If you're starting a memorial campaign you may already have encountered some of the highs and lows, along with the hostility that public art can attract. Take heart! It's worth it. I campaigned alongside people who became friends and mentors. One of these is Barbara Hearn OBE, who has taken the time to create this resource for others who want to address historical bias and outdatedness in memorials. I'm infinitely grateful for Barbara's input and wisdom over the years, and for the rest of our redoubtable team: Alex, Anna, Barbara, Christine, Gid, Rachel, Sarah, Farah, Roberta, Helene, Mariefe, Susie, David and Tania.
Good luck! Bee, Mary On The Green (MOTG) Chair
Introduction
Chapter 1 Setting Off-Setting Up
Chapter 2 Raising the Money
Chapter 3 Building the Profile
Chapter 4 Raising the Memorial
Appendices
Campaign Supporters
Sample Memorandum of Agreement with Parent Charity
List of Charitable Trusts and Foundations
Example of Art Brief for Sculptors
The Platinum Donor
Sample Volunteer JDs
Men's Letter
Women of Influence Letter
Outline Strategy
National Westminster Bank
Art Judges' Brief
On June 2nd 2014 my first grandchild was born. On that same momentous day I met Bee Rowlatt and Roberta Wedge, members of the Mary on the Green campaign aiming to raise a memorial to Mary Wollstonecraft. I had learnt of Mary Wollstonecraft through listening to a talk given by Roberta in the Unitarian Church on Newington Green, around International Women's Day that year. The story was gripping, in fact amazing. I went on to express my interest in volunteering on the Campaign over a cuppa in Belle Epoque, a delicious patisserie on the Green.
We sat in a state of mutual amazement. Here was an academic and a published writer listening to me as an experienced nerd from the charity world. I felt dull, they were interesting. But our contrasting personalities and diversity of knowledge would prove to be highly complementary. I said I would commit to the Campaign for 6 months. Mary on the Green became a part of my being, it was 6 years later that Mary's memorial was to rise.
2014 was the start for me but the Campaign had been underway for four years. Volunteers had come and gone and some had returned, but for the majority of the Campaign it was the drive and leadership of Chairs, Alex Allardyce and later Bee who ensured the task would be achieved.
The Campaign was seeded by the Newington Green Action Group. Its seeds were watered by Alex, the lead member as well as Chair. Alex ensured that with short and longer lived interest from other locals the Campaign had solid foundations.
Alex and later Bee lived part of the Campaign years in Bermuda and India respectively. Even though they were in different time zones, on different parts of the globe to the Campaign headquarters in the Unitarian Church in Newington Green, their face to face involvement and hard work never wavered. They were the pivots around which the rest of us spun.
Lord Clive Soley who played a critical role in the Mary Seacole campaign, gave us the following wise advice, "Expect the Campaign to take about 11 years" . We were 5 years in when he said this. He was right. Elizabeth Aniounwu of the Seacole campaign gave us ongoing advice and support for which we thank her.
Gender prejudice never diverted us from the task of raising a memorial to the woman who first advocated equality for all, even though we were criticised by some quasi-feminists from time to time. We have often
reflected on whether Alex's gender could have provoked their criticism earlier in the Campaign had it been clear he was Alexander not Alexandra!
For MotG there was a distinction between men who believed in Mary's arguments and her philosophy, and men who saw an opportunity to dominate, over talk and control an initiative which was to have influence and impact across the world.
None of the men actively involved in the Campaign, from Alex, to our webmaster Gideon Carr to Tom Watson and Jeremy Corbyn key political supporters nor Melvyn Bragg, an iconic presenter, behaved as the negative male stereotype. They were as effective and active as the women from Bee and Roberta, to our wondrous patrons Dame Fiona Woolf, Jude Kelly and Shami Chakrabarti to Kirsty Wark of Newsnight and Maria Miller MP. The names of all those who aided the Campaign are in Appendix 1.
Unsurprisingly people who had just dipped their toes into the Campaign were as keen to associate themselves with the final arrival of this first memorial for Mary as were the handful who strived month on month, over years to make it happen. We were an adaptive team with a mission. Our ‘dippers’ were people who were temporarily living in London, were briefly out of work, studying, on sabbaticals or searching for a new experience.
Those who departed were suddenly oppressed with their other responsibilities, gained work or simply fell in love. They came and they went but we acknowledge that everyone had a part to play in the Campaign's success. All were willing to give.
This guide to ‘How we did it’ is written with the intention of helping campaign groups trying to raise memorials and statues to women across the UK. You may avoid some of our mistakes, use what we learnt to speed up your own efforts.
Setting up a campaign aimed at producing a piece of public art in memory of a great person or event attracts people interested in art. Seems logical? But it is not the key. There is a risk that a cluster of creatives focus on the output without adequate attention to the process. They then become disheartened and disappear.
A vision of the art, how it might look and what it might express when the final memorial rises can be exciting to debate. But an intensive focus on the art at the outset is a waste of time unless the infrastructure is in place, the campaign profile well developed and money is flowing in.
These questions must be addressed
Can we explain our vision?
Do we have an overall strategy? Appendix 9
Whose charitable status can the Campaign use?
Do we need our own bank account?
Staffing or volunteers?
What is a realistic timetable?
Who makes the decisions…. A democracy or dictatorship?
How do we make our campaign public?
How much do we need to raise?
Our vision was simply for ‘a memorial to Mary Wollstonecraft’. The language was of a ‘statue of Mary’ but over time and with advice from the art world it shifted to a ‘memorial for Mary’. This broader vision gave the Campaign the freedom to think about the type of art but also to consider whether it was literally the woman or her work or both.
The second part of the vision was for the memorial to be placed at Newington Green. Other campaigners have decided on nationally recognised locations such as Parliament Square. For Mary, Newington Green was pivotal. It was where she opened an all too rare school for girls
and where she met Dr Richard Price, Tom Paine and other key thinkers of the Enlightenment period during which she lived. The more 21st century twist was that Alex, our Chair, was author of ‘The Village that changed the World’, a detailed description of the history of the Green and Mary's place within it. The memorial could be nowhere else.
The strategy was more emergent than radical. We were far from clear at the outset. As the Campaign moved forward the strategy grew and adapted. It was principally in three parts
Profile Building- get the Campaign known and respected
Fundraising — raise the money
Art — create a process to choose it
Being the Campaign of a registered charity, The Newington Green Action Group, was a n advantage. NGAG was already established as a successful fundraiser and deliverer of improvements for the area.
Had we been an independent campaign unconnected to an existing charity we would have had to get to grips with Charity Law and what form of charity we wished to establish. There are different models of charity, some are simple, some more complex. The Charity commission provides helpful information https://www.gov.uk/setting-up-charity . Lawyers are willing to help but are not an essential element. They will be costly. If there is a volunteer with charity experience at a senior level with their help most campaigns can manage their own registration. But you may need to allow about nine months for the charity to be registered unless it is very straightforward indeed.
Avoid listing political activity.
Searching for volunteers happens regularly. Not only do people come and go but as the Campaign grows the amount of time and the level of skills needed grows too. To constantly enrich the team:
Network among your friends but be sure they are serious and not just keen on a night at the pub
Promote the need for help with specific tasks e.g. managing the website
Contact the local Volunteer Bureau to advertise for specific skills
Advertise on Your Facebook page and cross refer the call with any relevant local Facebook pages.
Once a core group of volunteers is established then interviewing additional volunteers is worthwhile. A team is emerging and new members need to fit with its dynamics.
Interviewing a person may be a new experience for existing volunteers but well-prepared questions in a relaxed environment go a long way to appealing to likely people and ensuring you find out what you need to know. See Appendix 6 for our sample Job Descriptions .
Sample questions for interviews
How much time do you have?
What is your experience in the area where skills are needed?
Why have you chosen this campaign?
How long do you expect to volunteer?
Some volunteers may need references when they leave the Campaign, to support their employment aspirations. Do clarify this and be clear on who will be able to draft that reference. They may also want titles, while volunteering, which can resonate with any planned job applications.
Other campaigns have used some of the funds they have raised to pay their lead campaigner. Your ability to do this will be affected by the rules of the funders who donate to your campaign.
The volunteers working on the Campaign are not Trustees nor Executive Board members in law but they are responsible for action. It is they who will meet, record, plan and deliver the memorial.
Given the responsibility they hold and the reliance the success of the Campaign had on them we let all the volunteers sit on the Campaign Committee. We worked together. There was no hierarchy.
If more established volunteers want to take control they risk alienating the newer members especially if they treat them like unpaid staff and not as equal in their efforts to raise funds, agree art, build profile and administer the process. Maintaining a sense of equal value and respect is essential.
It was rare for every volunteer to turn up at meetings. We had a nominal quorum of 5 just to make sure that one or two could not make the decisions for the 10-12 signed up volunteers.
