Catalyst Fund to help enhance fundraising for new music

Howard Lake | 10 May 2013 | News

A partnership of music organisations has received funding from Arts Council England’s Catalyst Fund to help them transform fundraising for commissioning new pieces of music by British composers.

Led by Sound and Music, the national organisation for new music, the consortium consists of London Sinfonietta, Cafe Oto, and Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.

The award of £129,500 will enable each organisation to explore and test new approaches to fundraising, from online and mobile giving campaigns, through crowdfunding, to enabling mid-level donors to get involved in commissioning new works.

The funding is given on the grounds that findings from the two-year project will be shared with the wider sector.

Susanna Eastburn, Chief Executive of Sound and Music, commented: "Commissioning new work is an essential part of the continuing health and vitality of music in Britain… We think there is the potential to unlock more individual philanthropic support for commissioning, and now, with the support of the Catalyst grant, the consortium partners can work together to make this a reality for themselves and, ultimately, for others in the sector."

Catalyst Fund grants

Consortia were asked to apply for grants of between £60,000 and £150,000 for activity over two years. Arts Council England received 164 applications to the scheme and awarded 62 grants which will benefit 218 organisations.

Unlike previous Catalyst schemes, this scheme did not require applicants to raise match funding during the period of the grant.

About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale. He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.