Support for artists and organisations
Developing sources of philanthropic funding is vital for the arts.
It is an important way for artists and arts organisations to become financially sustainable, explore new initiatives and expand their reach.
Since 2003, Artsupport Australia has supported more than 600 arts organisations and 200 artists across Australia to develop their philanthropic potential. It offers the following services to artists and arts organisations:
- free one-to-one mentoring to develop and grow philanthropic funding, including assistance with preparing grant applications and building relationships with donors and the philanthropic sector
- presentations to boards to educate and inspire them to become more actively engaged in philanthropic fund-raising
- sourcing and assisting arts fund-raising staff and board placements
- annual lectures and masterclasses to build the capacity of arts organisations to successfully secure philanthropic income themselves.
To discuss the best giving strategy for you or your organisation, contact the Artsupport Australia representative in your state or territory.
Special philanthropy mentoring programs
To address the specific needs of arts organisations with similar fund-raising challenges, Artsupport Australia has developed three special mentoring programs.
Major performing arts companies philanthropy mentoring program
A philanthropy training program for the Australia Council’s 28 Major Performing Arts Board (MPAB) companies (comprising national and state theatre companies, orchestras and ballet companies) to build skills and grow their philanthropic funding sources, especially via individual gifts or donor programs.
The program engages a mentoring consultant to assist with sourcing a suitable mentor for each company and to monitor and evaluate progress. Mentors are paid by the Australia Council to spend two hours a month face-to-face with their mentee.
The tenth Australian Major Performing Arts Group survey on corporate sponsorship and philanthropic support showed that philanthropic support increased 228 per cent between 2001 and 2010. View the survey report here
Indigenous philanthropy mentoring program
Indigenous arts were identified from the outset as a major opportunity for significant philanthropy. In October 2006 a specialist Artsupport Australia manager was appointed in Darwin, a region with the highest proportion of Indigenous people (many of whom live in remote locations) to mentor artists throughout the Northern Territory, help them to diversify their funding sources to include philanthropy and to cultivate long-term philanthropic partnerships.
This has helped leverage funding from a wider range of government agencies, particularly where arts programs are integral to health, education or social services. A national Indigenous philanthropy mentoring program was run for ten selected Indigenous arts organisations over three years. It had a similar structure to the MPAB program and culminated in December 2009 with an Indigenous philanthropy expo featuring the participants in Melbourne.
Key Organisations philanthropy mentoring program
A special mentoring program was developed for the Australia Council’s Key Organisations division, which services small-medium triennially-funded arts clients.
The two-year program commenced in 2008 with 15 organisations and another 15 starting in 2010. Each was provided with 50 per cent of the salary costs of a part-time philanthropy manager for two years, after which time they were expected to be self-funding. The manager and organisations are mentored by Artsupport Australia for the duration of the two-year program and beyond.
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