About Us

Dart Music Festival Foundation

Background

The 2010 Dart Music Festival (7th to 9th May) will be the 13th annual event since the Festival’s inception in 1998. The Festival includes almost every type of music from rap to folk, from rock to orchestral, and from jazz to opera, and music is performed in venues all over the beautiful South Devon harbour town of Dartmouth, as well as on the main stage of the bandstand in Royal Avenue Gardens. The Festival is now one of the established features of the Dartmouth calendar, alongside Shakespeare Week and the Royal Regatta, and attracts great support from local residents and visitors. In 2009 there were xx performances at xx venues and the total audience was estimated to be xx.

The Foundation

While fundraising will always be a challenging priority, the Festival reported its first surplus in 2009 and hopes to repeat this achievement in future years. This has led to the birth of the idea that, in addition to three days of wonderful musical entertainment, the Festival might usefully extend its activities to providing support to those with musical interests and ambitions, living in and around Dartmouth. This initial idea has, generally, been received favourably and, during the course of 2009, the Board of the Dart Music Festival agreed, in principle, to lend its support to the formation of a charitable trust under the name of the Dart Music Festival Foundation.

Purpose of the Foundation

The purpose of the Foundation will be to provide cash grants (and, possibly, loans) to assist the musical development, education and careers of residents of Dartmouth and the surrounding area.

Operation of the Foundation

The Foundation will be operated by a Board of Trustees (including representatives of the Dart Music Festival) whose prime responsibilities will be managing the Foundations finances, publicising its activities and attracting grant applications and deciding which ones to support. It seems likely that the majority of applications will come from the younger members of our community and, for this reason, the Trustees will pay special attention to forging links with local schools, music teachers and youth organisations.

Funding the Foundation

As noted above, the Dart Music Festival Board supports this initiative and is prepared, in principal, to inject part of the cash surpluses that it generates into the Foundation. The Foundation’s first funding will, indeed, be from the first such Festival donation. The Foundations trust deed will also allow the Foundation to support the Festival financially, should such support be required in the future.

In addition to funding from Festival surpluses, the Foundation proposes to seek financial support from Benefactors and Patrons who will agree to provide an annual donation for a three year period. This should make it possible for the Foundation to build up a solid endowment over the first few years of its existence.

Next Steps

The Foundation’s first Trustees will be Pam Braakenberg (Chair of the Dart Music Festival), Laurie Preece and Tim Hailstone. These three individuals have, so far, drafted the Foundations trust deed, progressed discussions with the Board of the Dart Music Festival Board and have begun, informally, at this stage to approach potential Benefactors and Patrons. It is hoped that the Foundation will be registered as a charity and formally launched during the first half of 2010.

Dates for next Years
2011 Festival
May 6th, 7th & 8th