• University of Leeds

Effective Fundraising and Leadership in Arts and Culture

Improve your chances of raising funds for arts and culture by developing your leadership and entrepreneurial skills.

17,569 enrolled on this course

audiences enjoying an art and culture event
  • Duration

    2 weeks
  • Weekly study

    4 hours
  • Accreditation

    AvailableMore info

Learn how to help arts and cultural organisations thrive

As the global funding landscape is changing rapidly, arts and cultural organisations are becoming increasingly concerned about what actions to take.

On this course, you will learn about the importance of developing organisational resilience through effective leadership and management, and how to diversify income streams by becoming more entrepreneurial. You will explore different leadership styles, change management and entrepreneurship, so you’ll be in a better position to lead your organisation’s fundraising strategy and offer better value to your audiences.

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Skip to 0 minutes and 7 seconds To be successful in fundraising, I think organisations need to adapt to a changing landscape. Traditional sources of funding are declining. Everyone agrees about that. And organisations, therefore, need to diversify their income sources. In order to survive and indeed thrive in this new funding climate, organisations will have to take risks, be innovative, and learn from others’ experiences. The course exists to help organisations to develop their leadership styles, to explore new business models, to think about how to diversify their income streams, and to be inspired by examples of effective leadership and business models elsewhere. So entrepreneurship is important in the arts because most arts organisations aren’t just charities, and they’re certainly not just businesses.

Skip to 0 minutes and 55 seconds They need to increasingly think in different ways, and do things differently from other organisations and from commercial entities. So what we encourage in this course is for learners to be inspired by entrepreneurial thinking, to take risks, to develop innovative business models that futureproof their organisations. We’re going to develop leadership skills in how to create and share a vision for an effective organisation. We’re also going to look at how leaders can empower everybody within the organisation. For example, by adapting their leadership style so that everyone across an organisation can take an effective role in developing fundraising activity. I think learners might be surprised and inspired by how to deal with change, how vision and mission is related to organisational values.

Skip to 1 minute and 46 seconds This course is designed for a whole range of learners. You may be a leader working in a national organisation. You may be a fundraiser working in a small organisation. You may be a board member trying to get more actively involved in supporting fundraising activity. All of you will find something useful in this course. This course was funded by Arts Council England, as part of a consortium, managed by Cause 4, the University of Leeds, and Arts Marketing Association. The course is going to be open to learners from around the globe. And of course, there will be lots of examples given from lecturers, from practitioners, from case studies.

Skip to 2 minutes and 23 seconds What we’re really hoping is that learners will share their examples from diverse organisations and contexts all around the world. Sign up now for Effective Fundraising and Leadership in Arts and Culture.

What topics will you cover?

  • Introduction and overview: why are we talking about arts fundraising and organisational development? Global perspectives.
  • A values-based approach to vision and mission development and the implications of this for authentic arts fundraising.
  • The role of leaders and leadership in managing changing cultures of fundraising and organisational development.
  • Theories and practical applications of change management in the arts and cultural sector.
  • An evolving ecology: Cultural entrepreneurship and new venture creation.
  • Developing and debating ‘resilience’ by critically exploring emerging business models and structures in the arts and cultural sector.

Who is this accredited by?

The CPD Certification Service
The CPD Certification Service:

This course has been certified by the CPD Certification Service as conforming to continuing professional development principles.

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Explore how to develop an enterprising and effective arts and cultural organisation.
  • Evaluate the opportunities and challenges of raising funds in the arts and cultural sector by exploring examples and strategies from arts management and cultural policy.
  • Critically investigate key ideas and models of arts fundraising, cultural leadership, organisational development and change management.
  • Reflect on ways to develop enterprising and effective arts and cultural organisations.
  • Identify and debate the challenges unique to leading contemporary arts and cultural organisations.

Who is the course for?

This course is for chief executives, senior managers and board members involved with fundraising in the non-profit arts and culture sector, whether in the UK or internationally. It also aimed at those aspiring to take on a leadership role in the future.

You may be working in a museum, a gallery, theatre or a community arts centre trying to reach wider audiences and build stronger partnerships. If you are working in the arts and cultural sector and trying to create a sustainable organisation this course will help you achieve it.

This course might also be of interest to postgraduate students of visual and performing arts, and of arts management, business and management, museum and gallery studies and cultural policy.

Who will you learn with?

Professor of Cultural Engagement in the School of Performance & Cultural Industries, University of Leeds (UK). Further information https://ahc.leeds.ac.uk/performance/staff/503/professor-ben-walmsley

I'm now the Deputy Dean for the Faculty of Business, Computing & Digital Industries at Leeds Trinity University

Leila worked in the arts and festivals sector as a producer, researcher and policy maker before entering academia where her research focus is on cultural policy, participation and leadership

Dr Claire Antrobus is Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Leeds and an independent arts consultant and coach with a background in managing galleries and museums http://www.claireantrobus.com

I'm the Founder of The Experience Business, an audience champion, a creative facilitator and a friendly provocateur on all things Audiences, Experience and Purpose. www.theexperiencebusiness.co.uk

Promoted by

Cause4
Arts and Marketing Association

Who developed the course?

University of Leeds

As one of the UK’s largest research-based universities, the University of Leeds is a member of the prestigious Russell Group and a centre of excellence for teaching.

Endorsers and supporters

endorsed by

Arts Fundraising & Philanthropy

funded by

Arts Council England

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
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  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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