Bryony Bell<\/strong> is Head of Content & Campaigns at Spektrix, and Vice Chair of the Arts Marketing Association. She and other AMA board members met in early October to review the latest Arts Council guidance and plan the AMA\u2019s application. Use this section to plan your application, make the most of the support available, and follow our guidance to find and interpret data in your CRM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many organisations are offering webinars and support options along the way, including a Spektrix roundtable for senior fundraisers<\/a> on Friday 16 October. You can find links to other organisations towards the end of this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Spektrix gives you access to detailed data relating to attendance, participation, and revenue. This information will help you plan your application and evidence your impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you use a different system, this section can still help you identify the questions to answer using your own database.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ACE is prioritising investment and delivery in places with historically lower investment, opportunity, or engagement, with a particular focus on England\u2019s 81 Culture Priority Places. The DCMS list combines existing Arts Council Priority Places with additional areas identified using deprivation, community need, cultural participation, and historic funding data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even if your organisation isn\u2019t based in a Culture Priority Place, you may attract audience members, visitors, or participants who live in one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What you might want to know:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can build a simple custom report from Spektrix to give you both of these answers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The report lists the postcode districts in which your audiences live, and the number of customers living in each district who bought tickets within your chosen timeframe. You can filter it further by any criteria recorded in Spektrix \u2013 including date range, programme strand, ticket type, offer, donation, or community engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The report you receive will look like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Culture Priority Places are defined using postcode districts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2024 we integrated Ordnance Survey postcode data into Spektrix. Since then, whenever a new postcode is added, related data for District, Ward, and Admin Area is also pulled into your system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Until this week, you may have seen gaps in your District and Ward data where postcodes were added to your system before the integration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have now backfilled all District data to match postcodes that already exist in your system. This data will appear in reports from Wednesday 14 October to support your NPO applications and other geographical reporting.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Your NPO application will need to demonstrate financial viability. Historical ticketing and fundraising data held in Spektrix can help you distinguish between earned income, donations, sponsorship, and other revenue; track changes over time; and identify revenue from specific activities or programme strands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every organisation is likely to need slightly different information here. If in doubt, we recommend:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You may wish to include evidence of your reach or retention, showing how effectively you have attracted new audiences, retained existing visitors, or increased the frequency of arts engagement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Use standard reports to find these figures for your whole audience, or filter them by specific criteria. These might include District or postcode data to identify first-time bookers from Culture Priority Places; age group, demographic, or segment data if you collect it; or engagement with a specific offer, event, or activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Follow the steps in our Understanding Audience Loyalty<\/a> article to learn:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Benchmarks can help you interpret your results, but your organisation\u2019s context matters. For example, first-time visitor proportions may be higher in urban areas with more cultural choice, while reattendance patterns may differ between receiving and producing venues, galleries, and community arts centres. Our recent report, Understanding Every Individual to Engage and Grow Your Audience<\/a>, offers additional context and international research. England benchmarks for retention and reattendance, using 2025 booking data. The first-time booker benchmark covers the UK and Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We don\u2019t have a figure specific to England, but Indigo Ltd<\/a> provide some interesting breakdowns for London, Yorkshire, and the North East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What proportion of bookers from earlier years booked again in 2025?<\/p>\n\n\n\n How many distinct events did each ticket buyer book for in 2025?<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the past, organisations applying for NPO funding have been able to attach documents including reports, case studies, and impact stories. This year, everything has to be included in written answers, many of them limited to 3,000 or 5,000 characters. That\u2019s about 600\u20131,000 words, or one to two sides of A4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We often have to help teams understand the benefits of Spektrix in a short space of time, in an email, tender document, or presentation. So we asked members of our team for their top tips for telling compelling stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the detailed data in your CRM should inform your narrative, the format and character limits mean you won\u2019t be able to tell every story. Before you write a word, take time to choose carefully and explore different ways to evidence your impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spektrix isn\u2019t the only organisation offering support over the next few months. Explore the resources available to you, connect with colleagues, and remember you\u2019re not alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hannah Thomas has published a detailed application guide<\/a>, including 12 recommendations for stronger applications, through Alira Arts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Souter Point also compare this year\u2019s process<\/a> to previous application rounds, exploring the shift toward organisational purpose, excellence, and evidence of impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Museums Association has published a reflection on the new areas of focus for museums<\/a>, including collections stewardship, public value, and business transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In The Stage,<\/em> Lyn Gardner explores the challenge facing ACE<\/a> as it selects its next portfolio and fulfils its mission and ambition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Theo Bosanquet in Arts Professional<\/em> focuses on the differences between this year\u2019s NPO round<\/a> and past applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Join the conversation on the Spektrix Community<\/a>. It\u2019s free for all Spektrix users, and there\u2019s a network of arts and culture professionals ready to share advice, support, and morale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n People Make It Work have established Everyone\u2019s NPO Club<\/a>, an online space for everyone making, or thinking about, an application. Fortnightly gatherings run until January and membership is a one-off cost of \u00a3500 for your organisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No Stone Unturned Fundraising is offering a dedicated NPO support programme<\/a>, including a Facebook community, Q&A, co-working sessions, and strategic reviews, with support ranging from free to paid tiers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Arts Council England is running a series of webinars<\/a> for new NPO applicants, current NPOs, organisations considering applications for \u00a31 million or more, and alumni of the Diversity Development Programme. They are free of charge and repeat in October and November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Community Foundation North East is offering an introductory session for cultural organisations<\/a> considering applying. Led by Hannah Keville, this takes place on Thursday 15 October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hannah Keville led a similar session for the Contemporary Visual Arts Network, East and West Midlands. That has taken place but her presentation slides<\/a> are available. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Indigo Ltd has developed an NPO Readiness Healthcheck<\/a>, a free, 2-minute self-assessment to help you identify gaps in your data and narrative. Indigo also offer paid consultancy to help you fill those gaps before December. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Know of other organisations offering support?<\/strong> Let us know<\/a> so we can keep this guidance useful and up to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Victoria O\u2019Brien<\/strong> leads Client Success management at Spektrix, with past experience as a fundraising specialist and data analyst at the Roundhouse, Camden and the National Theatre. She works closely with Spektrix users across the UK to guide data-led strategy and long-term growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPractical support for your NPO application<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to find NPO data in Spektrix<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Geographical reach<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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How does Spektrix identify District?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Income resilience<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Audience engagement<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nAudience data benchmarks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
First-time bookers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Audience retention<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Audience reattendance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Tell compelling stories<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Sector-wide support for NPO applicants<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Understand the wider context<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Connect with other applicants<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Practical application support<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Baker Richards invites organisations to strengthen their NPO applications using evidence in the Spektrix-integrated Advantage Dashboard<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n