Launched last month, the Young Arts Fundraisers group is engaging an emerging generation of cultural sector fundraisers.At the Science Museum on 14th September, the word on many senior fundraisers’ lips was: “I wish something like this had existed when I started out.”

The occasion was the official launch of Young Arts Fundraisers – a new professional network for emerging cultural sector fundraisers.

In January, some one hundred young arts professionals gathered at the Foundling Museum to discuss the future of arts fundraising in a panel discussion supported by Arts Fundraising & Philanthropy and in partnership with Young People in the Arts and the IoF Cultural Sector Network.

This was the brainchild of Fanny Guesdon (Brunswick Arts), Matthew Ross (University College London) and Chris Powell (London Symphony Orchestra). It was also a pilot. The organisers wanted to test interest in what they suspected was a great unmet need for a peer-to-peer professional network aimed specifically at fundraisers early in their careers, with a specialist and in-depth focus on the cultural sector. The event was a sell-out, and the planning began.

Young Arts Fundraisers officially launched on 14th September with a reception hosted by the Science Museum and supported by the Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy programme. Over seventy arts professionals, established and emerging, heard colourful stories that exemplified young fundraisers’ support needs from Amanda Rigali (Director of Strategic Development, Cause4) and Martin Kaufman (Chair, IoF Cultural Sector Network). Guests also engaged in pilot speed-mentoring sessions with senior practitioners from major arts organisations including the Natural History Museum and the London Handel Festival.