Some volunteers took on their role as representatives of another local organisation. One represented the Unitarian Church, another a local theatre group. They worked hard on the Campaign in its own right but loyalty was always with their primary organisation. As long as this was clear, sudden absences or periods of apparent disinterest in the Campaign could be handled.
The Chair of the Campaign committee needed to be authoritative, clear and forceful. Not everyone can Chair meetings. Not everyone can record meetings. In the beginning Alex was able to Chair, listen, contribute and record but as matters became more complex these tasks needed to be shared. The Chair shifted from recording minutes to clearing them. As the Campaign was gathering public money it was important that a full record was kept of decisions.
Alex, as the member of both NGAG and MotG, was asked if we could document exactly the expectations and responsibilities of each party. A Memorandum of Agreement signed by each party made relationships clear. See Appendix 2 for an outline of what might be included.
A bank account specifically for the Campaign avoids confusion for the host charity when they are reporting the charity finances and provides transparency. This means two people being prepared to manage the money the Campaign raises. It does not require accountancy level skills to report to the host charity but a little book-keeping ability does help.
The Fawcett Campaign cost around a m illion pounds to bring to fruition with £706,000 from Government coffers and £114,000 from the Mayor of London as well as other sources. Our aspirations were far more modest.
Initially MotG estimated the costs would be about £150,000 to raise a memorial. After taking advice from experienced art campaigners we raised it to £260,000. About eight years in we decided to put a gauge- meter on the website which rose as the money rolled in. We did not put up the original target but the target as it was part way into the Campaign. This looked more achievable. There is a balance between information to engage and to deter.
The Campaign budget had to take account of what it needed to spend in order to raise the money to pay a sculptor. The sum needed will vary depending on the locality, the status of the artist—we wanted to commission an A-list sculptor -- and the interest of the local authority that will take on the long term care of the memorial. The local authority may be willing to fund or co-fund the memorial. This was not our experience although Islington did contribute seed funding in the early days (£5,000) which was welcome.
Tip: Be prepared to have to raise every penny.
Donors wanted to give money to MotG, not to NGAG. How could they be sure the money they contributed to raising a memorial to Mary would not end up being used for a Jazz on the Green festival or a Christmas Carol concert or new seating for Lizzie's cafe? The bank account helped.
Over the time of the Campaign MotG widened its fundraising plans from local to regional to national. We were overly optimistic at the outset as to how easy raising the money might be. This is common. The original team thought it would take two years to raise £150k. We actually raised about
£13k in the first two years.
Write a plan with a budget and expected timeframe, as well as a case for support (why you need funding) at the outset. Each way of raising funds takes volunteer time. Many opportunities may require upfront financial investment to deliver. It is important to determine if you have the resources...both time and money before starting each activity.
It is not unusual to assume that the person who has the idea will deliver it. This is often just not the case. So before presenting an idea, be clear in your own mind about the time, money and person power it will need then present that to the group, not just the idea. Include some examples of where a similar idea has been successful.
Find a volunteer who has varied, and ideally senior, fundraising experience working in a charity worth at least £1m+. Do be wary of thinking that a person with one set of experience can do more than they can. For example a fundraiser in a small charity may have experience focussed on fun runs, sales and other creative schemes in the locality while another fundraiser may have all their experience in charitable foundation applications, another may be familiar with raising money from public bodies such as the art council or equalities bodies. It is rare to identify a volunteer who is competent in all three even if willing.
Early on we had Laura Salisbury who helped us set up giving pages and web donations. We raised funds from individuals - some of whom gave regular donations. Throughout the life of the campaign, interested donors are likely to give more than once. Those who give £500+ may give significantly more to get the project over the line in the final push.
Tip: Ensure that you have a dedicated volunteer to manage individual donors, that you are GDPR compliant and that the Committee receives regular updates.
Every charitable trust has an agreed remit and sets priorities. The closer it aligns with the intentions of your campaign the greater your chances of success. Read their guidelines carefully and don't be tempted to apply unless your campaign aligns with their interests. YOu would be wasting precious time.
Each charitable trust you approach will require you to be registered as a charity - some fund CICs. They will want to check the viability of your campaign. Some will ask for references so make sure you have some lined up. If you are a community based organisation, you will need a/your host charity to apply to foundations or lottery funding for significant grants. Potential investors will look at your website where it should explain your link to the host charity if that is your model. Or they will expect to see your charity registration.
The time it takes to prepare for and draft bids can be considerable. The case for support of your campaign will provide a lot of the information you need to complete the often lengthy and detailed applications. An experienced bid-writer is valuable.
We were lucky to have Christine Oram join us with a wealth of experience in fundraising and complex applications. She was able to submit successful bids to the People's Postcode Lottery and with Alex and to the Henry Moore Foundation (HMF). HMF wanted to know the artist we had chosen and to be fairly close to the target figure for paying them.
Much of Mary's writing and influence occurred while she was in London. She was married and initially buried in London. So we focussed on London based charitable foundations. We met the Cripplegate/London Bridges Fund/ City of London Culture Fund. These regional charitable foundations were more focussed on direct benefit to those who lived in the Capital, not a Yorkshire woman even though she had set the foundation for worldwide human rights and equality. Nor did they want a piece of art.
They did usefully help us network.
Tip: Don't look to charitable foundations to be the first to invest in a new campaign. Bidding can be a huge waste of time and energy if you fail to focus your effort. R ead their rules on bidding very carefully.
To gain business investment there needs to be a connection between the campaign, core business of the company, and/or the focus of their corporate foundation, a s well as a corporate gain. A corporate gain can mean positive publicity, inspiration for staff or support of shareholders.
We did not find acquiring commercial investment easy even though the matter of equality and the role of women has been a running narrative
within business sectors for many years. Seeking out the values and the willingness of company staff to support a campaign, requires personal contacts and networks rather than a web search. For example, in the legal and finance sectors organisations may have women's groups willing to fundraise for a campaign. Or they may dip into existing funds accrued through their prior fundraising events. Or offer staff to be marathon runners to raise funds, we had a business in the finance sector that match-funded all the money raised by their staff runners. Another finance organisation gave a very significant lump sum. Others which seemed to us a good fit from their association with the Wollstonecraft family or were beneficially connected to Wollstonecraft's ‘calls’ were not interested in investing in art at all. A fit with the person to be memorialised is not necessarily a fit with raising a sculpture.
There can be short term and unexpected opportunities. A constant search of companies' social responsibility activity or their associated foundations can be useful. NationalWestminster Bank had a Community Force funding scheme in 2011 (Appendix 10). We had to have the project nominated, get accepted and then face a UK public vote. Mary came top and our Campaign gained over 6K.
Wealthy finance & legal corporations were encouraged to sign Pledge Cards at a City sponsored breakfast
Women's Network within the City finance district was targeted for support. They gave £30,000 and had their name on the plinth
A law firm facilitated an evening reception which raised profile and donations.
A donated screen print of Mary was put on tour at a price to corporate hosts.
We did not fit the vision of either the City of London Councillors (Mary was born on the wrong side of the tracks- only her publisher was within the City walls) nor the London Mayor's Fund. We worked hard to make contacts with the Mayor's Office but they preferred to go for the easier win of Millicent Fawcett during the 2018 suffrage celebrations. They did not want to invest in an emerging area of historic interest.
Pitching at the Funding Network that runs within the City Finance district. We attended a donor evening to assess our fit but judged it as inappropriate for us as our product was art and not of direct benefit to Londoners.
Locally there may be many small to medium retailers prepared to do anything from placing a collection box on a counter to running a quiz, producing a short run dedicated product to offering a percentage of sales on International Women's Day. Our volunteers just needed to ask.
Tip: Use your local connections - every conversation has the potential to be a fundraising conversation.
Individuals who live within the area the memorial will be located may be motivated to raise funds. For MotG there were people willing to guide local history tours as well as raise funds through a run, walks and talks including at St Pancras Old Church, Unitarian Church, Universities and Festivals from York to Jaipur. Some were led by our campaign volunteers, others were not. All mattered.
Sponsored run and cycle
Having screen print copies of an image of Mary Wollstonecraft to sell from the original artist.
Asking local businesses to put out collection boxes.
Asking local supermarkets to make the project theirs to raise funds from customers
Asking a patisserie to make special cakes linked to the Campaign
Asking a pub to have a fundraiser quiz.
Radical Tea Towel company gave a % sales raised (£281)
Schools raising money after a talk from MotG
Our chair and other volunteers gave speeches and donated the fees to the campaign
A volunteer with cancer spoke to her ‘colleagues’ in chemotherapy and one donated a significant amount. We learnt from this that mentioning the Campaign wherever you are can bring results. Conversations took place at legal offices, in teacher staff rooms, hospital, with GPs, at film screenings, with family over dinner. Nowhere was off limits.
