Recent Funding Successes
We are delighted to announce that we have recently been awarded Covid-19 emergency funding from the East End Community Foundation, The Fore, and the John S Cohen Foundation. We are hugely grateful to these trusts and foundations for supporting us through this uncertain period.
Covid-19
It is with great regret that, due to coronavirus concerns and uncertainty, the Apollo team and trustees have decided to postpone all remaining workshops and concerts until next term. This has been a difficult decision but we feel it is necessary to protect both our musicians and their families, and the children, teachers and wider communities of our schools. At this stage it is our hope that all events next term will go ahead, but we will update the website with any changes. We will do everything in our power to ensure that every school is able to complete our programme, and intend all affected events to be postponed rather than cancelled.
Welcome to our new Fundraising Officer
We are delighted to welcome Madeline De Berrié, who is our new Fundraising Officer. Madeline has worked for music education and outreach organisations the Fosbrooks Folk Education Trust, Music First, and the Music in Secondary Schools Trust, and she is a founding member of Arts at the Intersection, a collaboration with Spirit of Peace and Unity Music. Madeline is a freelance singer and instrumentalist specialising in historical performance.Apollo Music Projects is hugely grateful to Hayley Pullen, our outgoing Fundraising Officer, for all her fantastic work over the years. We wish her all the best for the future.
Staff changes
Csenge Herman, our Charity Administrator has left AMP to pursue other avenues, and we want to thank her for her time working for us, and wish her good luck in the next phase of her career. We are pleased to announce that Dorothy Hoskins, our Schools Administrator, will be taking on the role of Charity Administrator as well.
Fundraising Manager position
Hayley Pullen, our fantastic Fundraising Officer is moving on to pursue other avenues, and we are recruiting for a Fundraising Manager to take our fundraising to the next level.We are looking for a Fundraising Manager who will expand AMP’s fundraising portfolio, developing a strategy to identify and research new sources of funding while continuing to build on the success of our existing fundraising model. At the moment the majority of our funding comes from Trusts and Foundations, with some significant individual donors.Working closely with the Chief Executive and the AMP admin team, the successful candidate will work to secure funding from a wide range of businesses, charities and foundations, and public sector organisations, also expanding our individual giving and developing corporate funding.The role requires someone with an entrepreneurial mindset and creativity to explore options and advise the CEO and trustees about strategic options, as well as design and implement a new approach.We are looking for a highly organised, enterprising and personable individual, passionate about the arts and about creating opportunities for children from a range of backgrounds to listen to and appreciate the magic of live music.Click here for Job description and full details of how to apply.
Thank you to all our supporters!
We are delighted to report that we have exceeded our target of raising £10,000 in the Big Give Christmas Challenge and with matched funding, we were able to raise £20,691. With Gift Aid and after the small admin fees, that makes a take home total of £22,298!Thank you to everyone, including the Friends of Apollo Music Projects, who donated and helped us reach our goal during this campaign - we couldn't have done it without you! We are also grateful to our Champion charity The Childhood Trust and to Pauline & Ian Howat, who generously pledged to match £10,000 worth of donations.Thank you for helping us bring the magic of live classical music into underprivileged schools!
ONLY 24 HOURS TO GO - Big Give Christmas Challenge 2019
With your help we have raised £7,461 and there is ONLY 24 HOURS left to raise the £2,539 we need to meet our goal of £10,000. Support us in the Big Give Christmas Challenge 2019 before 12 noon tomorrow (Tuesday 10th December) and your donation will be DOUBLED, making your gift have TWICE THE IMPACT! We’re nearly there and with your help, we can make it!
Big Give Christmas Challenge - 4 days to go
We are grateful to all our supporters who helped us raise £6,100 (over half of our match funding target) in the first half of The Big Give Christmas Challenge. Please keep spreading the word and help us raise the remaining £3,900 in online donations to reach our goal of £10,000 by 12pm, Tuesday 10th December. All donations will be matched giving us the chance to receive £20,000 in total if we meet our goal!
First day of the Big Give Christmas Challenge
Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we raised £1,715 on the first day of The Big Give Christmas Challenge. Please help us spread the word and help us raise the remaining £8,285 in online donations we need to reach our goal of £10,000 by 12pm, Tuesday 10th December. All donations will be matched giving us the chance to receive £20,000 in total if we meet our goal!
The Big Give Christmas Challenge is NOW OPEN!
Help us bring live music into schools by supporting Apollo Music Projects in the Big Give Christmas Challenge 2019!
Opening soon!
We are thrilled that the Childhood Trust has chosen to support Apollo Music Projects in the Big Give Christmas Challenge 2019, our annual campaign to raise money through this matched-funding platform!
From midday on Tuesday 3rd December until midday Tuesday 10th December, all donations made to Apollo Music Projects will be matched by the Childhood Trust and Friends of Apollo Music Projects, Pauline & Ian Howat. We are aiming to raise £10,000 during this week-long campaign and if we reach our goal, we will receive £20,000 through matched funding.
This is our only major annual fundraising campaign and we hope you will consider donating during this time. Every donation (up to our goal amount) will be automatically doubled, making your gift have twice the impact!
Our campaign page will be live in the coming days and will be ready to accept donations on Tuesday 3rd December from midday. Share our message on social media and help us raise the funds we need to continue our important work in schools!
