Freelance Trust & Foundation Fundraiser Job

Creative Scotland; Scotland; Hybrid; GBP 4,000; Part time

Job summary

Manipulate Arts is seeking a Freelance Trust & Foundation Fundraiser to raise essential funds for their festival, artist development, and community programs. The ideal candidate will have strong experience in grant funding and knowledge of third sector funding sources in Scotland, contributing to an annual fundraising goal while working collaboratively with a small team.

Qualifications

• Proven track record in successful grant funding.
• Strong knowledge of funding bodies within the UK's third sector.
• Experience in arts and culture fundraising is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Raise £20-25k annually through trust and foundation grants.
• Advise on various income generation opportunities.
• Collaborate with a small team for achieving fundraising goals.

Skills

Grant writing

Fundraising

Networking

Collaboration

Job description

Freelance Trust & Foundation Fundraiser Job

Manipulate Arts

Deadline: 24 July 2025 at 01:00

Manipulate Arts seeks a fundraiser to raise £20-25k annually for their festival, artist development, and community programs. Grant experience, especially in arts, is preferred.

The mission of Manipulate Arts is to champion, develop and present animated film, puppetry and visual theatre in Scotland and internationally.

What We Are Looking For:
We are currently in receipt of multi-year funding from Creative Scotland (2025-2027) which contributes 74% of our annual income. A further 11% comes from partnerships and earned income. Our annual budget for 2025-26 is £322,500.

We wish to appoint a fundraiser who can help us raise £20-25k per annum in unrestricted gifts, but which could be applied to the annual festival, new artist development or the year-round community programme depending on the interests of the donor. We have made the assumption that most of this fundraising would be raised from Trust and Foundation grants but are open to other areas of income generation and are happy for our fundraiser to advise us.

We would like to work with someone who has a proven track-record of successful grant funding especially for organisations of our size. Having previous arts and culture fundraising experience is desirable but more valuable is a good knowledge of grants and funds available to third sector organisations in Scotland/UK.

We are a small team (Artistic Director, Projects & Operations Officer, Producer, Marketing Manager) that is supported by a board of trustees and supplemented by project staff as required. We would want you to feel part of our team and the ability to collaborate with us (in person and/or on a remote basis) is key to success.
Scotland’s home for animation, puppetry and visual theatre

Fee:
We can offer a fee of £3500 per year for 2 years with some additional budget for fundraising activity if required. We are open to different ways of working so this could be done over a number of months or more condensed but ideally the candidate would be in a position to undertake some work from September onwards. Please note as this is a freelance role the fundraiser will be responsible for their own HMRC contributions.

How to Apply:
If you wish to apply, please send a one-page cover letter and a one-page CV that tell us about your relevant experience, an outline of how you would approach the role, including the allocation of time for the above fee, and why you feel you would be a good fit for the organisation. These should be emailed to Sadie McKinlay (Trustee) at [e-mail] by 24 July 2025. If you would also like an informal chat before then, please also contact Sadie at the above address.

The deadline is Thursday 24 July 2025 at 01:00.

TAGGED:
Film / Festivals / Theatre / Visual Arts