Michael Kaiser in Bristol

These seminars, six in total across the country, were set up by Arts Council England as part of their commitment to strengthening business models in the arts and helping arts organisations to diversify their income streams by encouraging private giving.

There seemed to be no doubt from anyone in the room that this was the right person to be delivering the sessions. Michael’s arts management resumé is impressive and International, although he is perhaps best known in this country for his role in turning around the fortunes of Royal Opera House, where he was Chief Executive (1998-2000). Everyone was keen to hear from the man who erased their much-reported £20 million historical deficit, funded a £214 million building project and set up an endowment to secure the future of the ROH.

With such a huge reputation preceding him, I was cautious in my expectations, however the ‘turnaround king’ does not disappoint in person. A personable and fluent speaker, Michael’s experience in arts management and in training and lecturing meant for a lively delivery full of real life examples relevant to the gathered cognoscenti of the south west (and further beyond).

The theme that sticks with me most from the day is time. Taking time to dream about the great art you will be doing, exhibiting or performing in five years time. Allowing time to write this up into a five-year strategy that encompasses the hopes and dreams of your organisation and, crucially, its artists. A plan you can get excited about when you talk to your staff, board, members, donors and the wider public – your ‘family’. A plan that has sufficient range and depth that no matter who you talk to, it’s likely that you will have a project on the horizon that will excite them enough to want to help you. Devoting time to the conversations with this family, so that the relationships can develop naturally and be based on your shared love of the art, not based on money and most of all, to listen. We were also reminded that we often forget in the arts in our enthusiasm to get our own messages across, to take time to really listen.

It is no news that successful fundraising follows when you have a great product, an organisation that you believe in and communicate well through your marketing. However, the key element stressed here once again, is time. Having an extra two years in the development of a project could make all the difference to the success of the fundraising and therefore the project itself. Michael tells us to try planning five years ahead with one project and we’ll be …seduced. Seduced into finding it makes it easier to raise money.

Were there any negatives? In truth, very few. The session was fairly short (10am to 12.45 including break) and I’m sure lots of people came away wanting more detail or to ask more questions. I also wonder if the focus on the long term gave little succour to organisations that need to have new funding plans from 2012 onwards. Finally, I confess to a nagging doubt about the successful transfer of some of the techniques from large, national, urban organisations to smaller ones in the rural setting; however I’ll be only too pleased for these doubts to be proved unfounded and plan to try them to test the theory.

I came away with both the practical checklist and a positive boost as I put my newly-formed development strategy for North Devon Theatres’ Trust into play. I am certainly inspired by some of the examples Michael gave from his career and encouraged to reflect on these in my strategy here.