theatre productions for family audiences. They are up against Grace App in the social category, and Safefood 360 in the business category to be named David Manley Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year.
The David Manley Emerging Entrepreneur Awards honour arts, business and social entrepreneurs and the overall winner will receive over €100,000 in consultancy and mentoring and a cash prize of €10,000.
The Awards will be presented by Norah Casey of ‘Dragon’s Den’ and owner of Harmonia Publishing, on Thursday 2nd February 2012 in the offices of Mason, Hayes+Curran Solicitors.
For more information go to http://www.davidmanleyawards.ie
Sky Arts Ignition Series
Briefing Session for Arts Organisations
3rd November 2011
Sky Arts Ignition Series - a new iniatative supporting the arts
Business to Arts is working with Sky Arts and Arts & Business in the UK to bring you further information on the application process for their Ignition Series 2012.
Sky Arts Ignition Series is a new initiative from Sky aiming to bring more arts to more people by investing in the creation of the best of new and innovative arts. Sky Arts will partner with six leading arts organisations over the next three years, directly investing up to £200k into the creation of each of these new groundbreaking art works, projects, events and performances, using Sky’s reach and innovation to take them to more people – on the ground and on screen.
An information session on Wednesday 14 December in Dublin with the decision-making teams at Sky will cover application guidelines and timings, as well as help you explore what they’re looking for, and how arts organisations can work together.
If you are interested in reserving a place at this event please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Venue and timings to be confirmed.
Read more about the Sky Arts Ignition Series here
Arthur Guinness Fund Application
Briefing Session for Arts & Cultural Projects
1st November 2011
Arthur Guinness Fund is Open for Applications
Venue: The Abbey Theatre on the Peacock Stage
Date: Wednesday 9 November 2011
The Arthur Guinness Fund has re-opened for applications, and they are seeking applications specifically from the arts & culture sector. The closing date is 30 November, so time is short, making this briefing session by the Arthur Guinness Fund staff very useful!
There are a number of grants available of between €50,000 to €100,000 for start-up and established projects which have a social impact and are innovative and sustainable.
Fundit.ie was a grant recipient this year, and we have benefited greatly from the mentoring and business support we have received, far beyond the financial investment in the project. We have been working with Diageo to ensure the process is more relevant to arts and cultural organisations, to ensure you feel you have an equal opportunity to apply. Although you might not see yourself in these terms, social entrepreneurs are people with business heads and social hearts – just like you!
Some useful application criteria to be aware of :
• Project applicant (and leader) must be resident in Ireland (North or South) and must be over 18
• Projects should address a social / environmental / community issue in an innovative way
• The project’s primary focus must benefit people over 18 years of age
• The project’s primary focus must benefit communities in Ireland
• You should have a clear plan for growing the initiative
• There should be a clear way of measuring impact
This year’s categories are Culture & Arts; Community Wellbeing; Technology & Social Media for Social Good; Skills for Life; Enriching the Environment; Social and Community Regeneration. There is another open category for projects that do not fit within any of the specific categories, but still work towards social change.
There is more information on how to apply to the fund here.
Click .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to register places to attend.
Allianz Business to Arts Awards honour Collaborative, Cultural & Economic Creativity in Business
7th September 2011
(L-R) Stuart McLaughlin Business to Arts, Brendan Murphy - Allianz, President Mary McAleese, Declan Collier - DAA and Gerard McNaughton - TileStyle.
Google, BNP Paribas, Carlow and Cavan County Councils and Bank of America Merrill Lynch are amongst the leading businesses and public bodies recognised at this year’s Allianz Business to Arts Awards Ceremony at Dublin Castle on September 5th 2011.
President Mary McAleese, Patron of Business to Arts for all of her 14 year term of office, joined leaders from the worlds of business and culture for the 20th year of the Awards to announce and celebrate the winning partnerships between the two sectors.
Viewed collectively, the shortlisted projects in this year’s Allianz Business to Arts awards reflect the wide and varied means by which these two apparently disparate worlds can come together to foster creativity to both enrich Irish society and stimulate economic activity. From sponsorship agreements, to community-based cultural events and in-kind partnerships, each relationship represents the joining together of business and the arts for mutual benefit.
A complete list of winners can be seen here and images from the event here.
