Your organisation may be squeezed for cash, but you have another highly valuable resource – the people who support you. With increasing pressure on arts organisations to deliver against multiple agendas; increasing audience engagement, demonstrating impact and generating income, you can’t afford to ignore the people who can help you achieve your goals.

Art inspires passion in people. How can you harness this energy, their skills and enthusiasm in order to gain the maximum benefit? You may view your season ticket holders or members as a crucial source of income, you may see your volunteers and friends as an extra pair of hands, but they also have the power to help you achieve marketing and audience development goals.

They provide powerful word of mouth marketing, offer insight and fresh ideas, and can bring new skills and knowledge to your organisation.

This industry seminar is about making the best use of people’s investment in you.

What will you learn?
At this seminar you will learn from inspirational case studies to help you make the most of the people that support you. It will help you build capacity and find new ways to maximise your resources; making your organisation stronger, more sustainable and more accessible.

Volunteers, friends, season ticket holders, and even staff, are all ambassadors for your work. We will help you to understand how to make the most of these ambassadors in order to raise your profile, reach new audiences, and grow your organisation.

You will also have the opportunity to share your own experiences and learn from peers.

Who is it for?
Staff with responsibility for managing volunteer, ambassador or membership schemes
Marketing and Audience Development teams
Staff at all levels from performing arts, visual arts, culture and heritage organisations
Industry Seminar content is generally pitched at Officer - Manager level, but all are welcome. We think the format of this event will mean that people at any level will be able to learn and contribute. Feel free to contact us to check if you’re not sure if it’s for you.

Speakers
• Andy Walsh - FC United

Andy Walsh is a seasoned community activist and the General Manager of FC United of Manchester, a mutually-owned football club formed in 2005 in opposition to the Glazer takeover of Manchester United. The club has over 3,500 members and is raising £4.5M to develop a new 5,000 capacity community football ground and sports complex in Manchester.Andy will describe the central role that people have played in the success of the organisation. Many motivated and passionate supporters of FC United are not necessarily interested in football, but in its ethos and impact on local communities.

You will hear how understanding and empowerment are key to a mutually beneficial relationship. Andy will share his experience in developing a Membership system which now provides not only income but a strong team of people who are committed to the success of his organisation.

• Nina Arwitz - MOSAIC, National Parks

Nina Arwitz, Programme Manager from National Parks will talk about their National Project MOSAIC, aimed at increasing ethnic minority attendance through an engagement model which focuses on empowerment and engagement of their Community Champions. Run over ten years the result has been a successful highly engaged ambassador scheme with a strong retention rate which enables National Parks access to hard-to-reach communities.

More information and speakers to follow

All About Audiences – the audience development agency for the North West

allaboutaudiences.com