Hampshire Cultural Trust (HCT) has been awarded funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to deliver Culture: Impact, an organisational development project that will enable HCT to develop best practice approaches in impact measurement and community engagement.
The 18-month project (April 2019 -September 2020) will improve how HCT both measures and talks about the impact of its projects and programmes that aim to create positive social change through culture by working with people across the county. It will also improve how HCT understands, listens and responds to the needs of communities.
Culture: Impact will establish clear links between impact, community needs and fundraising to ensure that all future fundraising activities are rooted in an evidence-based approach. It will also provide a comprehensive case of support for current donors, funders and the wider community.
“Culture: Impact will act as a catalyst for a step-change in how we operate and lead to us having a stronger case for support and identity as a charity,” commented Bryony Hope, Fundraising Manager at HCT. “This will enable us to be more successful in our fundraising by attracting higher levels of support, improving the quality of our future projects and programmes and strengthening our future resilience.”
The funding will be used to gain a better understanding of where HCT is performing well and where practice can be improved to ensure it can fulfil its mission to create world-class cultural experiences in Hampshire that are accessible to diverse communities and groups.
By working with specialists in impact management and community engagement, unique strategies will be developed to ensure HCT’s objectives are met. These approaches will replicate current good practice across the organisation while also incorporating best practice from the wider charity sector.
Culture: Impact will engage with venue managers across the trust and be supported by senior management. Themed peer-to-peer support groups will be formed, enabling participants to work together to test new approaches to developing, delivering and evaluating projects and programmes.
HCT will share case studies from the project both internally and with the wider public, resulting in a clearer understanding of its role in local communities and the impact of its work across the county. It will also share learning from Culture: Impact with the wider sector, contributing to the overall case for investing in culture.