WELCOMING NEW TRUSTEES
We are delighted to welcome two new trustees, Rachel Brewster and Peter Ptashko. Rachel has worked in communications for over 20 years, the past 13 in the education sector, where she became acutely aware of the declining opportunities in the creative arts that are available to children nationally. A passionate believer in the value of a fully rounded education and the importance of music and the arts in developing children’s imagination and creativity, Rachel wants to spread the message about the work of Apollo Music Projects, to ensure that as many children as possible can experience the magic that AMP musicians bring into schools.
Peter is a social entrepreneur, funder and currently an independent entrepreneurship change management consultant working with a range of clients in both the Public and Private sectors, holding a series of leadership and Board-level positions across these two sectors (with a focus on the sectors of Education, the Arts and Music).
These are very exciting times for Apollo Music Projects as we expand our programme to reach more children each year. We look forward to working with our new trustees to take Apollo Music Projects on the next phase of this exciting journey.
Trustee vacancy for Charity/ Company Secretary
We are looking for an experienced Charity/Company Secretary to join the trustee board of this London-based expanding charity, bringing live classical music to children who might not otherwise experience it. This is a great opportunity to join a dynamic music education charity, helping to guide the next exciting phase of its journey.
What will you be doing?
Overall
The secretary has a key role, together with the Chair, of organising the meetings and ensuring the general smooth running of the charity.
- ensure that trustee meetings are properly administered
- ensure other meetings, such as the AGM, and events are properly administered
- monitor trustee and staff action points arising from meetings
- ensure that requirements of Companies House are met, and that list of Directors at Companies House is kept up-to-date
- ensure that annual returns are made to regulatory bodies as appropriate, on time, and in the correct format
Specifically Trustee Meetings
- Plan and prepare the trustee meetings and the AGM with others as appropriate.
- Planning meeting dates, booking venues, sending out notifications, minutes and other papers.
- Liaise with the Chair of Trustees to form agenda; gather papers from Treasurer, CEO, Fundraising Officer (and others depending on agenda); send out agenda and supporting papers two weeks before the meeting. This should include minutes from the previous meeting.
- Minute trustee meetings or ensure that another minute taker is available. Write them up and circulate for comment asap after the meeting. Prepare final version for approval and signature at next meeting.
- Gather paperwork for AGM to include: Chair’s review, Trustee Report and Accounts (3 copies for signing – Companies House, Independent Examiner, AMP). One trustee has to resign and is re-elected each AGM, in rotation – so agree with Chair who this is in advance.
Company Secretary
- Keep details of Directors (Trustees) up to date with Companies House and on Charity Commission websites
- Send a signed copy of Trustee Reports and Accounts to Companies House
- File annual confirmation statement with Companies House
What are we looking for?
We are looking to strengthen our board by appointing new trustees to help us in our next stage of growth and development. We have a specific requirement for an experienced Charity and/or Company Secretary to work with our new Chair in ensuring the smooth running of the organisation and fulfil our legal and administrative requirements as a charity and incorporated company.
Currently, our Board is eight strong and the majority have been with Apollo for less than two years, so we're full of ideas and energy. To ensure the longer-term sustainability of Apollo we need to expand our reach beyond our current operating base of a few London boroughs. We will need to market ourselves into new areas, within London and beyond, and this will require investment in staff; broadening our fundraising base; securing longer-term funding; and developing a new operating model to manage our activities.
In Trustees, we look for people who are passionate about what we do; who can contribute to our expansion plans; and who can challenge our current thinking and processes in a constructive way.
In summary, we are at a pivotal point in our journey and we are seeking motivated and dedicated Trustees who are willing to give their time to ensure that the Charity can reach a much broader audience of children in London and beyond. As a Board, we meet four times a year, and your primary role as Charity Secretary will be ensuring the effective running of those meetings. As a Trustee you will naturally share a collective responsibility to ensure that Apollo sticks to its mission; is financially sound; and continues to add value across the areas it works.
What is most important is that you get what we do and have the passion and willingness to contribute towards our mission and longer-term expansion plans.
As an experienced charity and/or company secretary you will:
- be organised, methodical and have an attention to detail
- be able to take good minutes and keep accurate records
- have knowledge of company law relating to the Company Secretary's role
Apollo Music Projects is committed to building a board which is reflective of the communities it serves. Applications are particularly welcome from candidates from minority ethnic backgrounds.
What difference will you make?
Your impact will be contributing to the next stage of Apollo's growth and as charity secretary, you will play a key role in ensuring the effective operation of the board of trustees during this exciting time of expansion.
Moving beyond our established base presents some significant challenges. The expansion strategy raises questions about our approach to fundraising; our ability to market ourselves; as well as how we develop our operating model. You will be joining the Board as we begin this journey and will play a key role in ensuring we navigate through these challenges effectively.
We are not looking for trustees to help us stay where we are. We're looking for trustees who can support us in taking Apollo to the next stage.
What's in it for the volunteer?
What we do makes a difference to children. We open their minds to new experiences and at the end of the programme, children are able to sit through an orchestral concert and be inspired and mesmerised by what they see and hear. In 2018/19 we operated in 26 schools in London, concentrated predominantly in the boroughs of Hackney, Islington, Tower Hamlets and Haringey. There is no reason why we should 'stick to our patch' - what we offer is unique. This is an opportunity to get involved in a charity with an enthusiastic and committed Board of Trustees, keen to make their mark.
Before you apply