Not all bad news

The UK is rich in festivals. There are more than 350 literary and spoken word festivals, classical, jazz, folk, world, contemporary and popular music festivals, as well as a multitude of thriving sub-genres for opera buffs and crumhorn fans. There are festivals of philosophy and ideas, science and comedy, architecture and performing arts, theatre, art and multi-disciplinary artforms, and that’s before anyone mentions fringe.

UK festivals, however, are not rich. Ticket sales rarely cover more than 40% of a festival’s income and even the big names like Cheltenham, Edinburgh, Manchester, Salisbury, Brighton, Norfolk & Norwich and Bath have fundraisers tirelessly chasing down every possible funding avenue.

Throwing everything into a bid for public sector grants or mining only one or two tracks, such as trusts and foundations, can be counterproductive

Those of us who have worked in festivals for many years will remember a time when local authorities would provide a reliable and regular stream of funding. Now they too, the enterprising ones at least, are exploring alternative sources of funding for their community events. On a national level, Arts Council England has also had to face tough decisions over the years, tightening its belt, then loosening, then tightening it again in response to budgets and spending reviews.

Organisers whose festivals have lost funding will be nodding knowingly at this all too familiar story. Others, for whom public funding has never even been on the radar, will be reading it with wry smiles and hollow laughter. But is it all bad news for arts charities, and if this is the new normal, how should the arts, culture and heritage sector react?

At the inaugural Institute of Fundraising’s Cultural Sector Network conference in March, the overwhelming call was for more collaboration, diversification and knowledge-sharing within the industry – a rallying cry which I have practised for a number of years and which I wholeheartedly support.

Festival fundraisers must begin to diversify and adopt a more commercial mindset when formulating their strategies. Time, budget and resources are often stretched so these strategies need to be practical, realistic and able to deliver short-term results, while laying the foundation for longer-term sustainability. We all need to alter our expectations of public funding, become more entrepreneurial, more independent and take the whole festival team – producers, marketers, trustees and artistic directors – with us.

The vital ingredients

Two vital ingredients should underpin all effective fundraising: the power of story and the campaign toolkit.

Not all decisions are made based on rational criteria. Far from it. Fundraisers need to learn how to engage emotionally with potential sponsors and donors, influence and persuade them with the festival’s story, its people, purpose, impact and ambition. The more personal the message, the more connected to the organisation the sponsor can feel. Authenticity of approach is also increased by including our artistic colleagues who can be encouraged to take ownership of the festival’s funding journey.

The campaign toolkit is a blend of practical techniques and methods tailored to each individual campaign. Tried and tested over many years and at a number of festivals, the toolkit can manage objectives, timescale and resource and has helped me and my teams raise upwards of £5 million from corporate sponsorship, philanthropic programmes, membership schemes, trusts and foundations, and media partnerships.

New fundraising campaigns are always given a leg-up with a well-planned launch event, which can generate anticipation and cultivate engagement from diverse sources such as corporate sponsors, high net-worth individuals, trusts, public funders, councilors and the press, not to mention existing supporters like top ticket buyers, friends and patrons, key influencers and advocates spearheaded by trustees.

Gathering such prospects together in one place is doubly effective with the provision of a dedicated sponsorship pack. A tailored case for support, the pack is one of the most important elements of the toolkit and should always contain answers to the questions prospects might want to ask. However, hard work in donor research, event planning and persuasive copy is only half the dialogue: it’s essential that a fundraiser listens and engages directly with the prospect and is able to tailor the relationship to their objectives.

Independent schools

A constituency that might not be on every prospect list, but one I first explored 15 years ago, which has since evolved into a very profitable funding source, is that of independent, fee-paying schools. By working with them on the model of a corporate partner and treating them as a business, a whole new sector presents itself.

These partnerships can be demanding and perhaps not to every arts administrator’s taste, but in a state funding environment that shows little prospect of improving, I would encourage more festivals to consider engaging with such schools. Their objectives are very similar to traditional corporates: they have a product that needs to be marketed in a competitive landscape, many audiences they need to engage and customers they want to attract.

An arts festival offers the perfect stage, promotional channels and audience profile. If you haven’t yet brought them into your fundraising mix, then I can recommend such schools for proactive and generous multi-year partnerships.

A mixed-income approach

In this climate, where donor oxygen is thin and highly competitive, a mixed-income approach can offer festivals a healthy blend of funding sources to pursue. Throwing everything into a bid for public sector grants, or mining only one or two tracks, such as trusts and foundations, can be counterproductive.

The key to is to combine passion and pragmatism, to be organised and receptive, to create a diverse framework in which dialogues can be established and most importantly, followed up.

Fundraising will continue to be a challenge for the arts, but by sharing our combined knowledge and ideas as true creative collaborators, we will empower and strengthen the festival sector. The UK is enriched by festivals; skilled, motivated and enabled fundraisers, their gold dust.

Owen McNeir is Director of Sixth Voice: Fundraising Consultancy & Training.
www.sixthvoice.co.uk
Tw: @6Voice