Richard Lefebvre’s 20-year career as a fundraising professional started with a $500 dollar bursary. However, the funding wasn’t for the post-secondary education that led Lefebvre to positions at some of Toronto’s most well-known arts institutions and a teaching role in Centennial College’s Arts Management program. It came years before, when a 10-year-old Lefebvre was accepted into Canada’s National Ballet School.
“I was always fascinated with why I received a bursary and who would be generous enough to provide that without knowing me as a person,” says Lefebvre. “That stayed with me through my formative years in ballet school, and it led me to my career working with the generosity and kind heartedness of the community that allows children, youth, and professionals to aspire to achieve their dreams in the arts.”
Lefebvre is the Associate Director, Individual & Legacy Giving, at The National Ballet of Canada. In this role, he leads and mentors the Individual Giving team in identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding gifts up to $25,000. His resumé also includes arts organizations such as Canada’s National Ballet School and Young People’s Theatre, and it extends beyond the arts to roles at the Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada and the YMCA of Greater Toronto. Recently, the Canadian Association of Gift Planners recognized Lefebvre’s leadership as a fundraising professional when it honoured the National Ballet with the organization’s Excellence in Legacy Giving Award.
“I think what I truly love is ensuring that donors feel that they are making an impact in the arts, whether they give $100 or leave a gift in their will,” says Lefebvre, who holds a Certified Fund Raising Executive designation. “My role as a fundraiser is to inspire people to give but also to demonstrate the impact of donors’ gifts. Being the Director of Development at Young People’s Theatre, for example, was very memorable because we were raising money for an organization with a mandate of introducing children to the arts. Involvement with such an organization really allows children’s imaginations to grow and hopefully encourages a lifetime of participating and engaging with arts and cultural organizations.”
Today, Lefebvre is paying the $500 bursary he received when he was 10 in a different way. In addition to his National Ballet role, he is an instructor in the Arts Management program’s Financial Management in the Arts, Arts Marketing and Fundraising, and Grant Writing and Government Relations courses. Having benefited from the guidance of caring and dedicated mentors throughout his career, Lefebvre approaches his teaching role from the same lens. By sharing his personal lived experiences and knowledge with his students, Lefebvre says he’s able to better connect with learners — no matter their career goals.
“I want all my students to take away an appreciation of all the moving parts of working in arts and culture organizations, and have the language, understanding, and fundamental knowledge to get them off the ground,” he says. “That’s the interesting thing about the program, it offers learnings in several areas so students can see how it all comes together. Some of my students, for example, may not have a goal of working in fundraising, but they may work with fundraising professionals in their roles, so they’ll need to understand budgets or grant-writing to be able to do so effectively.”
Lefebvre’s mentorship approach also extends outside of the classrooms of the Arts Management program. Through avenues like LinkedIn, he not only proudly follows his students’ career development but also continues to mentor and support them by providing them with references.
“The only thing I ask of them in return is to share their learnings,” he says. “That sharing will make their arts sector stronger moving forward.”