Developing a Fundraising Strategy for Dublin Youth Theatre

The Context

Dublin Youth Theatre delivers quality artistic experiences through a full and varied drama workshop programme and the production of excellent, exciting and challenging theatre made by young people.

Since its foundation in 1977, by Educational Psychologist Paddy O’ Dwyer, Dublin Youth Theatre has forged a unique contribution to the worlds of theatre and youth work. Dublin Youth Theatre delivers quality artistic experiences through a full and varied drama workshop programme and the production of excellent, exciting and challenging theatre made by young people. Through art, Dublin Youth Theatre promotes the artistic, personal and social development of young people aged 14 to 22 in Dublin. DYT is committed to maintaining a high artistic standard in its productions and to engaging with contemporary theatre and youth theatre on a local, national and international level.

Dublin Youth Theatre were seeking a new fundraising strategy to outline how they will secure future financial resources to achieve their goals.

Dublin Youth Theatre

The Action

We met with Dublin Youth Theatre (DYT) for an initial consultation and to discuss their fundraising plans.

“I could sense straight away that Rob had genuine enthusiasm and interest in working with DYT. He sent us on a comprehensive outline of the development of a strategy which was very helpful. We were successful in an application to the Arts Council Capacity Building Scheme for funding to carry out the strategy. I had a strong sense that Rob and 2into3 were the right choice of consultants for our strategy.” – Katie Martin, Board Member, DYT.

Hereafter, we worked closely with the team at DYT to introduce them to 2into3’s process and how we would approach the development of their strategy. We also provided initial discussions around the potential income streams DYT could access.

We met with DYT on a number of occasions (including in-person) with members of the DYT Board to look at a case for support, survey the various income generation strands and develop a picture of how comparable arts organisations generated income.

To conclude our process, we met the staff to finalise a case for support, fine-tune the strategy and held a review meeting to discuss the next steps for DYT in implementing their fundraising strategy.

The Result

“It was very helpful to generate a case for support and make decisions around how we tell the story of DYT to potential supporters. We have limited staff resources and it was very important that we were realistic about what we can achieve and that any income generation routes we decide to pursue are feasible and likely to yield results. I feel we have achieved this. For any income generation strategy to be successful, the organisation’s board needs to be active and committed. I feel that this is happening as a result of the process of developing the strategy. I feel we are empowered by the strategy and better equipped with a rationale as to why supporting DYT is important. We can articulate our social impact better than ever before.

I was slightly concerned that an external consultant might come with assumptions about youth theatre or their approach might not be the right fit, but this was not our experience at all. Rob was very open to developing an understanding of DYT, listening to our perspectives and creating a practical, realistic and fit-for-purpose strategy that will work for the organisation. It was clear that Rob wanted the strategy to work as much as we did, so we built a real sense of trust in him. He worked with our pace and was very patient as we went through many versions of the case for support.

Rob was really a fantastic lead. His enthusiasm, experience and genuine passion for the charity and nonprofit sector was inspiring. His insights were also incredibly valuable. DYT are in the early days of implementing their fundraising strategy, but there is a strong belief among staff and our board that we can generate income using the comprehensive actions we have identified.”

– Katie Martin, Board Member, Dublin Youth Theatre

Dublin Youth Theatre

Get in Touch

If your organisation would like to develop a new fundraising strategy, identify new sources of income, or review your current fundraising strategy, contact Rob Foley, Head of Fundraising at rob.foley@2into3.com or on +353 86 032 7935.

Dublin

2into3
Huckletree in The Academy,
42 Pearse St,
Dublin 2,
D02 YX88.

Ph: 01 574 0022

Belfast

2into3
Ormeau Baths,
18 Ormeau Ave,
Belfast
BT2 8HS

Ph: (44) 28 9592 1558

Cork

2into3
Republic of Work
12 South Mall
Cork
T12 RD43

Ph: 021 237 9882

Galway

2into3
Portershed
Eyre Square
Galway
H91 HY51

Ph: 091 413 390

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