Financial Management – Strategies and Tactics of Fundraising through Tenders

The largest share of the funds with which we carry out the mission of our cultural organizations is obtained through local, national and international tenders issued by public and private funders. We dedicate countless hours of work to achieving our goals, exercise a fair amount of patience in handling tender forms, and invest vast amounts of energy and knowledge in preparing for calls and reporting on the implementation of applied projects and programs. Filling out tables, we often feel that these do not reflect the »reality in the field«, and that reporting limits our communication to summaries and figures with which we can only partially illustrate the effects and added value of our activities. Do readers of our applications and reports feel misunderstood as well?

The second event organised by Motovila Institute within a training cycle entitled »Beyond the Cultural Model«, will host representatives of various funding programmes that will shed light on these and other issues related to fundraising through tenders. Our discussion will include feedback by four professionals from Slovenian and foreign organizations that provide funds for the culture and creative sectors. With their help, we will try to acquaint ourselves with their motives for funding programmes, and to understand how these motives are subsequently translated into calls for proposals and forms. We will present four funding programmes and the organizations behind them: the Visegrad Fund, the European Cultural Foundation, the Active Citizen Fund in Slovenia, and Kultura Nova Foundation. After an introductory presentation of our guests, we will begin a conversation that will provide insight into the process of creating tender mechanisms, which will in turn help us improve our ability to read calls for proposals, and understand the effects we should contribute to with our programmes or activities. Moreover, this insight will help us make the right decision when it comes to (not) submitting applications.

The training will provide us with an opportunity to jointly explore the tender system as a mechanism – one that we know so well that we do not require a strategy for it. Nevertheless, we can reflect on it, and in so doing set some tactical starting points that will enable us to acquire new skills and gain momentum in chasing the next submission deadline.

Guest speakers:
Dea Vidović, Director of Kultura Nova Foundation (HR)
Michal Pavlík, Public Relations Manager, Visegrad Fund (SK)
Philipp Dietachmair, Head of Programmes, European Cultural Foundation (NL)
Veronika Vodlan, CNVOS / Active Citizens Fund in Slovenia (SI)
Moderated by Urška Jež (SI)

About the moderator: MSc Urška Jež is a producer in culture, attracted to the challenge of obtaining sponsorships to such an extent that she dedicated her master’s thesis to their research from the companies’ perspective. In the last two years, she has participated in several trainings on the topic of fundraising at the ERSTE Foundation NGO Academy. The current situation will have an impact on our business success therefore she will try to highlight the skills and knowledge needed to create a sustainable business model in the conversation with our guests.

The seminars are part of a professional training series entitled “Beyond the Cultural Model” (BCM), which Motovila has been organizing since 2018 in cooperation with partners and international experts, this time in collaboration with the Centre for Creativity. BCM offers representatives of the Slovenian cultural and creative sectors the opportunity to test and adjust their way of working in order to achieve lasting effects in the future. Check out the full program here.

Further info: ines.kezman[at]motovila.si

The training series BCM is organized by the Motovila Institute as part of the activities of the Centre for Creativity Platform Partner Network. The project is co-financed by the EU (from the European Regional Development Fund) and the Republic of Slovenia. The webinar Financial Management – Strategies and Tactics of Fundraising through Tenders is co-financed by the Municipality of Ljubljana.