Updated: 26 August 2008

Loft Theatre Company: A fundraising strategy

1  The aim

The Loft Theatre Company has an opportunity to acquire an outstanding new theatre, based in the Spencer Street Church. The Loft will be giving its existing land as our main financial contribution and a grant of £4.5m has been offered by Advantage West Midlands.

There is, however, a gap in the project budget and the Loft has undertaken to help to close this gap through a fundraising campaign. The funds we raise will help to secure the necessary facilities that we will need to make the new theatre a success.

Our initial target for the campaign is £50,000.

2  The prospects

As the campaign develops, other prospects may emerge (and no stone should be left unturned), but we should focus on the following four potential streams of income.

2.1  Local businesses

We have had some success over the years with local businesses, but in recent years there has been comparatively little support, with the exception of Wright Hassall and Blythe Liggins. The new theatre will offer the opportunity for businesses to be associated with an exciting new venture that will gain significant profile in the local community.

We should focus our attention on (a) businesses in the immediate vicinity (such as pubs and restaurants), who should see an improvement in business activity, and (b) the ‘professions’ – solicitors, accountants etc who can take advantage of the entertaining potential of the new theatre.

The following packages should be offered:

• Corporate member for £1,000
• Corporate sponsor for £5,000
• Founder corporate sponsor for £10,000
• Name and maintain a row or block of seats
• Naming rights for the building or parts of it – £negotiable.

Each of these packages would have different levels of benefits for different periods of time (to be discussed). This would include:

• Accreditation in programmes, on the website, on front-of-house boards and, for higher levels of support, on other marketing material
• Tickets for performances
• Special events of an entertaining and/or educational kind.

2.2  Trusts and foundations

There are many trusts and foundations that support arts activities and buildings. These organisations usually have clear objectives and apply their chosen criteria with care. A short research project will identify the most promising prospects. The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust has already been identified as a good prospect, with its preference for funding projects in this area and its emphasis on the arts.

2.3  The Lottery

Although there is less money available from this source than in the heady days of the 1990s, an application should be made to the Grants for All Fund, which is administered by the Arts Council. Our project should be able to meet many of the criteria of this fund.

2.4  Loft members and audiences

The Loft has c550 members and we sold c11,000 tickets in the 2007/08 season. Many of these ticket buyers were multiple visitors, and others will be one-off attenders with no lasting interest in the Loft Theatre. Taking these factors into account, it would be reasonable to assume that there may be in the region of 2,500 people who are either members or regular attenders. It is likely that a proportion of these would be interested and able to give some level of financial support. The well-tested method of raising funds from this constituency is a ‘name a seat’ campaign. We should do the same.

The following packages should be offered:

• Name a seat for five years for £250
• Name a seat for ten years for £500
• Name a ‘best seat’ for five years for £1,000
• Name a ‘best seat’ for ten years for £2,000

3  Resources

Fundraising will only be successful if resources are provided to do the job properly. We will need people, money and materials.

3.1  People

As always, the more people who are prepared to help, the less any one individual will need to do, and the more successful the campaign will be. As a minimum we will need:

• Someone to lead the campaign for local businesses’ support – this should be someone with knowledge of the local business community and an understanding of how businesses make decisions
• Someone to research potential trusts and foundations and complete application forms – needs tenacity and an organised mind
• Someone to lead the campaign for member and audience support – preferably this should be a long-standing member (perhaps an actor) with infectious enthusiasm
• A co-ordinator to ensure that all gifts are properly recorded and ‘thank you’ letters sent promptly (stewardship of donors is a crucial part of a fundraising campaign) – this should be someone with administrative skills and the ability to complete tasks.

3.2  Money

A small amount of money will need to be invested in the campaign to fund campaign literature, entertaining, stationery, and the cost of recognition boards and seat plaques. This will cost a few thousand pounds, but will not all be needed up front. These costs will, of course, be the first call on funds raised by the campaign, but they also provide a sponsorship opportunity.

3.3  Materials

The ‘Case for Support’ will need to be written, and approved by the Management Committee and the Campaign Team. The Case for Support will set out a persuasive case why all the prospects mentioned above would wish to support the Loft and its new theatre. The Case for Support and this Strategy will be the guiding documents for the campaign.

Campaign literature will need to be elegant, but need not be glossy. It will need to be clear and well written and, for some items, contain some attractive photographs. A small range of documents will be needed, particularly to attract corporate support and the Name a Seat campaign.

4  Timetable

Fundraising is a long game. Many supporters will only make their gifts after a sustained relationship with the organisation. So, our expectations should be based on the following timetable:

• September 2008 – recruitment of the campaign team, and the completion and approval of the Strategy and the Case for Support
• October and November 2008 – writing, design and production of campaign materials, identification of prospects, application to 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust, launch preparation
• Late November 2008 – campaign launch
• December 2008 and January 2009 – first engagement with prospects, submission of Lottery bid and applications to trusts and foundations
• January to June 2009 – continuing cultivation of prospects.

Although some pledges might be received early in the campaign, significant amounts of cash will probably not arrive until mid to late 2009.

5  Conclusion

We have not besieged our potential supporters in recent years asking for money, and this will be an advantage. But the general economic climate makes this a tricky time to be fundraising.

This is a great project and the Loft is a great company. There is a chance that this could be a successful campaign – but expectations should be carefully managed.

David Fletcher
August 2008

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