Join us and our expert guest speakers, panellists and keynotes for one of two webinars as part of our Funding Support Programme’s Covid-19 response series.

Hosted by the brilliant David Johnson from Cause4, this webinar, Funding in and Post Crisis, will bring together key fundraising experts to provide a thought-provoking insight into fundraising approaches in a crisis and to shine a light on best practice from across the pandemic. This webinar is for organisations, schools, artists and freelancers across the East Midlands who are interested in and committed to fundraising. It will also offer an insight into what the future looks like for the fundraising landscape and how to best future proof your organisation’s fundraising strategy to adapt to the ever-changing climate.

The webinar will cover the following key areas of fundraising:

• A panel discussion looking back at how Grants, Trusts and Foundations responded to the crisis with national funders, including Arts Council England (further panellists to be announced).
• Case studies on successful Virtual Fundraising and national campaigns.
• A keynote on the Future of Corporate Sponsorship and Partnerships by Jim Shields, Twist and Shout’s UK Creative Director.

There will also be an opportunity for question and answers throughout the webinar. The webinar will be recorded and made available as an online resource to attendees on our Learning Platform post event. You can find out more about our host and speakers below.

This webinar is FREE for members of our Fundraising Support Programme and is £10.00 for those who are not members.

If you are not a member but would like to sign up to the programme for free and get your free place, click here.

David Johnson, Director of Strategy and Programmes at Cause4.

David joined Cause4 in April 2018 as Head of Programme for Arts Fundraising & Philanthropy, an Arts Council England Sector Support organisation within the National Portfolio and became Director of Strategy and Programmes in April 2020.  From 2011 David was Head of Development at the Albany, an arts centre in South East London and was responsible for earned and raised income generation, partnership development and contract management. During his tenure the Albany more than doubled its turnover.  He also supported the leadership of the national Family Arts Campaign.

Prior to this, he worked in the Cultural Development team for the London Borough of Hackney, supporting the development of 2012 Cultural Olympiad projects and producing the borough’s key youth arts festival – Discover Young Hackney; and as Company Manager for outdoor arts organisation, Emergency Exit Arts.  He sits on the board of Babylon Arts in Ely and is a member of the Institute of Fundraising.

Jim Shields, UK Creative Director at Twist and Shout. Corporate Sponsor of The Mighty Creatives’ Be Mighty Be Creative Awards

Jim has had a 30-year passion for comedy filmmaking ever since he discovered that he could combine the images he was drawing (pastels mainly) with sounds he’d captured in jars.  More recently he turned to making simple comedies for the “interweb” helping companies achieve notoriety despite their crushingly dull products and services.

He is a founder of Twist & Shout Communications, based in Leicester and, of all places, Dallas, Texas. His stand up career seems to have peaked at “reassuringly mediocre”.

A self-confessed disciple of new-marketing Guru Seth Godin, Jim tries to spread the word at every opportunity that we, the people, have the means of production at our fingertips. We no longer need a mill owner to employ us – we can make things on our own out of zeros and ones.

He has written two books (one bestseller) about the relationship between creative individuals and the companies they work for. https://www.threeguysbook.com

Jim also likes to sing Karaoke when away from home of course, and continues his search for Arne Saknussemm’s map to the centre of the earth, to prove his point that chocolate and gravity are, in effect, the same thing.

His musings:

He has a lot to say about handling clients, and when to take the idea off the table.  The key is education – make sure you have a logical, robust process that solves problems and you’ll always be able to defend your creative decisions.  In fact – he’d go one further than that, and encourage you to develop a cause. A crusade against the mediocre. Join him. If only because he looks a little silly in that ridiculous helmet all on his own…

Hugh James, Senior Relationship Manager at Arts Council England. 

Hugh James is a Senior Relationship Manager with the Arts Council England Midlands team. Previous roles include Education and Learning Officer with East Midlands Arts, Creative Director of Creative Partnerships Nottingham, and Director of Learning with The Mighty Creatives. Before this, Hugh gained extensive experience as a practitioner in theatre in education, small-scale theatre and community arts. He is a qualified teacher with an MA in Drama in Education. He’s also worked as a museum research assistant, a musician and songwriter and a stand-up comic.

Louise Revill, Fundraising and Community Engagement Officer at the Creswell Heritage Trust.

Louise is the Fundraising and Community Engagement Officer at the Creswell Heritage Trust since November 2019, supporting a variety projects and initiatives across the Trust, from securing £25,000 to launch an innovative digital school package to working with Charles Hanson to host a Fundraising auction, which raised £8000 in aid of the Creswell Crags during the coronavirus pandemic. 2020 has been an unprecedented year for fundraising. Louise has lead on various applications to support the survival and ongoing resilience of Creswell Crags, having secured approximately £750,000 in emergency support from funders, such as the National Lottery Heritage Fund, DCMS in association with the Arts Council England and Historic England.

She is passionate about their heritage and wants to ensure that it’s accessible and inclusive for all audiences to learn from and engage with. Holding a BA in History from the University of Lincoln and MA in Culture and Heritage Management from the Lincoln International Business School, she is fascinated by historic fiction and learning about forgotten aspects of history and historic individuals and live-in rural Nottinghamshire with their partner and a furry baby called Darcie.

Dimple Patel, Regional Officer at BBC Children in Need, East Midlands

Dimple Patel is a BBC Children in Need Regional Officer in the East Midlands, part of the Grantmaking team for the Central Region. Dimple manages grants across Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire.