Consultant Brief: Fundraiser, Benton End Revived

The Garden Museum is seeking an experienced Fundraiser to lead on match-funding a £2.9m Heritage Fund grant for the renewal and redevelopment of Benton End, a Grade II* listed Tudor property with significant artistic, horticultural, and social heritage. The goal is to transform Benton End into a vibrant, accessible, and sustainable arts and learning centre, reimagining the radical spirit of Sir Cedric Morris and Arthur Lett – Haines’s art school and garden legacy.

This commission covers the Development Phase of a National Lottery Heritage Fund-supported capital project and the period during which the Delivery Phase application is being assessed. The Fundraiser will collaborate closely with the client team, project manager and stakeholders throughout.

This consultant will report into the Project Manager, but will also work closely with the Garden Museum Development Director and the Benton End Board.

This opportunity is made possible thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Lottery players.

Please refer to the consultancy brief (job description) and appendices for further information about the project requirements. 

Clarifying questions

The following clarifying questions were received by the deadline; each response is listed with the relevant question:

Q1. Can you outline the current fundraising capacity within the team, including whether there is any dedicated resource in place?

R1. There are four people in the Development Team at the Garden Museum, equivalent to 2.0 FTE. This comprises Director of Development, Individual Giving Manager, freelance Trusts and Foundations Manager and Membership Secretary. The existing team will dedicate 20% of their time to Benton End for the duration of the project and close collaboration between the fundraising consultant and this team will be crucial. Benton End’s Board will primarily be focussed on fundraising for the duration of the Development Phase. Further details of the Board can be found in the appendix ‘Procurement document’. The Project Director at Benton End will continue to lead on local fundraising (e.g. Local Authorities) and will manage the relationship with the key funder: The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Q2. Given the scale of the fundraising target, have any warm prospects or potential funding opportunities already been identified or developed

R2. We have had initial conversations with some major trusts and foundations who expect to be approached as part of our campaign. We are currently building our networks in Suffolk and East Anglia, growing our Board to support more localised fundraising.

Q3. Please could you provide a summary of the additional outputs costs (circa £900k) that will require fundraising support?

R3. There are ongoing costs associated with Benton End that require funding; the primary ones are as follows. We are seeking ongoing support for two full-time staff posts at Benton End: Head Gardener and Project Director. We also need to raise £350,000 to fund a final consideration towards the acquisition of Benton End from the Pinchbeck Charitable Trust.