With the costs involved in acquiring works of art increasing and government funding for the arts decreasing, arts organisations are pursuing entrepreneurial strategies to raise required funds in order to remain competitive and achieve their collection development goals. Whilst fundraising campaigns differ, theory suggests a five stage structure for organisations to follow in designing, implementing and assessing campaigns. This case study looks at five stage theory presented by Kay-Williams (1999) along with the Masterpieces of Melbourne fundraising campaign by the National Gallery of Victoria. This campaign aimed to raise $150 million for collection acquisitions in the three years leading up to the gallery’s 150th anniversary. An overview is given of the fundraising campaign and outcomes, and comparisons are made between the five stages and the campaign’s aspect of approaching individuals.
The Five Stages of Fundraising
Entrepreneurial leadership in the arts requires innovation in two key areas: funding diversity and creative programming. To fund diversely, funds are obtained from a variety of sources including government, sponsors, audience activities and philanthropists. Creative programming develops a competitive advantage in the arts sector through traditional and enterprising activities such as exhibitions, performances, merchandising etc, balancing the requirements of the audience for all taste levels. Both areas require innovation, risk-taking, proactiveness and competitive aggressiveness, and in return provide opportunity for funding due to increased market competition and presence (Rentschler Geursen 2003 p3).
It is on the basis of these areas that fundraising programs are formed and whilst campaigns may differ in target, appearance and objective, theory suggests they follow the same basic structure. Kay-Williams (1999) proposes the five stages of fundraising, a framework for developing fundraising campaigns. These stages are progressive but can differ in duration, from stage to stage and campaign to campaign; and are cyclical, due to the volunteer and contractual nature of arts organisations. Movement from one stage to the next is based on decisions by the trustees or campaign management team. (Kay-Williams 1999, p226). The stages are defined as follows:
Stage One: Articulating a statement of mission
The first two stages can be grouped together as establishing an appeal for the organisation and campaign. The appeal defines the campaign through articulating it’s purpose, requirements and desired outcomes. (Kay-Williams 1999, p229). The founder or management team are instrumental throughout stage one, through aligning organisational assumptions and beliefs with the purpose and vision of campaign to ensure consistency and clarity of the mission statement. This mission statement forms the foundation for the campaign and can begin to draw in donations and interest from selected and existing organisational philanthropists. The first funding raised is important to enable many organisations to continue their work, to establish collateral against ongoing costs and to encourage other philanthropists to join the campaign when it is made public.
Stage Two: Developing effective management
Once there is a clear organisational mission statement concerning fundraising, professional teams are installed to oversee the ongoing fundraising tasks. These teams will have experience in fundraising, sponsorship, media and public relations, in addition to contacts within the diverse fundraising sector. Through effective management, the fundraising department will establish and nurture relationships with a number of donors for the benefit of the organisation, in consideration of future fundraising considerations (Kay-Williams 1999, p230).
Stage Three: Formulating a long-range plan
Stage three begins the fundraising stage, following a review of growth and charitable development by the fundraising team. This stage requires proactive, ongoing fundraising from a variety of sources, utilising the different team functions and skills established in stage two. By utilising these team functions, in conjunction with the ongoing nurturing of donor relationships, a long-range funding plan can be formed. This long-range plan takes into account multiple channels of funding and different funding outcomes in alignment with the greater organisational goals (Kay-Williams 1999, p231).
Stage Four: Establishing a campaign strategy
Stage four takes the overview of the long-range plan in stage three and breaks it into achievable tasks to be completed by the team established in stage two. This stage becomes the most practical to implement across different departments and receives the greatest response from donors through targeted and focused fundraising efforts (Kay-Williams 1999, p232).
Stage Five: Implementing effective evaluation procedures
All fundraising campaigns should be evaluated and assessed to ensure efficiencies and optimisation into the future. The organisation will have a foundation of fundraising activities, service deliverers, staff, trustees, volunteers, members etc. to source information and can continue to nurture these skills and relationships as new fundraising campaign cycles begin (Kay-Williams 1999, p234).
Case Study: Masterpieces for Melbourne
Australian nonprofit art galleries are generally government funded for more than 50 percent of their income. This core funding however, does not include funding for collection development and acquisitions. The NGV, like other galleries throughout Australia has become entrepreneurial in marketing itself to philanthropists in order to boost the funding base and acquire important works of art (Kotler et al 2016).