We decided that if individuals or groups were to offer over £10,000 then the name of the donor could be carved onto the memorial plinth. Susie Burrows, an active MOTG volunteer and her partner decided to donate
£10k to have their names added to the plinth. Appendix 5 lists the other benefits donors could access for a significant contribution.
All Facebook followers were invited to look at the MOTG website where the first page had a Donation button. This was critical to monitor. The link and the button had to work at all times. As donations were global they could arrive at any time of day or night.
Tip: Expect ‘Giving’ sites - we used Virgin Giving - to take a fe e from your donations.
We had learnt from our Patron Dame Fiona Woolf that simply focussing on a sculpture would not attract funders who may admire Wollstonecraft. For their investment we needed to show longer term gains. The Campaign Chair, Bee, agreed to establish The Wollstonecraft Society (WS). After considerable research the focus was to be the education of young people on the human rights legacy of Mary Wollstonecraft. The Charity was established with an education remit. With an enthusiastic WS supporter in David Robinson who had experience of putting on shows, MotG was able to work with The Wollstonecraft Society to hold a money-raising gala night at a West End Theatre.
FUNDRAISER AT THE LYRIC THEATRE
An Amazon Stept Out is a one-off evening with one of history's unsung heroes: the pioneering rebel, Mary Wollstonecraft . Anita Rani and Jude Kelly and a star-studded cast should bring to life the inspirational story of the ‘original suffragette.’
Wollstonecraft was an Enlightenment icon and human rights champion. She reported from the front lines of Revolutionary Paris, and travelled to Scandinavia in search of lost silver, toddler in tow. Why were her life and legacy considered so dangerous? This unique production is your chance to experience her world-changing words as they've never been heard before.
An Amazon Stept Out is written by Bee Rowlatt, directed by Honor Borwick with musical contributions assembled by Harriet Houghton Slade.
“I do not wish women to have power over men, but over themselves”
For one night only and in aid of the human rights education charity The Wollstonecraft Society (charity number 1181867).
The partnership between the Wollstonecraft Society was blessed with volunteers who had experience of creating a Theatre night for a charity. They set out exactly what was needed. It was not until we were sure we had the resources to make it happen that we prioritised it. The ticket sales were split between covering costs and money for the newly established WS charity. There was a surge in donations to the MoTG Campaign but it was the high-profile nature of the occasion that brought a large donation from the Women's Network in the City finance district. The Network knew the Campaign and they wanted to be the headline announcement and the key "reveal" of the gala evening.
Six hundred tickets were sold, the theatre provided the space and staff and our volunteers worked where needed on the night. Amazing actors and presenters gave their time for zero cost. They were drawn from our networks and supporters (Appendix 1). The Campaign could not have achieved this success without having volunteers from media and the creative arts. The show was such a success there were many calls for it to be repeated. We did not wish to convert into being a theatre group as a pastime. The work had been intense and not without arguments and near disasters. We knew our limits.
The art had a particular place in the fundraising. Initially we were raising money for the idea of a memorial. When we reached about 50% of our target we commissioned the artist (being open with those who applied about the gap in funding). Once we had chosen an A list artist we found it gave momentum to the fund raising and allowed us to bid to the Henry Moore Foundation, for example, as well as attract more donations. The chosen artist, Maggie Hambling, provided some tips for fundraising too. It was then that we created the benefit scheme for donors (Appendix 5)
If you are a registered charity (or have a host charity), you should be able to reclaim VAT on the cost of the statue/memorial itself if the statue/memorial meets certain criteria including public acce ss and inscriptions.
This support was much harder to come by than we thought. Given Wollstonecraft's credentials, not least as the ‘first suffragette’ at a time of the 1918-2018 centenary, we thought it would be easy to gain investment from the trade unions. We had volunteers who were members of UNITE and education unions. While the unions were positive the donations were tiny. Giving to a sculpture was not a member priority of the Unions. Trade Unions' women's committees we approached neither provided volunteers nor undertook fundraisers for us as we had hoped.
There is a gap here and with the continued shortfall in memorials to great women there are still many opportunities for trade unions to rethink the value of being seen to stand up for the under-represented and for women.
All political parties threw up supporters. There were some individuals who actively supported the Campaign beyond giving their names. Whether this support led to people affiliated to those Parties to donate we do not know. As long as we were cross party it did the Campaign no harm.
If the target sum was not raised all donations were lost. There were also fees to pay. We decided that it may have worked once we only needed about £20,000. More people back a winner . We would have undertaken a crowd funder towards the end of the campaign had the Theatre event not inspired a final significant donation.
These people offered to help get us ‘ over the line’ when we were clearly close to the finish. They were unclear when this would be in their eyes, when we had £40k to find or £15k for example. From their perspective, with only volunteers at the helm, at any point the Campaign could have collapsed. Some major donors were canny enough to see that if they waited until about 90% of the funding was in then they would not only be able to have the satisfaction of taking the Campaign over the line but they might also get publicity for doing so. However in practice the Campaign did not need their last minute investment although we did feel that we could have got to ‘the line’ faster if they had not been so reticent.
These were suggested by some wealthy people at their homes which people would pay to attend. None who offered actually delivered. Another proposition was to have a ticketed dinner at Southwark Cathedral. We were able to negotiate the space at a massive discount and arrange for a post dinner auction with items such as dinners with celebrities, holiday vouchers, and pieces of art. But the set-up costs were quite high e.g. caterers, wine order. If we could not sell enough tickets there was a risk to the Campaign. Plus the amount of volunteer time the dinner needed was not worth the likely income. We sadly had to say no to a very generous offer.
Many aspects of the profile building activities, directly fed into the fundraising. This was proven by monitoring the income cycle. The desire of businesses, charities or even individuals to donate is likely to be stronger if the Campaign has a local, regional and national profile. Profile building is a critical arm.
Mary Wollstonecraft was not a familiar face to many potential donors. Those, like myself, who have discovered her in recent years wondered why she was not as familiar as Sylvia Pankhurst and Millicent Fawcett. The answer was that after her death at 38 years of age her husband, William Godwin, wanted the world to know about his wife. He wrote a biography with detail that was indigestible to the readers of that time. For them to know that she was a lone parent, attempted suicide and had a child out of wedlock meant her reputation was trashed and her memory lost for 100 years. Millicent Fawcett pulled her memory out of the sewers and declared her an important figure in the fight for the vote. The Campaign had to raise not only awareness of the Campaign but also the profile of the woman herself. We were campaigning from a very low
base.
Tip: You may think the woman you want to memorialise is wonderful but do the public, wealthy people or institutions with the money? Do they know her as well as they will need to?
MotG : early examples of profile-raising events
Putting a plaque on the local school (2011) funded by local council & raised £82 and acted as a permanent reminder.
Literary Festival talks 2011-2020
Launch with image of Mary over Parliament (2011) This cost the Campaign £3000 www.projectadvertising.co.uk It needed an MP involved to clear it with the Parliamentary Sgt at
Arms.
A local promo at a garden centre raised £40 as well as profile
A Mini film of the Campaign was shown at a local cinema.
Sourcing images the Campaign could exploit had costs attached. The National Portrait Gallery wanted £325 to use their image of Mary.
At the start a volunteer, Alexandra, was able to develop space on the host NGAG website to explain and profile the Campaign. Over time this proved to be insufficient. Later the Campaign was fortunate to have Gideon Carr, an IT expert, take on commissioning the web design and more importantly to oversee and maintain it. During the Campaign we had the website updated. This had to be paid for.
The website had to answer the questions of potential donors, people interested to learn about Mary, journalists and academics as well as take donations, find volunteers and report progress. The website may not meet the needs of readers in depth so we also indicated how we could be contacted.
The Campaign had an e-newsletter for supporters and any other interested people who gave us their contact details. It enabled us to reflect on our progress and our priorities as well as shout out about impending activities. We used MailChimp, a platform for e-newsletters.
In Appendix 1 is the list of our supporters. They were primarily politicians, actors, writers, lawyers and academics as well as a few business people.
It is a lot of work to develop such a lot of supporters, all influential in their own fields. They were all busy people so only a few gave consistent input to the Campaign. It is very difficult to judge their impact on donors, attendees at our show or emerging volunteers. On balance we did think that perhaps a small handpicked but active group may have been less time consuming for us. We noted that another successful campaign had only 20 supporters but each was presented on their website with a photograph and brief making it clear how they linked to the Campaign.
Media exposure means creating something the media wants to cover. Press coverage drove people to the website. Visits to the website attracted awareness and investment. The association of our activities with the annual International Women's Day increased our chances of multi- media interest as did the involvement of senior politicians and the release of our film.