Arthur Guinness Fund awardees 2011 announced – Fund it supported in ‘start-up’ category
13th July 2011
Recipients of the Arthur Guinness Fund 2011 pictured with Diageo Ireland Marketing Director Tanya Clarke.
Business to Arts is delighted to announce that Fund it is among the ten social entrepreneurship projects to be supported with professional business mentoring and financial investment totaling €650,000 over the next two years by the Arthur Guinness Fund.
Established in 2009 to mark 250 years of Guinness, the Arthur Guinness Fund is an innovative investment vehicle designed to support social entrepreneurs and act as a springboard in further developing their initiatives. At the same time, it is continuing the philanthropic spirit and legacy of the brand’s creator, Arthur Guinness.
Stuart McLaughlin, Chief Executive of Business to Arts, said "the Fund it team are thrilled to have been selected to partner with the Arthur Guinness Fund, an initiative we have admired and supported from the outset.
The exciting results of the first 100 days of fundit.ie have demonstrated the tremendous opportunity that exists for us all to play a role in bringing creativity across the island of Ireland to the fore, and by investing in the business the Arthur Guinness Fund have demonstrated that they share our commitment to supporting the ambitions of the creative community across the island of Ireland. This important support adds greatly to the investments already made in fundit.ie by the Department of Arts, Heritage & Gaeltacht, the Bank of America Foundation and the Vodafone World of Difference Foundation."
The 2011 Arthur Guinness Fund awardees are;
Jamie Regan - Hand on Heart Enterprises
John Evoy - Irish Men’s Sheds Association
Robin Blandford - Decisions for Heroes
George Boyle - The Fumbally Exchange (FEx)
Michael Hallissy and John Hurley - H2 Learning
Oisin Scollard - Turn2Me
Stephen Plunkett - U-Casadh
Stuart McLaughlin - Fund it
John Kearney - West Cork Rapid Response
Denis Roche - Vivartes
New Stream Programme is recognised at Irish Fundraising Awards 2011
1st July 2011
Maoiliosa McMahon of Bank of America Merrill Lynch with Rowena Neville of Business to Arts at the Fundraising Ireland Awards
We are delighted that the ‘New Stream’ Programme has been named Best Corporate / Charity Partnership at this year’s Irish Fundraising Awards. The 3 year capacity building programme run by Business to Arts and supported by Bank of America Merrill Lynch was recognised as the most successful partnership between a small/medium sized charity and a commercial organisation. At the end of Year 1 of ‘New Stream’, 28 organisations reported fundraising income of over €1.2m, credited to applying the techniques and skills gained through participation in the programme.
Diversifying Your Funding Landscape 1 Day Regional Workshops
1st June 2011
Glucksman Gallery, UCC, Cork : Friday 10 June
Harbour Hotel, Galway : Monday 11 July
Hunt Museum, Limerick : Monday 8 August
In times of funding challenge we all need to focus on sustainability, achieving as broad a landscape of income sources as possible. This workshop will show you the potential to broaden and maximise income streams, focusing on your impact as an organisation, and how that can drive income growth.
What are the different ways to fundraise? How do I get started? Who would be interested in investing in my organisation? How would I approach them?
This one-day seminar will help you find answers to these and other key questions, and will help you best communicate your organisational impact. The event will help you focus on the future and what your aims are, not for survival, but for growth.
The cost to attend is €75.00 including lunch. If a second person from the same organisation wishes to attend, the total cost for the organisation is €100.00. To reserve places, please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Places are limited.
Call for Nominations Allianz Business to Arts Awards
28th April 2011
Caption : Stuart McLaughlin, Chief Executive, Business to Arts, with Brendan Murphy, Chief Executive, Allianz look at books in the Chester Beatty Library with Harry McLaughlin (7)
2011 marks the 20th anniversary of the Business to Arts Awards which recognise businesses, artists and arts organisations that develop creative partnerships, bringing the arts and artists into the workplace and building mutually beneficial sponsorship relationships.
This year will also mark Allianz’s 10th anniversary of its involvement in the Business to Arts awards.
Although it’s been another challenging year in the arts, this year it is hoped to see an increase in nominations as many relationships have continued and some high-profile and innovative new ones formed. Last year, the value of the nominations represented €6 million in investment from the Private Sector in the Arts with half of the nominations bringing the arts into the workplace or addressing organisations’ CSR initiatives. Nomination forms can be downloaded here.
