Diversifying Income: Theatre Royal Wakefield, Wakefield to the West End

I started my fundraising career nearly two years ago. I never thought that after my first year mastering the tricks of the trade, I’d have to push them all to one side in favour of new approaches.

Some of the changes have been small; waving goodbye on Zoom instead of a shake of the hand. But some are much bigger – how do you go about raising money for a theatre when people can’t come in and experience the joy and wonder that comes with live performance?

Creating and maintaining a personal relationship with our supporters has been a huge focus of our fundraising efforts throughout lockdown. These relationships have led to individuals donating their ticket costs back to the Theatre, filling in a Gift Aid form which they may not have done previously, or simply making a donation because they can’t imagine Wakefield without its Theatre.

Another way in which we have diversified our fundraising is through adopting the Theatre’s Trust’s Crowd Funder campaign. The focus of this campaign is not to receive large sums of money from a small group of people, but small sums from a large group of people – which is where we have seen the real impact of our existing and new found relationships with individuals. Of course, for any fundraising campaign, the goal is to raise money, but it is also to raise awareness. The campaign has allowed us to spread the word about how amazing we are and encourage people to think about us, leading them to potentially booking tickets for a show or making a further donation.

To help keep the campaign alive and kicking, I decided to take on a challenge of my own. I thought it would be a good idea to walk the equivalent distance of Wakefield to the West End – 181 miles in 50 days. My aim when taking on this challenge was to show the public that our Crowd Funder is a trusted campaign and one worth getting behind. At the time of writing this, I am 98 miles into the 181 – not bad going for someone who’s just had new sofas delivered! My efforts have been paying off as I have already raised ￡311 from a group of people who may not have donated to the Theatre otherwise. These people are now aware of how important the Theatre is, both as a live performance venue and the projects that take place to support the local community.

Like everyone else, I never thought I’d be fundraising during a pandemic. As I mentioned above, it’s brought many challenges, but I will always cherish the relationships I have built with our supporters over this time and continue to build upon them once the theatre reopens next year. I’ve learnt about their families and hobbies; I’ve even picked up a book recommendation or two! Although this time has been horrific, I will take away so much from the experience and use it to continue building my knowledge in order to help Theatre Royal Wakefield continue bringing joy and magic to the lives of so many way into the future. Thank you for reading!

Poppy Wille

Development and Events Officer, Theatre Royal Wakefield