Examples of what the Press and TV covered
Men's letter 2018 (See Appendix 7) https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/mar/07/mary- wollstonecraft-must-finally-have-her-statue
Women of influence letter 2017 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/call-for-wollstonecraft- statue-to-break-the-bronze-ceiling-wl3m8tlk0 (See Appendix 8)
Support for Mary from Secretary of State for Education/ Women's equalities (2016) https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/mary- wollstonecraft-frontrunner-of-feminism-may-get-a-statue-at- last-a6914626.html
Mary's image on the UK Parliament http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-15771704
The announcement of Maggi Hambling's selection was reported by the London Evening Standard, Guardian, Stylist magazine and the Hackney Citizen. Other examples are on www.maryonthegreen.org
Digital communications is the primary mode of building profile now. Our Campaign began before the arrival of Facebook, Instagram and
Twitter. We adapted as soon as it became clear social media was critical. New volunteers, in particular Rachel Erskine, working in the charity field where she was a regular user of social media, proved to be a great asset to our profile-building communications.
T he social media activity and media work were mutually beneficial / reinforcing. Every time we attained a piece of media coverage, it helped build brand recognition and attracted new social media followers. The bigger and more engaged our following, the more credible we appeared to media outlets. With Gid and Rachel's experience we used the in-built metrics on both Twitter and Facebook (as well as Google Analytics) to track our progress.
The impact of social media activity on donations was not always apparent, but for the profile of the Campaign it was vital. It was also a useful means of finding volunteers, connecting to and supporting other similar campaigns, bringing in Wollstonecraft enthusiasts from around the world, and sharing information about events including the launch of the memorial. It was an appealing ‘no to low’ cost. A highly supportive law firm funded training for our volunteers on using social media.
Using our personal and professional networks for the benefit of the Campaign is a personal choice. It cannot be required of any volunteers. Nevertheless choosing volunteers in roles likely to come with relevant networks is a bonus. Simply talking with our friends and colleagues we were raising the profile of the Campaign and who knows where it may lead.
A volunteer who worked in Parliament was able to meet the Deputy Art curator for the Parliamentary Art Collection. She both explained the Parliamentary Art Collection plans for the anniversary of suffrage in 2018 and the Government Art Collection. The volunteer was then able to contact the Government Art Collection and get the Stewy Street art created for the Campaign adopted by the Collection. This gave the Campaign art a public profile. The Deputy Art Curator for Parliament was to become a judge of the competing sculptors for the final memorial to Mary.
We invested some funds in cards to be purchased to be sent to friends and relatives, postcards to be used for communications (remember we were pre social media). Brochures with quotes from influential academics in support of the Campaign as well as the plan for a memorial, all peppered with photos were produced. An updated brochure later included photos of the chosen sculpture as we needed to keep the profile high even after the art was chosen. There was still £80,000 to raise.
The anniversary year of the suffragettes and suffragists gave us a platform for the Campaign. The Suffragettes movie was released to mark the story of the women who made change happen. A volunteer knew the director and another knew one of the lead actors in the film. With a volunteer in Parliament we knew that films could be shown to Parliamentarians and their invitees that would inform policy priorities for Parliamentarians. We had every chance of a free showing of the film, the presence of the lead actress and Director but it would still cost room hire and a lot of admin to make this happen. We decided that we had got as much profile building out of talking to the parties about the possibility as we may gain from holding an actual showing. A final factor in our decision was that no fundraising can be held at such an event. It would only be about networking and awareness raising. We had other means to do this and we were already blessed with many Parliamentarians supporting the Campaign. So we did not pursue this.
I have already referred to the Amazon Stept Out as a fundraising success but it also raised our profile further. While we may not have needed the profile building as the memorial was commissioned and almost fully financed it did mean more people were learning about Mary and would follow the final raising of the memorial.
Much earlier in the Campaign Bee Rowlatt persuaded BBC colleagues and friend Shami Chakrabarti, then Director of Liberty, to make a short promotional video. Wollstonecraft the Movie was posted on the website and can still be viewed on Youtube. Wollstonecraft the movie
Whenever there were events we tried to convert speeches into cuts to go into social media. One such example was a short video of our Patron Dame Fiona Woolf who networked us into the City and to a highly productive relationship with a City Law firm at which Fiona spoke with passion about the importance of Mary and the Campaign. The cut was posted on social media.
The first few meetings of the Campaign Committee were dominated by discussions of which sculptor and the style of the art. A local sculptor was keen to have the job. Others wanted a competitive process with a mixed list. Others wanted only an A-list of sculptors with established reputations. Each of these ideas had logic. Ultimately it was the A-List of sculptors which won through. The argument was that the quality of the art, the fit with raising money through the art and the impact on local tourism would be positive. The Campaign wanted to do its very best to get the best for Mary.
The process of reducing a long list of sculptors to a final list involved gathering opinion on sculptors whenever and wherever the opportunity arose. Then we audited these through the prism of MotG and Newington Green Action group which together contained experts in art, rights, civic presence, global activism, the locality and politics.
Once two macquettes by A-list sculptors had been submitted the Mary on the Green Artwork Working Group progressed their decision to gather wider views. They set up an onlne survey, open to all, with five key questions about the final pieces of art. It asked
Do you live locally, in London or outside of London?
Why is it important to you that Mary Wollstonecraft has a memorial?
What does a sculpture for Mary Wollstonecraft add to the local area?
Which of the two memorial sculptures would you most like to see on Newington Green?
Based on your answer to the previous question, please provide a reason for your choice.
Those interested were able to read about each of the sculptures and the context of the Campaign on the MOTG web pages before being directed to the survey. It was intended that their decisions should be informed.
We began with a list of 23 names as potential sculptors. These were gathered over the life of the Campaign. Each one was considered and the long list created by the three members of the art group. We judged there was a difference between the artists experience and appeal of the various artists, to the funders we seek to attract. There were other matters such as gender to be considered, on this point, we took the view that Mary stood for equality, the inclusion of men in the list was therefore agreed as wholly appropriate. There were to be 12 people, from MOTG and NGAG, voting for the shortlist. Reaching a list of 4 and two reserves would be
difficult if the long list were too long. We discussed the imperative that the Campaign stage we were now entering into must attract £50-90k of additional money. We therefore made the difficult decision that the list had to be only sculptors most likely to attract significant investment from donors.
We did not know whether the chosen sculptors would accept a competitive commission. If they would not then we would look to our reserve list of sculptors and draw up a new shortlist. Artists, who are globally recognised award winners being asked to join a mixed list alongside the need to appeal to high value funders meant we would have a very short list.
We decided that we would not limit the choice of art to figurative sculptors. We were aware that some members of the working group were keen for a figurative approach and others for a more contemporary approach. The short list reflected both.
We sought a short list of three for the judging panel to make the final decision, but in the event one of the chosen artists pulled out leaving us with a short list of two. This was not ideal.
From the start of the Campaign the Chair, Alex, wanted clarity from the local authority on whether the planning permission was needed and if so when. From set up to near delivery the Campaign was told that there was no need for planning permission.
After we had commissioned the artist in 2018 we advised the local authority we were imminently to raise the memorial. Only at this point did they suggest we may need planning permission after all. This could have resulted in the Campaign being refused planning permission and having to pay the artist as set out in the contract but still no memorial to Mary.
Alex, the lead of the Art sub-group and the original visionary and Campaign chair had kept copious records and was able to send a stern email to the local authority copying in previous communications, quoting planning law past judgements and that planning permission was not required on council owned land under Permitted Development rules provided the statue was under 10 feet tall.
guidelines, ensure your statue is below the planning requirement height at the time you commission your artist.
The art group created a judging panel. It was a mix of Campaign Art Group members, Anna Birch, Theatre Director and Alex Allardyce, Artist, the Campaign Patron Jude Kelly then the Artistic Director at the Southbank and lead on Women of the World. Then external and objective experts, Renee Mussai Curator at Autograph ABP, Melanie Unwin Deputy Curator of the Art Collection at Parliament and Danuta Solowiej Sculptor & Medal Designer. The Panel was chaired by the Campaign Chair Bee Rowlatt. All had voting rights. The Panel were provided with the results of the survey, they were able to interview the bidding sculptors, tour the area and debate their decision.
As chair of judges Bee Rowlatt did not have a vote but used her position to press the judges on their choices and reasoning. Due to a family loss Jude Kelly was unable to participate on the day but she publicly supported the outcome. It was also a key part of the selection process to have the artists present their maquettes to the judging panel and to answer questions.
Due to the Covid restrictions there was a delay of nearly six months from the completion of the sculpture and its being placed on Newington Green. The memorial for Wollstonecraft was controversial both locally, nationally and globally. People from 64 countries gave their opinions on social media and some in the press. The wiki page dedicated to Mary Wollstonecraft had more engagements than ever before. More people now know about Mary and her amazing impact on our world. The Campaign was
complete.
The volunteers had to close down the web presence, ensure that all thanks were given, and make Facebook and Twitter feeds inactive. We left the website to close when the annual payments stopped. This gave latecomers a chance to learn about the Campaign for a while longer.
