We had a chat with Jeremy Wong, our Development Officer here at Omnibus Theatre. Check out what Jeremy has to say about everything from the challenges that arise in fundraising to his personal theatre heroes.
OMNIBUS THEATRE: So, what does a Development Officer do?
JEREMY WONG: I support Marie, Omnibus Theatre’s Artistic Director, in the fundraising efforts for the theatre. In my role, I oversee departmental administration, devise and carry out fundraising campaigns, and write funding applications. I also manage the membership scheme and act as the point-of-contact for our donors.
OT: What is your favourite part about being a Development Officer?
JW: I think there is something really satisfying about seeing a project start and take off, knowing that you had a crucial role in its inception and origination. For example, our recent Creative Learning project “Beyond Literacy” was a project which I helped to fundraise for – it involved 600 local primary school children and aimed to increase confidence in literacy through drama exercises. It’s funny because when you are writing these applications, they ask you: “What is the outcome of your project? What is the potential impact?” And it always remains quite abstract until you see the results right in front of you. It is so gratifying to witness that and play a part in that.
OT: What is the most challenging part about being a Development Officer?
JW: I think the landscape right now is incredibly challenging. There are dwindling funds available for the arts and arts-related activities; at the same time, there are an increasing number of groups fighting over these same shrinking pots of money. At the moment, I think one of the biggest challenges facing fundraisers, as well as arts and cultural leaders more broadly, is how to plan for the long-term in light of these pressing financial obstacles without losing sight of the artistic missions at the core of their organisations. Marie, our producers and I are constantly thinking around ways that we can increase sustainability and resilience – two very prominent buzzwords right now, and for good reason – without compromising the heart of what we’re doing. This might involve, for example, cultivating new partnerships or seeking capital funds to grow our capacity to generate earned income. But these things take time and as I said, the competition is very still. Generally, the outlook is quite depressing because it is not like the arts organizations we are “competing” with are not producing good or valuable work – the fact is that there is simply not enough money at the moment to fund every great project. In turn, many funders are increasingly risk-averse – as a young organisation trying to do innovative work, there’s a very tight line to walk.
OT: What is your favourite part about working at Omnibus Theatre?
JW: I think the variety of what I get to do is fantastic. I am only in three days a week and even within that I straddle a lot of different projects. It is really nice to have that range of engagement. Also, the amount of responsibility I have as someone who is fairly early in their professional career in the arts, it is nice to have the agency and trust to be creative and use my own initiative to think around problems.
OT: Do you have any theatre heroes?
JW: From my perspective as a fundraiser, one of my theatre heroes has to be David Byrne at New Diorama Theatre. He has done incredible things with that organisation. When he took over as Artistic and Executive Director, the theatre was almost bankrupt; for him and his team to transform it into a powerhouse for developing new work and – crucially – for fostering and cultivating young companies is astounding. They also have such a small team – it’s incredible. It doesn’t hurt that he’s also a very funny and generous person.