Closing date 20 May, for further information select here.
New Business to Arts Professional-in-Residence
23rd February 2011
For more information on the British Council Ireland go to http://www.britishcouncil.org/ireland.htm
We are delighted to announce that Dara O’Leary is working with the Business to Arts team one day a week, as a ‘professional-in-residence’, for a period of 3 months, courtesy of the British Council’s Cultural Leadership International Programme.
Dara is currently arts co-ordinator with the Dublin Docklands Development Authority, and holds a MA in Cultural Policy and Arts Management from UCD. She is assisting with the launch of our new crowdfunding initiative Fund it.
See http://www.fundit.ie for more information.
New Stream : Independent Evaluation of Year 1 published
26th January 2011
We’re delighted to announce the publication of an independent evaluation of the first year of ‘New Stream’, Business to Arts’ programme for the development of increased fundraising skills in the Irish cultural sector supported by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, our broad base of business supporters, and the Department of Tourism Culture and Sport.
We have long been committed to the concept of professional development in the arts and ’New Stream’ has allowed us to develop a more detailed programme in one specific field and to measure the outcomes of this investment. The Evaluation was conducted by an external consultant and reviewed by the Director of the MA in Cultural Policy at UCD.
We are particularly pleased that the programme attracted participants from across art form, geography and scale and that, in the first year, over €1million has been raised as a direct result of participation and knowledge gained in ‘New Stream’. Crucially this figure is many multiples of the investment made in the programme and it is a trend that we hope to pursue in subsequent years.
Having achieved a positive outcome in the first year we are currently in the process of implementing the second year of the project, making improvements that take into account the feedback provided by participants.
We are particularly grateful to Bank of America Merrill Lynch for their unwavering support of ‘New Stream'. However, without our broader base of support it would not be possible for us to deliver this programme.
Download New Stream Evaluation Year 1 1MB
Introducing Fund it
19th January 2011
Fund it Ireland’s first crowdfunding website for creative ideas
We’d like to introduce you to Fund it; a project we’ve been quietly working on for the last few months which we’re now ready to shout about from the rooftops!
Fund it is Ireland’s first crowdfunding website for creative ideas which will provide a new way for designers, artists, film-makers, inventors, producers, performers, writers, musicians and other creative individuals, groups and organisations to bring their ideas and passion to reality. In fact, there’s no reason why anyone with a creative idea shouldn’t engage with the site! If you know of someone in your network who you think would be interested in using the platform, please let them know.
If you are interested in finding out more, there is a short animation up on http://www.fundit.ie explaining how the site will work.
Vodafone Ireland World of Difference Success
24th December 2010
Martin McNicholl at the Conversation About Culture
We are delighted to announce that Martin McNicholl, our candidate for the 3-month Vodafone Ireland World of Difference placement programme was successful with his application to the Vodafone Ireland Foundation. Martin is our master all things technical and will be working as Project Manager on Fund it, our new crowdfunding website which will launch in 2011. Martin is a former Management Consultant with Accenture and earlier this year implemented the cloud-based CRM system salesforce.com at Business to Arts.
Martin was one of 30 recipients (from 185 high-quality applications) of three-month paid placements with the charity of their choice. For more information on the World of Difference Programme go to http://www.vodafone.ie/foundation/world-of-difference and to register interest in Fund it, go to http://www.fundit.ie
Social Media Internship
27th October 2010
Social Media Internship - Do you have what it takes to be a part of our team?
Social Media Internship
Are you an intelligent, energetic and professional social media fiend who is able to perform well in a fast-paced deadline-oriented environment? Would you like to learn how to turn your social media acumen into a career in fundraising and development? If so, we might have the perfect opportunity for you.
Business to Arts is looking for a highly motivated candidate interested in a career in social media and fundraising/ development to join our team.
The internship will support the Project Management Team and will research and assess the online marketing and communication strategies of leading international organisations as well as providing general project support.
What we require:
- Excellent internet research and social media skills
- Data entry and analytical skills
- Excellent communication and organisation skills
- Fluency in English
Previous experience with salesforce.com is also desirable but not essential.
The internship offers the opportunity:
- to be part of a small but dynamic project team
- to be actively involved in the development of a new venture
- to gain experience in online fundraising planning and implementation
- to gain general project management and communications experience
Interested applicants should send a CV and cover letter to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) before Friday Nov 5, 2010. Short-listed candidates will be contacted for interviews on Nov 10 & 11. Internships are offered for a three month period and will commence in mid November 2010. The internship comes with a small weekly stipend.