Some volunteers transferred to work on the Wollstonecraft Society https://www.wollstonecraftsociety.org/news-1 focussing on enabling learning about Mary's ideas and philosophy. \
Campaign supporters Lord Andrew Adonis; Dr. Elizabeth Allen; Graham Allen; Anita Anand; Dave Anderson; April De Angelis; Baroness Joan Bakewell; Dr. Marcia Balisciano MBE; Associate Professor Shakuntala Banajee; Professor Mary Beard; Melissa Benn; Professor Lynne Berry OBE; Professor Anna Birch; Dr. Kate Billingham CBE; Professor Dinah Birch CBE; Soutik Biswas; Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore; Professor Lucy Bland; Helena Bonham Carter CBE; Lord Melvyn Bragg; Saffron Burrows; Sir Vince Cable; Tom Calver; Baroness Dr. Jane Campbell DBE; Professor David Carpenter; Sheila Chandor; Shami Chakrabarti; Professor Katharine Cockin; Deborah Cohen MBE; Simon Cole; Kevin Courtney; Dr. Mary Louise Cowan; William Dalrymple; Sandie Dawe CBE; Alain Desmier; Maureen Diffley; Bernard Donoghue; Ronnie Draper; Flick Drummond; Tamsin Egerton; Naomi Eisenstadt CB; Sir Paul Ennals; Mark Evans; Dr Leon Feinstein; Professor Rachel Susan Fensham; Reverend Canon Dr. Mandy Ford; Tom Franklin; Esther Freud; Nikki van der Gaarg; Dame Moira Gibb; Kristina Glenn MBE; Shaista Gohir OBE; Professor Lisbeth Goodman; Distinguished Professor Charlotte Gordon; Piers Gough; Baroness Tanni Grey Thompson DBE; Matt Griffiths; Emeritus Professor Isobel Grundy; Dr. Aliya Gulamhusein; Rahila Gupta; Baroness Brenda Hale; John Hannett; Professor Gerry Harris; Salma Hayek; Gill Haynes OBE; Barbara Hearn OBE; Ben Hearn; John Hegley; Professor Ann Heilman; Julie Hillings; Professor Elaine Hobby; Professor Gill Hogg; Dr Rachel Hogg; Tom Hollander; Sandra Horley CBE; Ben Howlett; Antony Hughes; Tristram Hunt; Mishal Husain; Baroness Meral Hussein Ece OBE; Will Hutton; Dame Tamsyn Imison; Professor Kathleen Irwin; Jason Isaacs; Sir Tom Jeffrey; Baroness Jenny Jones; Jude Kelly CBE; Baroness Alicia Kennedy; Baroness Helena Kennedy QC; Lord Roy Kennedy; George Kerevan; Ann Kettle OBE; Baroness Beeban Kidron; Michael Kimmel; Simon Kirby; Chris Kitchen; Baroness Kramer; Professor Niki Lacey CBE; Bob Lamm; Dr. Leslie van der Leer; Sam Leith; Dame Christine Lenehan; Kathy Lette; Damien Lewis; Professor Sonia Livingstone OBE; Lord Rajinder Loomba; Francesca Martinez; Ewan Marshall; Helen McCrory OBE; Dominic McGonigal; Dr. Karen McKenzie; John McNally; Neil Mendoza; Professor Clare Midgley; Dr. Frances Moore MBE; Professor David Morris; Joyce Moseley OBE; Mary Moss; In- spired Music and Sauce Music; Kathy Najimy; Pam Niven OBE; Professor Karen O'Brien; Alice Onwordi; Professor Kate H Pahl; Kate Pakenham; Dr Sarah Papworth; Guy Parker; Matthew Parris; Dr Yewande Pearse; Jenny Pearce OBE; Dr. Hiranya Peiris; Robert
Peston; Dr. Stephanie Petrie; Dr. Abigail Player; Dame Professor Dr. Gillian Pugh; Professor June Purvis; Dr. Marina Rachitsky; Anita Rani; Helene Reardon-Bond OBE; Jamie Reed; Dr. Kate Richards; Celia Richardson; Ian Rickson; Richard Rieser; Tim Roache; David Robinson; Michael Rosen; Professor Eve Rosenhaft; Steve Rotheram; Josie Rourke; Shane Ryan; Dr Joanna Ryan; Shirani Sabratnam; Danny Sapani; Andrea Schlieker; Frances Scott; Professor Sophie Scott; Professor Andrea Sella; Professor Dr Maggie Semple OBE; Amartya Sen; Dame Ruth Silver; Sarah Solemani; Nicky Southin; Stewy; Professor Ros Steen; Emeritus Professor Helen Taylor; Polly Teale; Alice Temperley; Dame Clare Tickell; Janet Todd; Claire Tomalin; Sylvana Tomaselli; Robin Tombs; Kieron Townend; Grace Turner; Baroness Claire Tyler; Jeremy Vine; Dr. Claire Visser; Laura Wade; Sophie Walker; Kirsty Wark; Professor Cathy Warwick CBE; Samuel West; Sally Whitaker; AN Wilson; Dame Fiona Woolf
agreed.
The Charitable objects of relate to [host charity] and the Surrounding Area
To improve and enhance the area of [name the local area of the planned memorial] and the surrounding area with a view to improving the quality of life of the inhabitants of the area provided that in doing so the charity shall not relieve the local authority or other body of its statutory obligations
Generally to awaken and foster an informed interest in the history of [name area] through research, recording, dissemination, education and promotion of its rich history.
The charitable classifications are environment, conservation, heritage, for the general public and mankind provided through human
resources. [Host charity] is staffed by volunteers under the direction of a Board of Trustees/members. [Host charity] raises funds for the achievement of its charitable objectives.
The Campaign was launched in 2011. It aims to
have a bespoke sculpture of [who] on [where]
[Host Charity] with [who] on [what]
raise funds for the Campaign.
The Campaign is staffed by volunteers and includes a named [host charity] Trustee on the working group. [Campaign name] operates under the charitable status of [host charity] thereby avoiding the need for it to become a charity in its own right with all that entails.
The purpose of the agreement is to set out clearly the working arrangements between both parties, and therefore the reasonable expectations of each other.
Being hosted by [host charity] allows [campaign name] to retain operational independence through, for example, designated funds, and separate volunteer groups/boards, charitable and commercial activities.
[Host Charity] will provide the banking, accounting, administrative and governance records required by the charity commission. [Host Charity] will make the timely payment of any invoices. [Host Charity] agrees to [campaign name] spending up to £800 without prior reference to the [Host Charity] Board of Trustees as long as a minimum of £5000 remains in their fund. All spending must be recorded by the [Host Charity] Trustee who sits on the [campaign name] campaign working group. [Host Charity] will record and account for the [campaign name] campaign funds under the [Host Charity] charitable status. [campaign name] income is to be treated as a restricted fund in the [Host Charity] accounts. [Host Charity] will provide quarterly updates of the funds held on behalf of [Campaign name]. [Host Charity] will agree not to draw upon or spend any of the monies raised for the [campaign name] campaign without prior agreement of the Chair of [campaign name] and one other member of the [campaign name] campaign and only then if the spend is to further the objectives of the campaign. [Host Charity] will keep records of the finances of the campaign for 7 years after its completion. Any further services agreed by [Host Charity] will be set out in writing at the start of each financial year.
[Host Charity] will not make public statements about [campaign name] without the prior consent of [campaign name].
[campaign name] will report no less than annually to [Host Charity] about the income raised and use of the income from [campaign name]. [campaign name] will designate which members of the group, in the absence of the Chair, will be the point person(s) for contact from [Host Charity].
[campaign name] will comply with the financial reporting, administrative and governance requirements placed upon [Host Charity] by the Charity Commission
[campaign name] will prepare an annual work plan and progress report for [Host Charity]
[campaign name] will work within the Charitable objects of [Host Charity]
[campaign name] will set out an annual budget plan for expenditure from within the money sourced by [campaign name] and held on its behalf by [Host Charity] as a restricted fund.
[campaign name] will provide [Host Charity] with information on any prospective funders in advance of negotiations in order to ensure the
planned approach will not cut across the plans of [Host Charity] as set out in their own annual plan.
[campaign name] will not be prevented from approaching any funders unless [Host Charity] has already commenced action in approaching the same.
[campaign name] will inform [Host Charity] of any public statements it plans to make in advance of these being made.
[campaign name] will seek the prior agreement of [Host Charity] before entering any relationships with another charity either as a donor or recipient.
[campaign name] will take no action, which could be construed as bringing the reputation of [Host Charity] into disrepute
Neither party nor person connected with them shall divulge to any unauthorised person or persons information of a confidential nature relating to the designated activities or those involved without the consent of all the parties concerned, including any information arising from this agreement. It is the responsibility of both parties that confidential documents are clearly marked as such.
