Seeking a Fundraising Consultant

We are recruiting for a Fundraising Consultant for Arts Gateway MK, in order to inject fundraising expertise to develop a realistic and actionable fund-raising plan for the next 2 years.

About Arts Gateway Milton Keynes

Arts Gateway MK is a volunteer-led arts charity working to support, nurture and promote the arts and artists in Milton Keynes and the surrounding area. Established over 20 years ago, we offer collaborative workspaces for creative artists at our studio hub Arts Central, as well as event promotion, networking, volunteering opportunities and resource and equipment hire for events from CARC (Community Arts Resource Centre). Our flagship programme is the MK LitFest, which we started in 2017.

The past 2 years has been dominated by the work to convert a 1970s warehouse into creative workspaces; 60 were occupied before the pandemic lockdown. Core income from creatives` payment for studio space was building steadily before the lockdown, but we need a further boost to build back our reserves and ensure that we can pay back the loans for the building conversion. We are looking for professional fund-raising help to re-establish operational surplus and ongoing financial stability.

Description

Fundraising Consultant for Arts Gateway MK

Consultancy Brief

A short injection of fundraising expertise to develop a realistic and actionable fund-raising plan for the next 2 years, to find and secure additional sources of funding for AGMK. This should take into account the specific circumstances of Arts Gateway as a local arts charity for the Milton Keynes area.

We envisage that this work will include:

• identification of the funding methods and sources with the most potential for producing income in the next 1-2 years;

• development of the case for support and creation of fundraising messages that will appeal to the potential donors;

• design of key promotional materials, including digital;

• provision of briefing/ training materials and tools for AGMK in fundraising methods where they lack experience and expertise.
• production of a fund-raising plan in collaboration with Trustees and stakeholders.

The outputs we seek are:

• A draft fund-raising plan and recommendations for AGMK focus;
• A number of specific funding bids submitted;
• Workshops to build AGMK fund-raising skills;
• A body of promotional materials and copy.

Requirements

We are looking for someone who has:

• proven experience of successful fundraising for charities in the arts and/or local communities sector;

• ability to work and produce results for small charities with limited budgets;

• demonstrable fundraising credibility e.g. registered with the Fundraising Regulator or member of the Institute of Fundraising.

Fees

Fee, including VAT if applicable, and expenses, is £6000.

Application Process

For more information, contact john.best@artsgatewaymk.org.uk

Closing date: 5pm on Friday 10 July.

Applications should be emailed as a PDF to john.best@artsgatewaymk.org.uk

Please include:

• A statement detailing your relevant skills & experience

• An up-to-date CV, including contact details for two referees
• An outline of how you would expect to fulfil the brief.

Interviews will be held on Thursday 16 July or Friday 17 July via Zoom.

Download this brief as a pdf document.