Lynn Simmonds

I'm currently an Arts and Heritage Consultant at ArtReach, Leicester. 

ArtReach has substantial experience of supporting cultural organisations in – visioning and strategic planning; business planning; fundraising activity (strategies and implementation); board development; personnel review; and wider development work. The organisation has successfully supported over 200 clients, working with theatre and performing arts venues, galleries, museums, arts centres, dance companies, musicians, visual artists and crafts people, carnival organisations, and festivals. It builds supportive, ongoing relationships through organisational development and fundraising work, enabling it to have a detailed understanding of client aspirations and needs.

Fundraising continues to be an important ingredient of the organisational development support provided by ArtReach. It has successfully delivered many Lottery applications (to all distributors) and has an excellent track record of securing funds through other public and statutory sources, Charitable Trusts and Foundations, and the European Union (ESF, ERDF, Culture Programme and INTERREG). ArtReach has also secured other forms of private philanthropy and corporate support for cultural projects.

My background includes roles in music education funding and delivery; managing classical music venues, festivals and programmes (leading on fundraising and development), and heritage project management.

As a consultant, I specialise in supporting arts and heritage organisations with their impact measurement (using theory of change), fundraising and business planning/ strategy development.