In the event of a dispute about this agreement there will be a three-stage resolution process:
Negotiation between the Chair of [campaign name] and the Chair of [Host Charity]
Escalation to include a member of [Host Charity] Trustee board and a member of [campaign name] Campaign working group.
Arbitration by a third party agreed by both [Host Charity] and [campaign name] and whose decision is binding on both parties.
[Host Charity's] charitable number and name should appear on all
[campaign name] publications and papers.
In the event of either party being demonstrably unable to sustain its functions and membership, [Host Charity] Trustees will work with the Chair of [campaign name] and its members to set out contingency measures including hibernation and closure.
In the event that closure is the only option, the retention of intellectual property rights to all materials will be settled by agreement
Any designated cash assets accumulated by the [campaign name] where these are not required for return to the funder, should the campaign close will be dispersed by agreement.
Restricted funds will be passed on to a suitable organisation where the funder gives permission for that to take place. Where the delivery of funded projects or programmes is compromised [Host Charity] will make every effort to ensure the completion of work to the required standard.
Where [campaign name] opts for transition to a new ‘host’ or to pursue independent status, [Host Charity] Chair will work with the [campaign name] Chair to manage the transition effectively.
Signed:
Chair or designated trustee of [Host Charity]
Signed:
Chair or designated member of [campaign name]
Witness:
Address and role:
Date:
This list is solely an indicator of foundations and trusts we looked into. You need to make up your own list. Look at their interest in the same skill or knowledge areas of the women you are targeting. Consider the location of the charitable foundation or trust relative to your planned location for the memorial. We looked at Art related givers, those of our local area, those that supported the parent charity and those concerned with education. Below are some we looked at but an online search and a chat with a charity fundraiser will refine the list.
Henry Moore Foundation, Esme Fairbairn Foundation, Gulbenkian Foundation, Heritage Lottery (not interested in statues at the time), Arts Lottery. People's Lottery, Clore Duffield Foundation, Monument Trust.
Charles Hayward (required recipient to have income above 350k pa), The
Elephant Trust, Mayor's Fund.
The Directory of Social Change keeps an updated list of Trusts and Foundations. https://www.dsc.org.uk/category/fundraising/ Libraries may have copies of past years.
Newington Green is an historic village green situated in the London Borough of Islington, N16 on the border with the London Borough of Hackney. Originally an isolated settlement in the Middlesex forest, first mentioned in 1480, the area has now been absorbed into Greater London.
The area has strong historic associations with 17 th and 18 th Century Dissenters including Charles Morton (1626-98), Daniel Defoe (1660- 1731), Samuel Rogers (1763-1855), Joseph Priestley (1733—1804), Anna
Barbauld (1743-1825) and Richard Price (1723-91).
Richard Price was minister to the local church, the Dissenting chapel around which the village had grown. His house at 54 Newington Green became an important meeting place for radical thinkers and reformers of the day including founders of the United States of America: Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John and Abigail Adams and Tom Paine and philosophers David Hume and Adam Smith. It was into this environment that Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-97) arrived to set up a girls' school in 1784. Wollstonecraft's move to Newington Green introduced her to this circle, radicalising her thinking and honing her sense of justice. After publishing books on girls' education and civil rights, she went on to write ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Woman’ (1792) which argued against women's relegation to a state of ignorance and demanded “JUSTICE for one half of the human race”. The book would become a foundation in the history of women's rights and she is now recognised as the founder of the campaign for freedom and equality of women, predating the Suffragette movement by a century. Wollstonecraft would also go on to become the first female war correspondent, reporting on the French Revolution, an early travel writer on Scandinavia, predating the Romantic
Movement. She died of Puerperal Fever shortly after giving birth to a daughter who would later become the novelist Mary Shelley.
No substantial memorial to Mary Wollstonecraft exists anywhere in the world. Newington Green Action Group, after local public consultation, has initiated a fundraising campaign to recognise her achievements by erecting a sculptural memorial to Mary Wollstonecraft on Newington Green.
Further details on the history of Newington Green can be found in ‘The Village that Changed the World — A History of Newington Green, London N16’ published by Newington Green Action Group (NGAG) and available to order through the group's website.
Newington Green is a Conservation Area and ‘In Principle’ Consent has been granted by Islington Council and Islington Greenspace, who manage the public park and support the project.
NGAG is a grassroots organisation and registered charity formed in 1997 in response to the neglected state of Newington Green. As a result of work by NGAG, major regeneration works were completed in 2004.
Details of NGAG's activities can be found at their website at www.newingtongreen.org.uk.
The specific installation site will be chosen by the selected artist from a shortlist drawn up by Newington Green Action Group as shown on the site map below. The selected artist will be asked to produce a sculpture which will reflect the achievements of Mary Wollstonecraft and enhance the identity and positive future of the area.
1. Plan of Newington Green with location of historic buildings and proposed sculpture sites numbered in red
Key:
A: Playground
B: Café/ Toilet Building C: Lawn
D: Planted beds with mature trees
[provided in the brief showing all aspects]
Newington Green Action Group wishes to commission an artist to produce a permanent sculptural memorial to Mary Wollstonecraft on Newington Green.
Be linked to the history of the site and reflect Mary
Wollstonecraft's achievements.
Be suitable in scale and relate to the location and the local community
Act as a focus for the park and complement the recent improvement works.
Reflect and complement present usage of the park and the local environment
Contribute to the awareness of the history of Newington Green
Be safely secured and avoid any danger to the public or theft.
Avoid obstructing existing paths on Newington Green
Have no impact on the maintenance of the park and allow park managers easy access to mow the grass etc.
Be touchable and reflect engagement and debate in its setting
Work closely with the commissioning body.
Keep within the budget constraints
Provide sufficient information to allow a Planning Application to Islington Council for consent to erect the sculpture. This will include copies of drawings in enough detail to explain the design and a Design and Access Statement describing the sculpture and how it is hoped to be used by the public.
Provide sufficient information on foundations to allow a Building Control Application to be made to Islington Council. It should be noted that damage to tree roots should be avoided
To produce an initial design.
To ensure the design is low maintenance. Materials used should be easy to clean, be robust, non-porous to prevent graffiti and vandalism, fireproof and weather-proof.
To have given thought to issues of suitability and public interaction with the sculpture, including disabled members of the public
To produce a budget inclusive of artist fees, fabrication, transportation and installation and any other project costs
To produce a final design and take to completion (fabrication and installation)
To liaise with Mary on the Green, the project Working Group of the Newington Green Action Group
Experience of working to a budget
Experience of working to deadlines
Experience of creating outdoor public art works
If further information is required before sending an application, please contact Alex Allardyce at the address below. The site is open to the public and can be visited during daylight hours
A target budget of £150,000 is to be raised to cover artist's fees, materials, transport, installation, landscaping and all other project costs including VAT.
It is intended that the sculpture be completed and installed by April 2019
in time to celebrate Mary Wollstonecraft's 260 th birthday.
The commissioners have drawn up the four shortlisted sculptors who are invited to prepare concept drawings, a concept statement, maquette at 1:10 scale, photomontages, detailed budget and an indication of timescale and fabrication process. Each of the selected artists will be awarded a design fee of £2,500 for this stage.
From the proposals put forward by the four shortlisted artists a ' views and opinions' period will take place where through the Mary on the Green website, social media presence and exhibitions of entries, supporters,
local residents and people interested in Mary will be invited to give a view about the proposed memorials. This will be summarised and shared with the judges.
The judging panel will be significant figures in the world of arts and culture including Jude Kelly Patron, Melanie Unwin Parliamentary Art Curator and expert sculptors. Bee Rowlatt author of ‘In Search of Mary’ and Chair of Mary on the Green and Alex Allardyce architect, artist, local historian and Chair of Newington Green Action Group who are commissioning this work, will be both judges and advisors on Mary and local context during the judging. The choice will be a unanimous or majority decision of the seven judges alone.
The final commission is dependent on a successful fundraising campaign. While every effort will be made to raise the necessary funding for this project, Newington Green Action Group cannot be held responsible for any shortfall in fundraising. Should there be a shortfall in the target fundraising, a less ambitious sculpture will be negotiated and commissioned from the successful artist. A final commission will also be dependent on achieving planning consent from Islington Council. Persons currently and formerly members of Newington Green Action Group Executive Committee, Mary on the Green Working Group and their immediate family will not be eligible for submission on the long list.
Deadline for first stage proposal submissions is January 30 th 2018 Views and Opinions period and Judges individual consideration
Deadline for Panel Decisions will be April 2018. An Interview may be required
Completion Date for the work will be : Mary Wollstonecraft's 260 th birthday month, April 2019, although the chosen artist will be able to discuss this with the commissioners.
Alex Allardyce Mary on the Green,
NGAG Wollstonecraft Memorial Working Group xxxx
Tel: 020 7704 9371
or email to info@maryonthegreen.org Websites:
Mary on the Green project website: www.maryonthegreen.org NGAG website www.newingtongreen.org.uk
Registered Charity No. 1087866
There are four known portraits of Mary Wollstonecraft.