Irish Times Training Sponsorship Update
14th September 2010
We are delighted to announce that Irish Times Training have worked with us to financially support the participation of Donough Cahill, Director of the Irish Georgian Foundation on the Diploma In Management Practice and Denise Kennedy, Head of Human Resources with National Library of Ireland, in the 2 year MSc in Executive Leadership run jointly by University of Ulster and Boston College
The one-year programme aims to improve the competitiveness of organisations by developing the business skills and personal competencies of key experienced managers and executives. It combines practical experience with management theory, enhancing participant’s skills and enabling them to achieve business goals.
The Irish Georgian Society is a not-for-profit organisation that promotes the conservation of Ireland’s architectural heritage and decorative arts.
A Conversation about Culture
22nd August 2010
A Conversation about Culture gets underway at the O2.
Photo: Peter Fingleton
“If you want to create change, start a conversation.” Professor Theodore Zeldin
30 people from business and the arts joined us at The O2 on August 18 to participate in the first stage of a nation-wide project that will explore the contribution that culture makes to our lives. The event and subsequent outcomes are supported by Accenture, and are part of New Stream, a project supported by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and operated by Business to Arts.
More information on A Conversation about Culture will be available soon.
Derry-Londonderry is the UK City of Culture for 2013 - THEY SAID YES!
3rd August 2010
As you may have heard Derry (the only bidding city supported by a country!) has been successful in its bid to become the first ever UK City of Culture! A tremendous achievement and a great reward for all the hard work and and the incredible energy behind the Derry bid. We know that Declan Kelly and all the team in Derry were tremendously grateful for your support for the bid and we will, of course, be in touch soon to allow the team to share more of their plans for 2013 and talk about the role we can all play.
Thank you for all your support so far and CONGRATULATIONS to Derry!
For more information go to the City of Culture 2013 website.
Festivals are good for Ireland's economic health!
22nd June 2010
Photographed at the launch of Shining the Light on Successful Sponsorships (L-R) Loughlin Deegan, Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival, Ronan Murphy, Senior Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ann O’Connell , Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Stuart McLaughlin, Chief Executive, Business to Arts
At the launch of Shining the Light on Successful Sponsorships, Chief Executive of Business to Arts, Stuart McLaughlin stated that Ireland’s greatest festivals are not just fun to enjoy, they are great economic drivers as well.
The research report produced with PricewaterhouseCoopers, focuses on Ulster Bank’s Festival sponsorship portfolio and identifies the ‘immediate’ economic benefits associated with the Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival and the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s. The report also looks at the characteristics of a good model of practice for business sponsorship of the arts. Among the report's key findings, is the economic impact of the two festivals on the island of Ireland in 2009 amounted to approximately €8.4m and the employment generated by the festivals was equivalent to 67 FTEs (full time employees).
Shining the light on successful sponsorships. An assessment of Ulster Bank's festival sponsorships
[Full Report]
Shining the light on successful sponsorships. An assessment of Ulster Bank's festival sponsorships
[News Release]
US Envoy Calls for Irish support for ‘Legen-Derry’ Bid
18th May 2010
Caption : John McColgan, US Envoy to Northern Ireland Declan Kelly, Paul Brady and Stuart McLaughlin of Business to Arts, at an advocacy event in support of the Derry-Londonderry City of Culture 2013 bid hosted by Mason Hayes+Curran. Photo by Robbie Reynolds
Business to Arts CEO, Stuart McLaughlin and Economic Envoy, Declan Kelly gathered a number of prominent members of Ireland’s business and arts communities at an event hosted by Mason Hayes+Curran to call for support for the Derry-Londonderry City of Culture 2013 bid. The City is currently one of four finalists competing for the inaugural title.
Derry-Londonderry was one of 29 cities to submit an application in 2009 to host the first UK City of Culture which will take place in 2013. The purpose of the competition is to build on the success of Liverpool’s year as European Capital of Culture 2008, which has had significant social and economic benefits for the area. Derry-Londonderry, Birmingham, Norwich and Sheffield are the final four shortlist entries. Final bids will be made by the cities on May 28 2010.
