What clients are saying: Kick up the Arts

Tell us a little bit about you and your organisation 

Kick Up the Arts (KUTA) is a community-focused creative organisation based in Melton Mowbray, dedicated to making creativity accessible, inclusive and inspiring for everyone.

We deliver a varied programme of accessible creative opportunities across Melton Mowbray and surrounding rural communities. Our regular activities include artist-led workshops, affordable creative drop-in sessions, family activities, community art projects and events, delivered through a network of professional artists, volunteers and community partners.

Our work creates a welcoming bright space where people of all ages can explore creativity, learn new skills and connect with others. We engage children, young people, families and adults, ensuring that opportunities to participate in the arts are available regardless of confidence, previous experience or financial circumstances.

Before we started working together, what was the biggest challenge you felt the organisation was facing? 

Before we started working together, our biggest challenge was understanding how to move our grassroots community organisation towards charitable status. We had submitted an application to the Charity Commission, but after receiving their response, it became clear that we needed some additional support.

Becca brought exactly that. Her understanding of the charity sector gave us the confidence to step back and really review where we were as an organisation. Rather than rushing ahead, she helped us pause and reflect on our operations, the services we were delivering, and what charitable status would genuinely look like for us.

Why did you decide to work with RJC? 

We decided to work with Becca because from our very first conversation, she was like a breath of fresh air. She took the time to understand the challenges we were facing and encouraged us to pause, reflect, and focus on what was really important for the future of our organisation. Her approach was warm, supportive, and genuinely kind—it felt like having someone in our corner from the very beginning.

As a grassroots community organisation, navigating the world of charity felt overwhelming at times, but Becca gave us the reassurance and confidence that we needed. She brought a wealth of knowledge and experience, providing clear, robust advice that we could trust and act upon with confidence. We always felt that she had our best interests at heart and that her guidance was helping us make informed decisions for the future.

How would you describe the process of working with RJC?

One thing that really stood out was how responsive and proactive she was. She quickly arranged meetings, took the time to understand our background, our business plans, the data we'd gathered, and the impact we were already making within the community. Rather than offering a one-size-fits-all approach, she invested time in understanding who we were and what we wanted to achieve.

No question ever felt too small, and we always felt supported. That level of trust made it easy to have open and honest conversations and gave us confidence that we were making the right decisions.

Looking back, the process has been transformational. We are now in a much stronger position, with clear goals, organised evidence of our impact, and a roadmap for growth, which is a direct result of Becca's expertise, and genuine commitment to helping our organisation succeed.

What positive changes have you seen / put in place since we finished working together on the project? 

Thanks to the work Becca has done with us, we're now in a much stronger position as an organisation. We've been able to implement the case for support and make full use of the research and strategic documentation she developed for us. That work has given us the confidence to apply for larger funding opportunities and grants, knowing that we have a much stronger evidence base and a clearer way of presenting our impact.

The support has also helped us come together as a team to establish a more robust vision for the future of Kick Up The Arts and where we want to be by 2027. We've taken the time to clarify our priorities, strengthen our organisational foundations, and think more strategically about our long-term development.

If someone was on the fence about working with Becca, what would you say to them?

If someone was sitting on the fence and wondering whether to work with Becca, I would absolutely say: don't hesitate—go for it.

What stood out most was that we never felt like we were just another client. Becca genuinely cared about Kick Up The Arts, took the time to understand who we are, and truly wanted to see us succeed. Her support has helped us strengthen our foundations, and improve our readiness for funding opportunities; and we left feeling much more confident about our future.

If you're looking for someone who is knowledgeable, professional, approachable, and genuinely invested in helping your organisation grow, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend her - the value goes far beyond the work itself. It's the confidence, clarity, reassurance, and sense of direction you gain that makes such a lasting difference.