Mary Wollstonecraft by John Keenan c.1787 is in a private collection and not available to the public.
An image is available at the Bridgeman Art Library at: http://www.bridgemanimages.com/enUS/search?filter_text=mary+wollst onecraft&filter_group=all&filter_region=BMU
Mary Wollstonecraft by John Opie c. 1790-91 is held by Tate Britain but is not on public display.
Mary Wollstonecraft by John Williamson (attributed) 1791 Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
Image at: http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/collections/lgbt/activism- rights/feminism-sexuality/item-236932.aspx
Mary Wollstonecraft by John Opie c 1797. National Portait Gallery, London — on display in room 18.
John Keenan also painted a copy of Opie's 1797 portrait commissioned by Aaron Burr, Vice President of the United States in 1804. Opie's original portrait, which hung over William Godwin's fireplace, is now in the National Portrait Gallery (London). In Godwin's view, however, Burr's copy was the better likeness. The painting is in the collection of New York Public Libraries.
An image can be found at: http://web- static.nypl.org/exhibitions/victoria/ref/ps_cps_cd6_081b.html
“I do not wish [women] to have power over men, but over themselves.”
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman , 1792
“It is necessary emphatically to repeat that there are rights which men
inherit at their birth... We have only to cultivate our Reason .”
A Vindication of the Rights of Men , 1790
“It is Justice not charity that is wanting in the world.”
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman , 1792
“I am the first of a new genus!”
(Letter to her sister)
“Nothing, I am sure, calls forth the faculties so much as the being obliged to struggle with the world.” Thoughts on the Education of Daughters , 1787
Wollstonecraft, Mary. The Collected Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft . Ed. Janet Todd. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-231- 13142-9.
Wollstonecraft, Mary. The Complete Works of Mary Wollstonecraft . Ed. Janet Todd and Marilyn Butler. 7 vols. London: William Pickering, 1989. ISBN 0-8147-9225-1.
Wollstonecraft, Mary. The Vindications: The Rights of Men and The Rights of Woman . Eds. D. L. Macdonald and Kathleen Scherf. Toronto: Broadview Literary Texts, 1997. ISBN 1-55111-088-1.
Godwin, William. Memoirs of the Author of a Vindication of the Rights of Woman . 1798. Eds. Pamela Clemit and Gina Luria Walker. Peterborough: Broadview Press Ltd., 2001. ISBN 1-55111-259-0.
Gordon, Lyndall. Vindication: A Life of Mary Wollstonecraft . Great Britain: Virago, 2005. ISBN 1-84408-141-9.
Todd, Janet. Mary Wollstonecraft: A Revolutionary Life. London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 2000. ISBN 0-231-12184-9.
Tomalin, Claire. The Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft . Rev. ed. 1974. New York: Penguin, 1992. ISBN 0-14-016761-7.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Wollstonecraft (featured article) http://avindicationoftherightsofmary.blogspot.com/
Although not officially linked to Mary on the Green, this blog is by Roberta
Wedge, a collaborator on this project.
Founder Scheme — you could design and set one up. This
was suggested to us by Historic England. Sell it as a once in a lifetime opportunity for a target list of people — high level AND more local people who can donate and be recognised.
Example Donation £10,000
Name engraved into the memorial base.
A framed photograph with Maggi Hambling and the memorial.
Included by name in our press releases if you wish.
As well as receiving the benefits listed under the £5000- £9999 level.
Donation £5000-£9999
Name placed on an explanatory board near and linked to the memorial.
Invitation to the unveiling and following reception.
Invitation to a talk in the Newington Green Meeting House
Dinner with two Mary Wollstonecraft experts in a local restaurant
Name on website acknowledging gift Donation £1000 -£4999
Invitation to unveiling and reception
Invitation to talk in Newington Green Meeting House
Dinner with one expert
Name on website Donation £500-£999
Invitation to unveiling
Invitations to talks on Mary Wollstonecraft
Name on website
Job Type: Voluntary
Category: Media and Communications Sector:
Job Description BRINGING WOMEN'S HISTORY ALIVE!
The Newington Green Action Group has a growing campaign, titled xxx [ add link] to establish the xxx and a memorial on xxx to xxx [ sample- Mary Wollstonecraft, the Founder of Feminism, Mother of Human Rights, Inspiration to the Suffragettes and to Prime Minister Gladstone in establishing State education for all children. ]
The Campaign urgently needs more person power to progress. There are a variety of opportunities.
Accountability : The volunteer media and communications person would work under the guidance of the experienced journalist and author who volunteers with the working group.
The tasks would be to monitor key media to identify opportunities to promote the campaign by linking with other story lines, and creating new lines for our campaign. There will be the opportunity to build profile of the campaign through immediate promotion of [ example= the film ‘Where's Wolly’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueedNz08qiU ] to capitalize on the interest stimulated by the xxx Movie [ if one is due out] .
On-line interviews via Skype will be held with lead volunteer on media and communications for shortlisted candidates. These will be held the week beginning xxx. If you have not heard by xxx you have not been successful.
Prospective volunteers should ideally have some experience in media and communications in the UK. The person needs to be full of energy and initiative with the willingness to learn and listen too. Writing skills should be excellent and be able to show understanding of how media and communications can be used for impact. They will work as part of a virtual team attending very occasional meetings.
The hours are flexible as this is a reactive role when opportunities arise. However it would be welcome if a volunteer could commit to an average of 4/6 hours per week.
Do check out our Facebook presence [ add link]
Closing Date:
Location: Based at home, preferably within reach of xxx for occasional meetings
Job Type: Voluntary Category: Administration Sector:
Job Description
The [host charity] has a growing campaign, titled [ add name] [ add link] to establish the xxx and a memorial on xxx to [ example text - Mary Wollstonecraft the Founder of Feminism, Mother of Human Rights, Inspiration to the Suffragettes and to Prime Minister Gladstone in establishing State education for all children. ]
The Campaign urgently needs more person power to progress. There are a variety of opportunities for people with experience of office administration, the administration of a new charity, administering specific events for fundraising.
The campaign is staffed solely by volunteers so any candidate needs to be able to take initiative following the occasional planning meetings, have the ability and resources to use remote forms of communication and complete tasks to a high standard and to deadline and be an effective (remote) team worker.
The volunteer(s) will work with a specific volunteer which will depend on their workplan. We accept flexible working hours but a commitment of 6- 10 hours per week would be very welcome.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales. Do check out our Facebook site [add your link] ]
Closing Date: To be added.
Location: Based at home, preferably within reach of xxx for occasional meetings
Job Type: Voluntary Category: Fundraiser Sector: Community Job Description
The [host charity] has a growing campaign, titled ‘xxxx’ [ add link] to establish the Wollstonecraft Society and a memorial on xxxx to [ example of memorial and keys facts = Mary Wollstonecraft the Founder of Feminism, Mother of Human Rights, Inspiration to the Suffragettes and to Prime Minister Gladstone in establishing State education for all children. ]
The Campaign urgently needs more person power to progress. There are a variety of opportunities. This includes a fundraiser focused on developing the use of the xxx Virgin giving site [ add link] There is the chance to develop ideas with the working group, stimulate interest and manage the process of any specific online fundraising events. We would like a person with the vision to ‘go global’ with ideas and put these into action.
The Campaign is staffed solely by volunteers. We collectively have experience in media, art, feminism, local history and charity management.
Accountability : The volunteer online community fundraiser would be working to our volunteer expert in fundraising who currently works for a national charity.
Do check out our Facebook presence [ add link]
This client wants no contact with media or sales agencies. Closing Date:
Letter https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/mar/07/mary- wollstonecraft-must-finally-have-her-statue
We are joining the call made last International Women's Day, by over 80 female politicians, academics and public figures, for the pioneering human rights champion Mary Wollstonecraft to be memorialised. Wollstonecraft was the first to call for gender equality, over 250 years ago, when she challenged the male philosophers and politicians of the time, including Burke and Rousseau. She called for women not “to have power over men but over themselves”.
As a key Enlightenment philosopher, her ideas on justice and education have become core values here in Britain and beyond. Her words directly informed Gladstone's plans for state education in 1870. Mary Wollstonecraft was neither privileged nor formally educated, but she achieved greatness and became a leader of ideas in her own time. She remains so in ours.
Statues of those she influenced, including Millicent Fawcett, Thomas Paine and William Gladstone, will stand proud in our squares.
Please join our call to break the “bronze ceiling” and celebrate the extraordinary life and legacy of Mary Wollstonecraft. Support www.maryonthegreen.org and/or sign the petition being launched on Thursday 8 March 2018.