Following the support expressed from Taoiseach Brian Cowen for the Bid, Declan Kelly is calling on the business and arts community to become champions and advocates for Derry-Londonderry in its Bid to be named UK City of Culture 2013, which will have a positive impact on the island of Ireland.
To read more about the bid, go to City of Culture 2013.
Creative Potential to Drive Economic Activity Honoured at Allianz Business to Arts Awards 2010
5th May 2010
Caption: Peter Keegan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch; David Douglas, ebow; John Ives, BMW Ireland; Eoin McGonigal, IMMA; Brendan Murphy, Allianz Ireland and Stuart McLaughlin, Business to Arts at the announcement of the winners of the 2010 Allianz Business to Arts Awards at the Irish Museum of Modern Art.
Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard, AIB, An Post and Ulster Bank are just some of the leading businesses set to be recognised at the prestigious Allianz Business to Arts Awards ceremony and luncheon at The Irish Museum of Modern Art on May 24 2010.
For the 19th year, the award sculpture has been commissioned by Dublin Airport Authority, and this year was designed and created in porcelain by the award-winning Cork artist Nuala O’Donovan.
The award categories cover a wide range of partnership areas from sponsorship to using creativity in the workplace, and from commissioning to corporate social responsibility awards which highlight community initiatives and demonstrate how the business and arts community can foster creativity to pave the way for Ireland’s recovery.
Within the Highly Commended projects, initiatives from Pfizer, taxback.com, the HSE, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Accenture among others are also set to be acknowledged. Involving children in the arts through education is a feature of many of the winning and highly commended projects.
The art-forms celebrated cover festivals, visual arts, music, film and literature and in the current climate, businesses looking more and more to providing opportunities for access to the arts by bringing arts out onto the streets for anyone to experience.
Speaking at the announcement of the winners, Brendan Murphy, CEO of Allianz said, “These awards demonstrate yet again the contribution and creativity in both the business and arts community, and its importance to our economic and cultural recovery. As Ireland Inc starts on the road to recovery, it looks to the creativity of our artists to help inspire and in many respects lead the way to economic renewal and recovery at both a local and national level.”
Stuart McLaughlin, Chief Executive of Business to Arts, congratulated all the winning and highly-commended projects. “This year’s entries clearly demonstrate that business and arts organisations are working harder to establish goals for their partnerships and ensure quality engagement with all stakeholders. The Jury Panel applied stringent criteria in their deliberations to select the projects that they’re recognising this year, and we’re enormously grateful for the attention they gave to the task.” Read more...
Ahern & Co, Boyle Arts Festival and de Veres Auction for Haiti
13th April 2010
Patrick Scott - Untitled 2009
A major auction of quality contemporary Irish Art is to be held at 6pm on Monday 26 April in Dublin to aid the victims of the Haiti Earthquake.The auction is being organised by Fergus Ahern, Chairman of Boyle Arts Festival in association with John de Vere White of de Veres Art Auctions. Viewing takes place at the D4 Ballsbridge Court Hotel (formerly The Berkley Court Hotel) from the 24 - 26 April, where a full auction catalogue will also be available.
Information on the auction is available from Ahern & Co (Ph: 071 9662215) and de Vere's Art Auctions (Ph: 01 676 8300)
Diageo Reveal 2010 Arthur Guinness Fund Judges
25th March 2010
Clockwise from Top Left - Ivan Yeats, John Kennedy, Managing Director, Diageo Ireland, Rowena Neville, Director of Marketing & PR, Business to Arts & Gavin Duffy, Entrepreneur and CEO Media Training
Business to Arts members Diageo Ireland have revealed the external adjudicators who shortly will help to choose the successful projects in 2010 to receive funding of up to €100,000 each from the Arthur Guinness Fund, while also benefiting from mentoring support from the company and Social Entrepreneurs Ireland’s Alumni Network.
The adjudication committee includes some high profile names from the business and arts world with the background and skills to help identify the most impactful and innovative projects. Judges include Dragon’s Den star and entrepreneur Gavin Duffy, Lord Iveagh of the Guinness family, Java Republic CEO David McKernan, Business To Arts CEO Stuart McLaughlin & Director of Marketing & PR Rowena Neville, Newstalk’s Business Editor Conor Brophy, former CEO of the IDA Kieran McGowan and Arts & Business Northern Ireland Director Mary Trainor. The adjudication committee, which is also made up of executives from Diageo Ireland and Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, is judging projects on a range of criteria including innovation, reach & scale and impact.
