Bath Spa University

Bath Spa University is a public university in Bath, England, with its main campus based at Newton Park on Duchy of Cornwall land. The University has other campuses in the city of Bath, and one at Corsham Court in Wiltshire.

The Brief

From May to November 2014 we undertook a feasibility study for a capital campaign to fund the building of a new art and design school for the University at the start of their current fundraising campaign as part of a wider initiative by the University to build new income streams. The brief was to assess and recommend the structure and approach to a campaign including involvement and leadership of volunteers.

Our response

We worked with Bath Spa University providing campaign fundraising advice and mentoring for their Director of Development as well as attending key Board meetings as required. There have been a number of capital campaigns in Bath in recent years so we were sensitive to ‘donor fatigue’ and the impact of this on a fundraising campaign. Our response to the brief was to undertake a detailed feasibility study involving 20 interviews of donors known and unknown to the University. We produced a formal report and made recommendations to the Vice-Chancellor and senior academics that led to a review of the project and a revision to the fundraising strategy.