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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.”
Read More
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.
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.”
Read More
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
Shining the Light on Successful Sponsorships
An assessment and report on the economic impact of Ulster Bank’s title sponsorships of Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival and Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s
4.30pm Tuesday 22 June 2010
PricewaterhouseCoopers,
One Spencer Dock, North Wall Quay, Dublin 1
Read more...
Bord Gais Community Energy Fund
Bord Gais Community Energy Fund to donate €100,000 of energy to support 16 projects across the country
Applications close on Wed June 16. For more information go to
Community Energy Fund
Shining the Light on Successful Sponsorships
An assessment and report on the economic impact of Ulster Bank’s title sponsorships of Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival and Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s
4.30pm Tuesday 22 June 2010
PricewaterhouseCoopers,
One Spencer Dock, North Wall Quay, Dublin 1
Read more...
Bord Gais Community Energy Fund
Bord Gais Community Energy Fund to donate €100,000 of energy to support 16 projects across the country
Applications close on Wed June 16. For more information go to
Community Energy Fund