Art and Architecture Merge for Awards
19th March 2010
L-R Stuart McLaughlin, Chief Executive Business to Arts, Sculptor Nuala O’Donovan and Declan Collier, Chief Executive of the DAA
Announcing the sculptor for this year’s Allianz Business to Arts Awards at Terminal 2 in Dublin Airport were Business to Arts Chief Executive Stuart McLaughlin, Declan Collier, Chief Executive of the DAA, and sculptor Nuala O’Donovan. Commissioned by the DAA for the last 19 years, this year’s award constructed in porcelain is entitled ‘The Sum of its’ Parts’.
The closing date for nominations for the awards is Wednesday 24 March. For more information select here
Calls for Nominations Launched for Allianz Business to Arts Awards 2010
10th February 2010
L - R. Stuart McLaughlin - Business to Arts and Brendan Murphy - Allianz at the Royal Hibernian Academy
The Call for Nominations has gone out for this year’s Allianz Business to Arts Awards, the annual programme which recognises businesses, artists and arts organisations that bring the arts and artists into the workplace to respond to real business challenges, as well as important sponsorship relationships. Now in its ninth year, Allianz is proud to continue its support of Business to Arts in 2010.
With the closing date set for Wednesday 24 March, arts organisations and companies have just 6 weeks to prepare nominations on their collaborations and partnerships.
Last year, the value of the nominations represented €6.3 million in investment from the Private Sector in the Arts with half of the nominations bringing the arts into the workplace or addressing organisations’ CSR initiatives.
Stuart McLaughlin, Chief Executive of Business to Arts said “We look forward to 2010 with great optimism having seen a number of significant new sponsorship relationships emerge in 2009, together with some exciting projects between business and the arts. With this year’s Allianz Business to Arts Awards we hope to create a sense of the potential of these partnerships and how they will contribute to our recovery.”
“After a challenging 2009, it is great to see our potential to innovate and be creative still remains undimmed,” said Brendan Murphy, Chief Executive, Allianz. “Business to Arts plays a crucial role in unlocking creative and innovative potential that will not only encourage talent but will show us how we can regain our cultural and economic prowess.”
Call for Nominations - Allianz Business to Arts Awards
Gabriel Byrne Makes a Case for the Arts
15th December 2009
L-R : Stuart McLaughlin – Business to Arts, Gabriel Byrne, Declan Moylan - Mason Hayes+Curran, Peter Keegan - Bank of America Merrill Lynch
At a recent special event for Business to Arts supported by Mason Hayes+Curran, actor, Gabriel Byrne gave a talk to a small group of senior business people on why the arts and business should work together.
Declan Moylan, Chair of MH+C and Peter Keegan, Country Executive of Bank of America Merrill Lynch talked also about the reasons that their organisations seek opportunities to support culture in Ireland.
After hearing their stories Gabriel Byrne gave an inspiring speech on the reasons why arts and culture was such a critical aspect to Irish society saying “When you look back at our cultural history, which we often take for granted, it can sometimes really be humbling and a source of wonderful pride to think of what we have actually contributed as a culture to the world from this small island”.
Gabriel went on to talk about the vital role that the corporate and philanthropic community will play in ensuring that we continue to build on this rich history at such a difficult juncture for all aspects of society in Ireland and, importantly, to dispel some of the myths around ways in which business and the arts can work together. He commented that “When money and art go together and that doesn’t mean that art has to be censored, that’s a fear I think that a lot of artists have, you cease to be insular because you move out into the world. And when you move out into the world of ideas, it benefits you artistically, economically, socially and spiritually. That is something that is a gigantic contribution that will pay off down the years. And to be part of that, to be part of being responsible for making the world move in that direction is a wonderful thing to be involved in. The generosity of these people to say, ‘ok, we’ll put money into this’ I guarantee it will pay off in years to come from the artists point of view and from the business point of view. Artists and corporations must sit down together and see what common ground we have, and see how we can mutually benefit each other. I think it is the way forward.”
A call to action for all of us invested in working towards a sustainable model of both public and private support of the arts, and an inspiring evening for those who joined us.
