FUNDRAISING

 CURRENT FUNDRAISING INITIATIVES

Adrian Biddell, above, is a sought-after charity auctioneer

We regularly fundraise for charities which resonate with us and the events we hold.  We have successfully raised funds for West London Action for Children, Blood Cancer UK, Arts Alive Trust, Chain of Hope, Seva Mandir, Maggies, Glass Door and Action Syria (previously Hands Up Foundation).   If you are interested in co-hosting a fundraising event with us, we would be delighted to hear from you, contact antonia.grace@olympiaauctions.com or tania.forte@olympiaauctions.com

Adrian Biddell, Head of the Pictures Department at Olympia Auctions is also in demand throughout the UK and abroad for his outstanding skills as a charity auctionneer, including fundraising in schools as featured in the Sunday Times magazine on 12th July 2025.  

Adrian works with numerous organisations in the UK and abroad. These have included Marie Curie, Macmillan, Alzheimer’s Society, Human Rights Watch, The Royal Academy Schools, Central Saint Martins, English National Opera, the RNLI and the Royal College of Music. 

In the UK he has presided over sales at diverse locations, from Kensington Palace and Hampton Court to the Royal Academy and the Shard. Further afield he has taken charity sales in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid, as well as in Brussels, Istanbul and Cairo.

He would be delighted to discuss assisting with a charity auction at your venue or at Olympia Auctions.  Contact him at adrian.biddell@olympiaauctions.com

PREVIOUS FUNDRAISING INITIATIVES

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In June 2023, we initiated a campaign to benefit the Arms & Armor Department of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Part proceeds and some of our related commission from various owners was donated to the Arms and Armor department’s acquisition fund.  The principal goals of the  Department are to collect, preserve, research, publish, and exhibit distinguished examples representing the art of the armorer, swordsmith, and gunmaker. Arms and armour have been a vital part of virtually all cultures for thousands of years, pivotal not only in conquest and defence, but also in court pageantry and ceremonial events. Throughout time the best armour and weapons have represented the highest artistic and technical capabilities of the society and period in which they were made, forming a unique aspect of both art history and material culture.

The Met collection of arms and armour is a modern one, formed through the activities and interests of curators, trustees, private collectors, and donors over the past 125 years. The collection comprises approximately fourteen thousand objects, of which more than five thousand are European, two thousand are from the Near East, and four thousand from the Far East. It is one of the most comprehensive and encyclopaedic collections of its kind.

Olympia Auctions raised a total of £59,326 for the acquisition fund of the Arms and Armor Department of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

The Wallace Collection, Westminster Abbey and The Grange Festival 

Over 2021-2023, we have had very successful fundraising initiatives for distinguished institutions raising after the damaging financial effect of the pandemic. 

As 2020 progressed it became clear that there was an urgent need for fundraising resulting in this novel enterprise, where a percentage of the commission from the sale of lots was donated by Olympia Auctions to the charities. Vendors were encouraged to donate additionally from the proceeds. The campaign was planned to include the Pictures, Works of Art, Ceramics, Silver, Jewellery, Arms, Armour and Militaria auctions.

THE WALLACE COLLECTION

Olympia Auctions were delighted to partner with the Wallace Collection on a fundraising initiative to support the museum and its ongoing research into the Ottoman, Middle Eastern and Asian collections. Inevitably, this project was paused at the beginning of the pandemic and we sought to redress this.

Hertford House is home to one of the finest collections of arms and armour in the world. Beyond Europe, it provides an unusually comprehensive view of other key areas - India, the Ottoman Empire and Iran - spanning the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with star pieces dating from as early as the fifteenth century. The collection holds spectacularly important works, such as a bejewelled dagger thought to be the personal weapon of Shah Jahan, the Mughal Emperor who built the Taj Mahal. However, unlike their internationally renowned European Armouries, these pieces have been little studied - and the only existing catalogue was published in 1914. To address this gap, the Collection carried out a major research project, which studied, conserved, and photographed each object and will culminate in a major landmark publication.

The fundraising reached a total of £38,715 for The Wallace Collection 'Ottoman, Middle Eastern and Asian' project.

WESTMINSTER ABBEY

Olympia Auctions were delighted to partner with Westminster Abbey on a fundraising initiative following their imposed closure during the pandemic. As 92% of their income comes from tourism, they were particularly affected. In simple terms, no visitors meant no income.  In the ten months of the pandemic they had only 16,000 visitors and an income of £247,000, compared with the year prior to the pandemic of 1.3m visitors and £29.9m income. There was the additional challenge that 85% of visitors are international which left them even more vulnerable until people started to travel again. They also have a unique role to play on behalf of the nation for state occasions and special services and for this reason, the Abbey had to be in good repair and voice at all times.

The fundraising reached a total of £21,553 for Westminster Abbey

THE GRANGE FESTIVAL

Olympia Auctions were delighted to partner with The Grange Festival on a fundraising initiative which included Valuation Days following the impact of the pandemic.  The funds raised helped The Grange Festival’s programme for schools and the local community. The Festival took their knowledge and expertise into schools and youth groups giving life-enhancing experiences with interactive and inspiring workshops. 

The funds also helped fulfil the Festival's long-held dream to equip the theatre to match the needs of the 21st century. 

A total of £6,587 was raised for the Grange Festival.

Colleagues at Olympia Auctions with items sold to benefit the institutions in 2021