Business to Arts' New Stream
A landmark 14-year venture which provided subsidised access to training, information, and strategy development for the arts sector.
Business to Arts sought to develop a first-of-its-kind capacity-building programme to promote and support the long-term sustainability of arts/cultural organisations based on business-minded planning and fundraising strategy development and to nurture the next generation of arts fundraisers in Ireland.
In October 2009, Business to Arts launched ‘New Stream’ a landmark project which received an initial transformational three year philanthropic investment of c. €400,000 from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Various partners have supported the programme over its 14-year duration including the Department of Culture, Dublin City Council, Accenture and The Ireland Funds.
The project was the culmination of over twenty years of partnership between Business to Arts and its stakeholders. It was based around five individual streams of activity which provided subsidised access to training, strategy development and information, while providing a platform for greater collaboration in the sector.
- Stream 1 ~ Training with DeVos Institute for Arts Management at the Kennedy Center & ForImpact.org designed for arts fundraising in an Irish context
- Stream 2 ~ The Development Managers’ Forum
- Stream 3 ~ Brown Bag Briefing Sessions with subject matter expert training
- Stream 4 ~ The Knowledge Centre, a digital information bank
- Stream 5 ~ The New Stream Fellowship Fund
New Stream came at a time of substantial change within the arts and cultural sector and wider society. In those tougher economic times, the effects of reduced public sector subsidy affected arts and cultural organisations of all sizes with many having their funding substantially cut or fully withdrawn. Income diversification within the sector became acutely vital for arts and cultural activity to thrive and New Stream became a key driver of a collective effort to drive this sustainable approach forward.
While many individuals have contributed to New Stream assessments, the following contributors were key to the programme’s development:
- DeVos Institute for Arts Management at the Kennedy Centre
- For Impact | The Suddes Group
- Pat Cooke, Former Director of MA in Cultural Policy & Arts Management, UCD
- 400+ participants engaged with different aspects of New Stream from 2009 - 2022
- €15.7 million+ has been raised in cash/in kind by New Stream participants
- Embedded fundraising skills and training in organisations
- Embedded fundraising mindset in organisations at executive and board level
- Increased fundraising capacity for all organisations
- Diversified income streams for all organisations
- Generated support for investment in capacity building for the arts sector