Tom Watson MP Shadow secretary DCMS
Andrew Adonis Jason Isaacs Actor
Jeremy Corbyn Labour leader
Vince Cable Leader Liberal Democrats
Sam West Actor
Jeremy Hardy Comedian Ian Rickson Theatre director Danny Sapani Actor
Tom Hollander Actor
Guy Parker
Bernard Donoghue Association of Leading Visitor Attractions
Kevin Brennan MP
Neil Mendoza Philanthropist and entrepreneur
Tom Franklin CE Citizenship Foundation
Matt Griffiths CEO, The National Foundation for Youth Music
Dominic McGonigal Chair, C8 associates
Ronnie Draper General secretary, Bakers Food & Allied Workers Union
John Hannett General secretary, Usdaw
Tim Roache General secretary, GMB
Chris Kitchen General secretary, National Union of Mineworkers
Roy Kennedy Rajinder Loomba
Tom Calve r Director, BDI Resourcing
Robin Tombs CE ,YOTI
Richard Rieser CEO, World of Inclusion
Ewan Marshall Producer/director
Mark Evans CEO, O2
Piers Gough Partner, CZWG Architects LLP
David Robinson Partner, HFW LLP
Kevin Courtney Joint general secretary of the National Education Union
Paul Ennals
Ben Hearn Director, Upstream Accounting BP
Professor David Morris
Antony Hughes CE, Harmony Trust Alain Desmier Chair, Islington Lib/Dems Tom Jeffrey
Soutik Biswas BBC journalist
Professor Andrea Sella
https// www.thetimes.co.uk/article/call-for-wollstonecraft-statue-to-break- the-bronze-ceiling-wl3m8tlk0
Call for Wollstonecraft statue ‘to break the bronze ceiling’
More than 80 female politicians, academics and public figures have called for a statue to honour Mary Wollstonecraft . They say that it would help to break the “bronze ceiling” — or lack of women in public art.
The signatories included
Dame Fiona Woolf DBE—Energy Lawyer, 2 nd female London Mayor
Professor Dr. Hiranya Peiris — Cosmologist.
Helena Bonham Carter CBE — Actor.
Baroness Tanni Grey Thompson DBE — Athlete and Presenter.
Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore — Neuroscientist.
Reverend Canon Dr. Mandy Ford — Priest.
Baroness Claire Tyler — ex Charity Chief,Lib Dem Parliamentarian.
Maria Miller MP — Conservative, Business woman, Chair of Women and Equalities Committee.
Baroness Joan Bakewell — Broadcaster, Journalist and Labour Parliamentarian.
Dr. Aliya Gulamhusein —Physician, Clinical Hepatologist, Assistant Professor, Canada.
Baroness Helena Kennedy — Queen's Council and Labour
parliamentarian.
Gloria De Piero MP — Labour, ex Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities Committee,
Jude Kelly CBE — Artistic Director, Southbank.
Dr. Marina Rachitsky — Forensic Psychology.
Helen McCrory OBE — Actor.
Professor Dinah Birch CBE — English Literature.
Dr. Elizabeth Allen — Pharmacologist, South Africa.
Distinguished Professor Charlotte Gordon — Author and Historian, USA.
Nicky Morgan MP — Conservative, Commercial lawyer, ex-Minister for Women and Equalities Committee.
Professor Kathleen Irwin — Media, Art and Performance, Canada.
Dame Professor Dr. Gillian Pugh DBE — Charity CE and Author.
Professor Sonia Livingstone OBE — Media and Social Psychology.
Dame Clare Tickell DBE — Hanover Housing Association CE.
Kate Billingham CBE — Chair of The Queen's Nursing Institute.
Professor Lynne Berry OBE — Charity expert and specialist.
Kristina Glenn MBE — Charitable Sector, Director of Cripplegate Foundation.
Dr. Claire Visser — Medical Doctor.
Dr. Abigail Player — Social psychologist.
Dame Moira Gibb — Social Services and Local Government.
Baroness Dr. Jane Campbell DBE — Human Rights, Equality and Disability, Local Government.
Professor Niki Lacey CBE — Law, Gender and Social Policy.
Barbara Hearn OBE — Children and Charities.
Sarah Champion MP — Charity Director / Labour Parliamentarian.
Dame Christine Lenehan — Director of the Council for Disabled Children.
Dr. Sue Owen OBE — Early Years specialist
Joyce Moseley OBE — Youth and Local Government, Charity Sector.
Shami Chakrabarti — Lawyer and Shadow Attorney General.
Professor Anna Birch — Drama and Pedagogy.
Professor Lisbeth Goodman — Creative Technology and Design, Director of Smartlabs.
Caroline Lucas MP — Green Party.
Professor Lucy Bland — Social, Cultural and Gender History.
Ann Kettle OBE — Modern Social History and Economics, Research and Higher Education.
Dame Rosie Winterton MP — Labour Parliamentarian
Sandra Horley CBE — National Domestic Violence Charity Refuge CE.
Dr. Mary Louise Cowan — Psychology.
Professor Elaine Hobby — Women in the Seventeenth Century, History.
Dame Tamsyn Imison DBE — Education.
Professor Cathy Warwick CBE — Royal College of Midwives CE.
Deborah Cohen MBE — BBC Radio Science Editor, Liberal Studies in Science.
Associate Professor Shakuntala Banajee — Media and Communication.
Dr. Stephanie Petrie — Law and Social Justice.
Jenny Pearce OBE — Young People and Public Policy.
Baroness Alicia Pamela Kennedy — Labour Parliamentarian
Professor June Purvis — Women's and Gender History.
Dr. Frances Moore MBE — Honorary Advisor for the Women's
Council.
Dr. Leslie van der Leer — Social Psychology.
Emeritus Professor Helen Taylor — English.
Professor Eve Rosenhaft — German History.
Dr Sarah Papworth — Conservation Biologist.
Professor Sophie Scott — Medical Science.
Baroness Meral Hussein Ece OBE —Liberal Democrat, Race and Equalities Parliamentarian.
Professor Kate H Pahl — Literacies in Education.
Professor Clare Midgley — History.
Emeritus Professor Isobel Grundy — English and Film Studies Academic and Author.
Professor Ann Heilman — English Literature, Critical and Cultural Theory.
Dr. Kate Richards — General Practitioner, Medic and Biochemist.
Gill Haynes OBE — National Child-minding Association of England and Wales (NCMA) CE.
Professor Gill Hogg — Social Sciences.
Pam Niven OBE — Nurse.
Maria Caulfield MP — Conservative, Nurse.
Naomi Eisenstadt CB — Early Years, Charity Sector and Academic.
Dr Yewande Pearse — Neuroscientist.
Kate Green MP — Labour.
Dr Joanna Ryan — Psychotherapist and Author.
Dr. Marcia Balisciano MBE — Founding Director of Benjamin Franklin House, Corporate sector.
Professor Ros Steen — Professor Emerita, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Dr. Karen McKenzie — Microbiologist
Professor Rachel Susan Fensham — Dance and Theatre, Australia
Dr Rachel Hogg Medical Doctor
Dame Ruth Silver Academic Administrator
These are headlines to consider for your long term strategy. Within most of these areas you will need detailed delivery plans
Vision : To raise a memorial to xxx in xxx
Mission To build the profile of xx and of this campaign, and achieve our vision together as a team committed to delivery
We need to
Appoint ambassadors , patrons and a President as appropriate [These should be people willing and capable of networking and actively supporting the campaign]
Raise the funds
Communicate our progress through our online presence
Build a support base including a local, regional and national network of relevant bodies e.g. academic institutions, art galleries cinemas as well as women's groups.
Develop unique appealing events and materials to enhance the campaign
Ensure we are present in social media, press, radio or TV on a regular basis.
Produce flyers and brochures to inform donors, trusts, foundations and others [MoTG produced 3 over the lifetime of the Campaign.We had printed more than we needed on each occasion]
Plan multiple launches of different aspects of the Campaign [ we had an initial launch, a launch associated with xx and a final launch of the chosen sculptor.
Review and report to the Committee
Newington Green Action Group's 'Mary on the Green' project has been selected for
NatWest's Community Force grant scheme which has a first prize of
£6,000.
The project is to raise funds for a memorial to Mary Wollstonecraft, the founder of the campaign for the freedom and equality of women, on Newington Green, London, N16.
Since the launch the campaign has gained the support of over 70 MP's and peers &
the TUC and has featured on BBC Women's Hour.
You can vote for the project at: http://communityforce.natwest.com/project/2478 Votes must be cast before 23rd October
You can find out more and donate on our website: www.maryonthegreen.org
Donations can also be made by sending a cheque, made out to ‘M W Memorial’, to
Mary on the Green, Newington Green Action Group, xxx
If you have a friend or colleague who you think might be interested, please let them know about our campaign.
This included the following
Summary of Mary Wollstonecraft
Summary agreed with each sculptor about their proposed sculpture.
Timetable for the Day
Judges Names and Professional Roles
