A sad day indeed

[MrGongGong]

Sound it Out who have been one of the pioneering community music organisations in the UK have just announced that they are to close
due to loss of funding

Having done outstanding work for many years the project grew out of the Birmingham Year of music which was one of the more successful "Year of the Arts" projects

http://www.sounditout.co.uk/

[Boilk]

Sad, as their neck of the woods is indeed deprived socially and culturally. Other musical charities (e.g. Streetwise Opera) seem to be thriving, so is this in part a combination of draconian funding cutbacks and lack of in-house fundraising talent?

[MrGongGong]

Sad, as their neck of the woods is indeed deprived socially and culturally. Other musical charities (e.g. Streetwise Opera) seem to be thriving, so is this in part a combination of draconian funding cutbacks and lack of in-house fundraising talent?

Nothing to do with lack of talent I'm afraid
more like
lack of "sexy Venezuelan" kudos which seems to be all you need these days

I suspect that this will be the first of many ....................

[Serial_Apologist]

Nothing to do with lack of talent I'm afraid
more like
lack of "sexy Venezuelan" kudos which seems to be all you need these days

I suspect that this will be the first of many ....................

Extremely sorry and angry to hear this, MrGG

I note that there's a Birmingham Mail article linked to your link in Msg 1.

We're all out of this together.

[amateur51]

Very sad indeed, MrGG.

I'd like to offer some help with fundraising advice but I guess it's too late

[Resurrection Man]

"The work Sound it Out does around the West Midlands to bring music to people in a range of circumstances is remarkable and I really believe it changes people's lives on a regular basis.

This successful and passionate organisation has just had its Arts Council funding cut by 100%.

Whilst this only represents about 12% of their income – this is the income that pays for the people who fundraise the other 78%!!!"



This seems very strange. Surely if the Arts Council funding was only 12% of their income then they could have restructured and kept going albeit on a smaller scale?

[johncorrigan]

This seems very strange. Surely if the Arts Council funding was only 12% of their income then they could have restructured and kept going albeit on a smaller scale?

I don't know any of the circumstances involved, or how things work down south, but one of the most difficult areas for community based organisations to get resources for is core funding, and that may have been a large element of the Arts Council....and of course if a group loses that funding they may have difficulty as funding from other sources may be reliant on the Arts Council funding; or the support of the Arts Council may attract that other funding in, and the lack of it do the opposite. As soon as one brick is pulled out, others start to dislodge. More and more likely to happen at community levels, and not just with arts funding.

[MrGongGong]

This seems very strange. Surely if the Arts Council funding was only 12% of their income then they could have restructured and kept going albeit on a smaller scale?

One problem for many organisations is that it's almost impossible to fundraise for core costs. There are plenty of schemes and funding streams for project work but these usually exclude the costs of administration and writing the funding application in the first place. I know of several other groups in a similar position where their work is brilliant but no one is willing to fund the basic costs of existing. The ACE core funding has been the main way that many great things have happened without it you are effectively asking people to work for nothing or on a speculative basis.

[Resurrection Man]

Many thanks, MrGG, for the clarification. You might find this blog interesting as it gives a good insight into this excellent organisation.

http://clareedwards.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/sound-it-out/

[MrGongGong]

Many thanks, MrGG, for the clarification. You might find this blog interesting as it gives a good insight into this excellent organisation.

http://clareedwards.wordpress.com/20.../sound-it-out/

I was going to post a link to Clare's blog myself
as I have worked for SiO many times in the last 20 years

but always good to see your friends online

[teamsaint]

Its a real shame that organisations like this get hit so hard, when there is so much goodwill and great work going on.lets hope something gets sorted.

As regards the blog, i was a bit surprised to see her having a swipe at people who "work hard but are a bit rubbish".
In my experience, not in the glitzy world of music admittedly, people who work hard, really work hard not just manage to make it look like they work hard, are the people you want on the team.

[MrGongGong]

glitzy world of music .

Here are a couple of "glitzy" places I've stayed in my musical career





So which goes with the more musically inspiring project ? (leaving out the lobsters)

[teamsaint]

seriously, I am well aware that music as a career is generally not all that glitzy, for most people, most of the time. Nor is publishing, in which I work, despite what people might think. !!

(think I just spent a few days near where the first photo was taken !)

[MrGongGong]

seriously, I am well aware that music as a career is generally not all that glitzy, for most people, most of the time. Nor is publishing, in which I work, despite what people might think. !!

(think I just spent a few days near where the first photo was taken !)

It was a joke
I've just got back from 2 days rehearsal and we thought it would be nice to camp rather than stay in a B&B
but Devon wasn't exactly the South of France in the last few days

but as Clare Stevens mentioned in last months Classical Music some things seem to attract all the attention and publicity and that's often NOT to do with quality or potential.

[handsomefortune]

is that a gravel path, or a pond mr gong gong? at a ruff guess 'inspiration' and 'quality' isn't necessarily experienced in the 'jazzy' building pictured, with all its lights on but possibly 'no one at home'!

back on topic, 'the national unemployment and depression initiative' rumbles on its dreary and destructive course, with occasional distractions in the form of 'side shows for londoners'. elsewhere, so many voluntary sector arts and sports orgs are either closed, or closing.

Clare Stevens mentioned in last months Classical Music some things seem to attract all the attention and publicity and that's often NOT to do with quality or potential.

no, it's to do with the politics of 'strategic cunning', dependent on oodles of cash for marketing, and securing national tv/media coverage. imo this does not apply to 'classical music' alone, but i so wish there were many, many more like clare stevens who might regularly and publicly reiterate this observation which incidentally is long over due. obviously, too late for those orgs already closed.

incidentally, i am offering 5 virtual browny points to any poster who can see a connection between this thread of yours mr gong gong, and john skelton's thread about current 'h&s' in the construction industry. (for clues perhaps re-read the specific sections of people that sio aim(ed) to work with, listed at the bottom of the sio website linked upthread).

i notice the top layers of the arts council no longer employ people from a formal arts background, as the destruction of the voluntary sector is easier to over look if pretty ignorant of the benefits of collective activities. a 'blind eye' is so useful these days! though i don't know how ace management sleep at night tbh.