Brass Bands England in Joint Event with Fodens

Published in General on 2013-09-26 by Empty Chairs

More news from Brass Bands England

As part of Brass Bands England's burgeoning series of meetings across England, Rachel Veitch-Straw visited Cheshire last week, to present at the invitation of champions Foden's. The meeting, focusing on funding advice and guidance, was attended by 10 bands, including Youth bands, Community bands and Championship bands from across three counties.

These events focus not only on getting information out to bands, but on sharing information, and on getting bands together.

"I call these Funding Network Meetings because although there is always a huge amount of information to share with bands, it's also important that we get people together, to have a chance to help each other, to realise that bands in all situations share the same challenges, and to consider the kind of collaborations which are so attractive to funders. " explained Rachel.

"At the meetings, bands receive information about local funds, and about organisations who can assist groups to pitch successful bids. There are details about small community funds, and how to access larger funds like the Arts Council England Grants for the Arts. There is also an insight into more creative methods of fundraising, such as crowdfunding."

The Foden’s meeting was well received, attracting the following comments:

Chris Finnigan, Foden’s Vice President, said “[Rachel] helped everyone with [her] know how and experience and [her] enthusiasm was infectious.” Mark Wilkinson thought the evening was “very well presented, researched, and informative.”

Steve Twemlow, of Rode Hall Band, said of the meeting: " I found the information provided very useful, also the way it involved everyone in the room was helpful, so we all got an insight into what other bands priorities were" Further Funding Network Meetings are planned in West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, and Hertfordshire.