Strategic Fundraising Consultant:
Northern Opera Group
Strategic fundraising, organisational development and income generation
Northern Opera Group (NOG) brings together the audiences and artists of tomorrow by making new stories for today. Based in Leeds, the company develops and produces new opera, community participation projects and the Leeds New Opera Festival, alongside a growing programme of artist development and talent support.
Following the appointment of Executive Director Fay Jennett and Artistic Director Jude Christian in 2025, NOG entered a period of significant organisational development, establishing its first paid leadership structure and setting out an ambitious artistic and strategic vision for the company's next chapter.
I joined the organisation as Strategic Fundraising Consultant, working closely with Fay and Jude to strengthen fundraising systems, processes and long-term planning. My work has included developing NOG's case for support, researching and cultivating new income opportunities, creating a bespoke fundraising database and prospect pipeline, supporting funder stewardship, and developing applications to trusts, foundations and individual donors.
Alongside this, I’ve worked with the leadership team to map NOG's artistic programme and organisational ambitions against potential funding opportunities, identifying distinct fundable strands across productions, artist development, community engagement, and organisational development. This has enabled the company to build a more coordinated and strategic approach to fundraising across both project and multi-year funding opportunities.
Testimonial
“Tamzin has been invaluable as both a voice of wisdom and a critical friend in our early days of leadership at NOG, helping us to articulate the narrative driving our short-term plans, and to sketch out a vision for the future which is financially sustainable and innovative as well as being led by our artistic ambitions. We have found her to be a meticulous researcher and planner, a good listener, and highly efficient in her scheduling and delivery of key tasks - all vital qualities in a consultant working with a small-scale organisation with limited staff hours and tight deadlines. Her grant-writing skills and in-depth knowledge of the funding landscape have already helped us to secure funds towards upcoming projects and longer-term organisational development.”
– Fay Jennett & Jude Christian | Executive Director & Artistic Director, NOG