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

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.