The NGV launched it’s Masterpieces for Melbourne philanthropic fundraising campaign in 2008, ahead of the gallery’s 150th anniversary in 2011. The goal was to secure $150 million of new money for the development of the collection through acquisitions: $50 million in cash gifts to be dedicated to immediate purchasing of important works of art; $50 million in endowed funds, income available in perpetuity; and $50 million in notified bequests, to provide confidence in future significant additions through endowment and the collection (National Gallery of Victoria 2008, p.8). This decision was made to replenish the buying power the NGV once held within the art world, and raise the gallery’s acquisition quality and quantity in line with other national and international galleries. The campaign would provide funds to secure Melbourne a relatively small number of outstanding masterpieces, both historic and contemporary to inspire and enrich the local community, in addition to to the interstate and overseas visitors who appreciate Melbourne as a key cultural destination (National Gallery of Victoria 2008, p11).
The campaign was launched by NGV director, at the time, Gerard Vaughan, who joined the gallery in 1999. With Vaughan’s focus on fundraising and marketing, the gallery’s 20-year-old foundation had built up $50 million from $9 million in just over a decade (Schmidt 2011). This same leadership saw donations of $46 million donated to the Masterpieces of Melbourne campaign before the public launch, and over $100 million raised before Vaughan’s resignation in 2011 (McColl & Coslovich 2011). In total, over two thousand philanthropists contributed to the campaign before it’s close in 2011, allowing the NGV to continue cultivating it’s art collections for generations to come (National Gallery of Victoria, 2018).
Organisation Overview
The National Gallery of Victoria was founded in 1861 and is the oldest gallery in Australia. The collection comprises of more than 70,000 works which can be viewed across two locations: NGV International and NGV Australia. The NGV hosts a variety of exhibitions, programs and events, ranging from contemporary and historical art, fashion, design, sound, architecture and dance. With a long history of philanthropy, the NGV benefited greatly in in the first half of the 20th century through the Felton Bequest by Alfred Felton. However, due to the significant rise in costs of major works of art, the reduction in value of the Australian dollar, and investment restrictions prescribed by the will of Alfred Felton, the buying power of this bequest has since diminished (National Gallery of Victoria 2008, p9).
Despite a decrease in funding for acquisitions, the start of the 21st century saw the gallery open the The Ian Potter Centre, NGV Australia, a magnificent building immediately appreciated within the arts community for its architectural design. In addition to the gallery opening and existing gallery refurbishments, the NGV hosted many successful and ambitious exhibitions - sourced from it’s existing foundation of outstanding works of art, and from the leading art museums of the world. In 2008, the London-based Art Newspaper placed the NGV as the 19th most visited art museum in the world. With 70% of visitors from Melbourne and Victoria, the NGV also boasts one of the highest community participation rates in the world (National Gallery of Victoria 2008, p12).
Approaching Individuals
The Masterpieces for Melbourne campaign relied on the five stages of fundraising for success: a clear mission statement; strong entrepreneurial leadership with an emphasis on philanthropy and fundraising; long-term direction; raising public interest through activity and education; and developing key relationships with potential philanthropists. The campaign was an ambitious fundraising effort specifically targeting higher profile philanthropists, and thus each stage was primarily concerned with approaching such individuals. Research by London (2006) shows NGV donors are typically existing arts attendees, consistent with international findings. Donors are in their later stages of life and share a love for the visual arts. Motivation to contribute to fundraising campaigns was identified as a positive reaction to the way in which they were approached; a good opinion of the NGV and/or personal experience with the NGV; and some combination of personal reward, altruistic appreciation, social benefits, expectations and gratitude. (London 2006 p2).
Being founded in 1861, the NGV has an established reputation and mission statement: “To illuminate life by collecting, preserving and presenting great art”. The Masterpieces of Melbourne campaign ties directly into these core beliefs and assumptions of the organisation through aiming to secure outstanding masterpieces for the gallery collection in order to elevate the presentation on offer to visitors and enhance the potential loan offering to international museums. Along with creating consistency in purpose and outcome across the organisation, the campaign clearly defines the requirements of the campaign. This is through allocating different forms of donation: cash gifts; perpetuity; and bequests. Four ways to participate are also clearly outlined in campaign documentation: gifts to NGV’s permanent Endowment; cash gifts to the Art Acquisition Fund; participation in the Patron’s Program; and will bequests.
