Fundraising Fellows Complete Two-Year Fundraising Fellowship Programme Raising Over €772,000 Attributed To Three Fundraisers
Last night, Fundraising Fellows Aoibhie McCarthy (Marketing & Development Officer, Cork Film Festival); John Mc Evoy (Development Executive, Druid); and Fiona Garvan (Development Executive, Dublin Theatre Festival) graduated from the Fundraising Fellowship programme. The programme, a partnership between Business to Arts, Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Dublin City Council Culture Company, aims to develop the pool of fundraising expertise in Irish cultural organisations.
As part of the 24-month Fundraising Fellowship Dublin programme, the Fellows worked in a fundraising or a marketing & fundraising role at their arts organisation. The programme saw Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Dublin City Council Culture Company fund 50% of each role, with the partner organisation matching that figure. Over the two years, the Fellows took part in an intensive programme of training and mentorship, worth in-excess of €80,000 per institution led by Business to Arts and industry experts, to build capacity and to diversify revenue streams. As part of this, leading Irish experts offered masterclasses to develop knowledge and offer practical and real life expertise.
The Fellows have raised a combined €772,000 directly attributable to their role in their organisation. Three case studies have been published highlighting the challenges, implemented strategies and outcomes of the Fellows and their organisations participating in the course. Each can be viewed here:
• Druid Theatre Company
• Cork Film Festival
• Dublin Theatre Festival
To date over €2 million has been raised by Fellows who have participated in the programme. These include Helium Arts, Temple Bar Gallery + Studios, Fishamble: A New Play Company alongside the three organisations mentioned above.
Andrew Hetherington, Chief Executive of Business to Arts states:
“This two-year programme has enabled Business to Arts; the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht; and Dublin City Council Culture Company to provide an intensive programme of training and support to three arts organisations. We now have six Fellows that have graduated from the programme. Each Fellow has secured new funding for their organisation and we are very proud of their achievements to date. Developing sustainable fundraising ability in the arts takes time, resources and partnerships with all stakeholders. We thank the Department of Culture and Dublin City Council Culture Company for their foresight and investment in the programme”
At the graduation, Conor Falvey, Assistant Secretary Department of Culture Heritage and the Gaeltacht said:
“I wish to congratulate to Business to Arts on the resounding success of the Fellowship Scheme which has promoted a new approach to arts funding, strengthened the confidence and the capabilities of the Fellows and of their organisations, and achieved impressive results in 2018 and 2019. The values represented by their effort echo the values stated in the recently launched National Cultural Policy Framework Culture 2025.”
At the graduation, Iseult Byrne, Chief Executive, Dublin City Council Culture Company said:
“Capacity building one of our core values so we are delighted to have had the opportunity to work in partnership with Business to Arts on developing this programme. We are delighted to see how the programme has had an impact Dublin Theatre Festival, increasing the funds raised and the development of new partnership for the organisation. Perhaps more importantly though is the investment of Fundraising Fellowship Dublin in developing and sharing a skillset that will impact positively on cultural and community organisations long after the programme has ended.”
For details on the Fundraising Fellowship programme please click here.
