How the Royal Academy of Music increased its fundraising income twelvefold

12/06/24 • 29 min

Lucinda Rouse and Dami Adewale are joined by Kirsty MacDonald, deputy principal for advancement at the Royal Academy of Music, to discuss the charity’s ongoing campaign to raise £100m.

Kirsty describes how the academy saw annual fundraising revenues grow from £1.5m to £18m in less than a decade, after investing in necessary systems and infrastructure including research, data and due diligence functions.

She stresses the importance of fostering long-term relationships with major donors, bringing them into the wider academy family using a variety of methods including one-to-one pairings with staff in the fundraising team and beyond.

The episode also features snippets from a recent Third Sector interview with Hilary Evans-Newton, chief executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK.

Hilary talks about changing perceptions around dementia, the controversy caused by ARUK’s 2023 advertising campaign and the importance of role models for working mothers.

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Lucinda Rouse and Dami Adewale are joined by Kirsty MacDonald, deputy principal for advancement at the Royal Academy of Music, to discuss the charity’s ongoing campaign to raise £100m.

The episode also features snippets from a recent Third Sector interview with Hilary Evans-Newton, chief executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK.

Hilary talks about changing perceptions around dementia, the controversy caused by ARUK’s 2023 advertising campaign and the importance of role models for working mothers.

Tell us what you think of the Third Sector Podcast! Please take five minutes to let us know how we can bring you the most relevant, useful content. To fill in the survey, click here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

How to seize an unexpected major fundraising opportunity

Lucinda Rouse is joined by Paul Watkins, fundraising director at Leeds Hospitals Charity, to reflect on the charity’s delivery of a £6.8m appeal for a new motor neurone disease care centre.

Paul describes the integral role of the late England rugby league player Rob Burrow, who was diagnosed with MND in 2019 and died earlier this year, in mobilising a community of some 17,000 individual supporters, who each donated an average of £35, and colleagues from the rugby world.

Paul emphasises the importance of storytelling in motivating people to donate and explains how the charity, whose largest previous appeal was just £1.2m, was able to adapt to take up an immediate and time-sensitive opportunity.

Also in the episode, Chris Sherwood, chief executive of the RSPCA, joins to talk about the latest report by the Charity Reform Group, which calls for greater representation of charity leaders in national debates.

Tell us what you think of the Third Sector Podcast! Please take five minutes to let us know how we can bring you the most relevant, useful content. To fill in the survey, click here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

Michelle Mitchell on innovation at Cancer Research UK

Lucinda Rouse and Andy Ricketts are joined by Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, to discuss the charity’s approach to fundraising, supporter engagement and advocacy.

Michelle provides insight into the charity’s ongoing data and digital transformation programme: a major investment that aims to personalise supporter engagement and raise the systems surrounding it to the same level as the world-leading research funded by CRUK.

She stresses the importance of promoting innovation and experimentation to deliver the impact articulated in a clear organisational strategy.

Also in the episode, Andy talks about Third Sector’s latest Charity Pay Study, which identifies and ranks the sector’s highest earners using data drawn from charities’ accounts.

Tell us what you think of the Third Sector Podcast! Please take five minutes to let us know how we can bring you the most relevant, useful content. To fill in the survey, click here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.