Leadership during the campaign was established by NGV director at the time, Gerard Vaughan, who came to the NGV from a role as director of development at the British Museum. This role saw many millions of pounds raised in philanthropic contributions for the museum. With this experience, he focused on recruiting professional staff for the NGV in the departments of fundraising, sponsorship, media and public relations (Rentschler & Geursen 2003, p8). These core positions provided added strength to the campaign through experience and relationships. With the strong focus on fundraising, approaching philanthropists became a priority for the team, evident in the significant funding secured prior the campaign’s public launch.
Long-term goals for the campaign were established across a number of areas including provision for ongoing funding through perpetuity and bequests, and a nurturing of relationships with philanthropists which would prove beneficial in the future. Major benefactors to the campaign were prominently acknowledge by having their names displayed in large metal letters in Federation Court at NGV International, a perpetual recognition of their benefaction (National Gallery of Victoria 2008, p17). In addition, long-term gallery collection goals were outlined in the campaign documentation, highlighting different areas of need within the collection in order to inform benefactors of where their contributions were going. These included additions to the European collection in areas of German Expressionism, Russian Constructivism and Italian Futurism, and additions to the Asian collection specifically Chinese, Japanese, Indian and South East Asian art (National Gallery of Victoria 2008, p48). This detailed information allowed individuals to make a personal connection with the fundraising request and therefore become more likely to contribute to the campaign.
The fundraising strategy comprised of many different aspects. There was a focus on education, both in regards to school and university programs as well as general public education surrounding art history and the benefits of benefaction. Through providing education on the history and social benefits of philanthropy along with the importance of Australian and international art, the NGV began nurturing future philanthropic relationships. The NGV also leveraged the new building and renovations of their gallery spaces to generate public interest. Since the opening of the Ian Potter Centre, NGV Australia in 2002 and reopening of the NGV International in 2003, more than 10 million people had visited the National Gallery of Victoria’s sites. Both architectural firms completed the buildings to the highest standards and the NGV took the opportunity to draw focus to improvements in regards to the collection the buildings showcase (National Gallery of Victoria 2003, p28). The visitors and public interest formed provided another opportunity for ways in which to engage potential philanthropists in the community.
Campaign Outcome and Benefits into the Present Day
The Masterpieces of Melbourne campaign saw significant donations to the growth of the NGV collection. Over two thousand people made contributions and over $100 million was raised, with key acquisitions made such as a High Renaissance Corregio painting for $5.2 million (McColl & Coslovich 2011).
The final stage in the fundraising structure evaluates the effectiveness of fundraising procedures to ensure efficiencies and optimisation into the future. Through analysing the fundraising campaigns of the NGV since Masterpieces of Melbourne it could be concluded that they found the campaign successful and have chosen to repeat the model into the present day. Current director Tony Ellwood established the Campaign for Contemporary Art in 2012 to educate philanthropists on the importance of contemporary art ahead of announcement of the new NGV Contemporary Gallery in 2018. He provided the reasoning behind the campaign to “attract investment that can then be channeled into works, projects and commissions from Australian and international artists” (National Gallery of Victoria 2012). The NGV Contemporary Gallery project will require significant contribution from supporters in addition to the governments $208 million contribution, and through education and established relationships, there is already a foundation of philanthropists interested in contemporary art for the NGV to approach. (Cuthberson 2018).
Strategy for the next five years
Given the outcome of the Masterpieces of Melbourne campaign and ongoing philanthropic campaigns of similar structure, it is advised for the NGV to continue in these fundraising activities. Their benefactors are responding well to the approach and are connecting personally to the message and education surrounding the collection developments. As relationships continue to the developed and nurtured, benefactor contributions should also continue to grow. As Radbourne (2018) states, “sometimes it takes one or two years to cultivate a million-dollar donor”. This is the NGV’s opportunity to continue to build its collection and continue to appeal to the individuals who can contribute towards acquiring more masterpieces.
Conclusion
The five stages of fundraising provide a structure for organisations to utilise when designing, implementing and assessing fundraising campaigns. Through considering mission statements and establishing effective management and teams a campaign begins with a strong foundation. Long-term goals and strategic thinking concerning campaigns provide opportunity to maximise impact within donor networks and establish ongoing philanthropic relationships. Finally, evaluation and assessment ensures optimisation and efficiencies into the future. These stages were considered in the Masterpieces of Melbourne fundraising campaign and allowed the NGV to establish a proven and consistent fundraising structure, which they have continued to use to the present day.
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