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Yeats Society Sligo - "There are no strangers here": a strategic approach to a crisis

Press coverage - like this article in the Irish Times - helped drive new supporters When we hit €90k well before 31st July, the target was in sight

The Challenge

Yeats Society Sligo are the primary cultural organisation aiming to protect and promote the legacy of W.B. Yeats and his family.

They have a strong international profile in the arts & culture sector, but have never received core funding support from government. The pandemic effectively cut off their previously reliable sources of income (events and retail) - without other sources of income to cover core costs, they would have had to shut down by October 2021.

The Execution

We worked with the Society’s Director and Board to develop (a) an emergency fundraising strategy and (b) a crowdfunding campaign to raise enough money to keep the Society open not only in 2021, but to the end of 2022. This included:

  • Workshops with the Director and Board
  • Creative messaging options for different audiences
  • Detailed targets for major donor and public crowdfunding
  • Advice and support on major donor asks and email tactics
  • Copywriting for emails, website, and social media
  • Setup of emails, payment portals, crowdfunding page and social media ads
  • Ongoing campaign support

We also partnered with external PR and online donation support where necessary.

The Results

We are happy to report that the campaign reached its €100,000 target two weeks early! The Yeats Society Sligo now has the funding to continue for another 18 months and re-build a sustainable income base – starting with the supporters of this campaign.