Chair of the board: Is the job even doable?
Given the increasingly complex environment in which charities operate, Michelle Wright offers some straightforward advice for maki…
Editorial Partner: Arts Fundraising & Philanthropy
Arts Professional is working in partnership with Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy to present a series of articles sharing insights and exchanging ideas about how to encourage leadership and entrepreneurship in arts fundraising.
Arts Fundraising & Philanthropy’s mission is to strengthen arts and cultural organisations’ resilience and sustainability by transforming their fundraising knowledge, skills and levels of success. We work together with a wide range of partners to deliver a programme that empowers arts and cultural professionals across England to seize the considerable opportunities that fundraising offers them to form important relationships, develop new income streams and develop new commercial opportunities.
From this partner
Arts funding policy under the new government
In a period of fast change, financial pressures, despair about public service provision and political upheaval in the UK and abroa…
Philanthropy in 2024: More questions than answers
As activity this year gathers pace, Michelle Wright explores the many quandaries arts organisations have to navigate in deciding w…
Finding fundraising focus amid the turbulence
At the start of 2024, Michelle Wright offers her expert advice about where to focus your fundraising energies in a climate of unce…
Spending down: Opportunity or risk?
In spending down their assets, trusts and foundations are making a strategic change of direction which could pose a threat to the…
Charity governance in need of urgent overhaul
In recent years, the model of charitable governance has become increasingly challenging, as Michelle Wright explains.
AI and the future of arts fundraising
Amid recent concerns about the safety of artificial intelligence, Ben Wilson looks at its potential as a resource for fundraising,…
Charitable legacies: The time to act is now
In the next 30 years, a record £5.5 trillion is set to be transferred between generations, as either inheritance or gif…
Art to help out?
Since 2020 the sector has faced a series of crises, first Covid and now an even more uncertain future related to the cost of livin…
Fundraisers are a scarce resource, let’s not make them scarcer
As we recover from Covid and navigate the cost-of-living crisis, fundraisers are ever more important. Yet we continue to undervalu…
Grant funding in need of a radical overhaul
Many funders are changing their strategies around funding for arts organisations, but Michelle Wright thinks those changes inadver…
Comparing apples to oranges
Arts organisations increasingly use data to inform their decision making. But, argue David Johnson and Sarah Thelwall, if it&rsquo…
Beware the Captain Tom trap
In implementing the levelling up agenda, the arts should pay attention to some worrying news on the legacy of Captain Tom, writes…
Ethical trouble at the top
Day-to-day news is littered with questions over ethics. We care deeply about rights and wrongs. But Michelle Wright asks, do the a…
Can corporate sponsorship be part of the environmental agenda?
As arts organisations struggle with post-Covid recovery, Michelle Wright asks whether sponsorship can grow in this economic climat…
Giving circles and the arts
Philanthropy is sometimes described as a ‘privilege’ of the wealthiest. But, as Michelle Wright argues, research sugge…
Reflections on fundraising in the time of Covid-19
The last 18 months have seen arts fundraisers face numerous challenges in trying to bring in income when the sector has been in su…
Engaging young wealthy donors: heartstrings before purse strings
Recent research provides insights to building lifetime relationships with the funders of the future. Lisa Rose outlines the main f…
The long road to fundraising apprenticeships
Employers in arts, culture and heritage face hard choices about what to invest in and how to effectively plan for the long term, w…
Fighting online fatigue
Funders and audiences are losing their appetite for virtual events, writes Michelle Wright. What comes next for arts fundraising?&…
Five things we’ve learnt from lockdown
National and international research has examined the pandemic’s impact on fundraising, marketing and audience development st…
The impact of Covid-19 on fundraising: should we tear up the rule book?
Right now past data is a poor predictor of the future, but understanding the scale and nature of change while responding to issues…
Preventing accidents – the problems of attracting fundraising talent
Recruiting on the basis of passion for the arts doesn’t make sense in vital income-generating roles, says Michelle Wright. S…
Are qualifications worth it?
Until the arts sector defines its expectations of the learning needed by employees, even aspirational and potentially career-enhan…