Stuart McLaughlin named ‘Fundraiser of the Year’ for his work supporting the Arts
17th November 2009
Mary Kennedy and Stuart McLaughlin at the National Fundraising Awards (Robbie Fry Photography)
Stuart McLaughlin, Chief Executive of Business to Arts has been named ‘Fundraiser of the Year (Small Organisation)’ at the 2nd annual National Fundraising Awards organised by Fundraising Ireland and The Wheel.
Stuart was recognised for his work promoting and encouraging the development of alternative sources of funding for the Arts Sector, in addition to the public purse, and for creating collaborative networks of fundraisers amongst cultural organisations. In the last year alone, Stuart has negotiated a number of multi-year investments and sponsorships for Business to Arts and the sector as a whole worth over €1,035,000.
Speaking at last night’s event, Stuart McLaughlin said “I am delighted to receive this award on behalf of our team in Business to Arts. Through our success in the last year we hope to bring greater recognition to the importance of fundraising as a core skill in the cultural sector, and raise the profile of the arts as an effective recipient of public, corporate and foundation support. At a critical time for our sector we must learn new skills that create sustainability in our organisations and recognition of Business to Arts via the Fundraising Awards is an important way of building awareness of the value of pursuing excellence in this field.”
€400k investment from Bank of America Merrill Lynch to deliver income-generation skills to the Arts
17th November 2009
Stuart McLaughlin, Business to Arts; Minister Martin Cullen & Allen Blevins, Bank of America Merrill Lynch at the Abbey Theatre, Peacock Stage to announce ‘New Stream’
Some 80 people from the business and arts sectors gathered in the Abbey Theatre bar on 8 October 2009 to hear the details of ‘New Stream’ a landmark project to be run by Business to Arts over 3 years, supported by an investment of c.€400,000 from Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Designed to support organisations of all sizes, Business to Arts and its partners will provide access for the arts and cultural sector to specialist training and consultancy, information, peer support networks and professional advice. With participants’ feedback, New Stream will continue to develop and will be evaluated in association with the University College Dublin MA in Cultural Policy and Arts Management. This will ensure that it achieves the high standards required and identifies opportunities for further innovation.
Earlier in the day at a media briefing, Minister for Arts, Sport & Tourism, Martin Cullen said “the ‘New Stream’ Programme is significant on a number of levels. Firstly, it demonstrates a faith in the ability of Business to Arts to consolidate its past successes and to deliver robust training to the arts community. In addition, it signals a confidence, not only in the arts in Ireland, but also in business in Ireland, into the future. I think it will also act as a catalyst to our business and arts community to strive for even higher achievements.”
Reacting to a question as to why Bank of America Merrill Lynch would invest in the sustainability of the arts in Ireland, Allen Blevins, Art & Heritage Programmes Director for the bank who travelled from the US for the launch, said “the Bank has long observed that cultural organisations are the anchor of communities. We know that as a bank we thrive when the communities in which we do business thrive.”
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Events
Our regular e-bulletins for patrons, members and friends give details of our upcoming events. Be sure to keep an eye out and book early, as some events have a limited capacity.
Recent treats have included a behind the scenes visit to Grand Canal Theatre and a special event with Gabriel Byrne at Mason Hayes+Curran Solicitors.
Our events can often be a launch pad of ideas to create events of your own. Business to Arts is happy to help you replicate events, or will help source unique entertainment for your events.
Upcoming Events
New Stream
Brown Bag Briefings
When: 11am Wed 22 Feb 2012
What: The Ireland Funds Small Grants Round Briefing.
Where: Centre for Creative Practices.
Who is it for: Limited availability - one representative per organisation.
More details available here.
New Stream
Brown Bag Briefings
When: 11am Wed 15 Feb 2012
What: 90min session on
Time Management Skills.
Where: Chester Beatty Library.
Who is it for: Free to affiliated artists and arts organisations.
Read more here.
New Stream
Brown Bag Briefings
When: 11am Wed 22 Feb 2012
What: The Ireland Funds Small Grants Round Briefing.
Where: Centre for Creative Practices.
Who is it for: Limited availability - one representative per organisation.
More details available here.
New Stream
Brown Bag Briefings
When: 11am Wed 15 Feb 2012
What: 90min session on
Time Management Skills.
Where: Chester Beatty Library.
Who is it for: Free to affiliated artists and arts organisations.
Read more here.