“Resource Mobilization in the Cultural Sector”, is a 4-minute video produced as part of a series of expert videos in the framework of the Arts and Culture Entrepreneurship (ACE) program, in which Tunisian-French Culture Funding Watch founder, Ouafa Belgacem, maps out the essentials of funding and resource mobilization.
In this video, Belgacem addresses the erroneous approach of cultural practitioners, who often conceptualize their project, finalize it and then start looking for funders or donors. Financial strategy and the conceptualization of an idea should go hand in hand, she argues. Long-term planning for financial sustainability is key. Watch this inspirational video to learn more tips.
Ouafa Belgacem is an expert on resource mobilization and sustainability and a researcher on topics related to arts and culture funding, cultural policies and art financing. She is the founder and CEO of Culture Funding Watch, a leading art funding platform in the MENA region.
The ACE program was launched in 2018 by AFAC, in partnership with Drosos Foundation, and with the support of the German Federal Foreign Office, and is currently launching its third cycle. The program fosters a collective space for reflection on sustainability and is designed to inspire, invigorate and strengthen small and medium cultural institutions, based and working in the Arab region, and whose initiatives engage with communities. Eight arts and culture institutions participate in each cycle of the program and benefit from three extensive workshops, training, and one-on-one mentoring in the areas that contribute to more sustainable organizations: communications and storytelling, resources mobilization and fundraising, case studies, peer-to-peer learning and exchange, strategic planning, as well as concepts of design thinking, startups, and the different business models that they can adopt. The program further offers an incentive grant for each participating institution to implement an innovation activity aimed at improving their institutional resilience. Complementing the professional and financial support is a series of commissioned research and impact studies on topics related to entrepreneurship and sustainability.