To support a European member looking to assess the effectiveness of their own capacity building program for arts fundraisers, Advisory Board for the Arts identified and profiled 11 organizations that provide capacity building programs either by awarding grants or through training.

Our report profiles the details of these programs (length, eligibility, cost to attend, etc.) and outlines key findings from nine conversations with the capacity building program facilitators. These include:

• Organizations have found that participants feel more comfortable expressing themselves when an intermediary organization delivers the capacity building program, rather than the direct funder itself. This builds trust and stronger relationships within the program.

• Establishing a range of sector partners who are advocacy bodies within the cultural sector helps to advertise to potential participants.

• Making sure the acquired knowledge goes on to the organization as a whole and not only to the individuals who took the capacity building program is key — one program achieves this by ensuring that applicants have plans to remain at their organization for at least several more years.

Read these and more findings in our report below: