Business investment in the arts has reached a record high of over £150 million annually, more than double that of five years ago, according to the latest survey by Arts & Business , which promotes business-arts links. The survey identifies a London-centric bias: while business investment in arts organisations nationally has risen by more than ten per cent in the last year, the amount invested in London-based organisations rose by almost a quarter to form over half the UK total (57%). However corporate sponsorship in Scotland also saw a big rise last year. The results are based on responses from 1,752 arts organisations across the UK. Contact Rebecca Rickard, A&B, on 020 7378 8143 (http://www.anadb.org.uk)
Arts & Business 1999/2000 Survey : Key Findings £m
General business sponsorship 58.6
Corporate membership 10.9
Corporate donations 12.5
Sponsorship of capital projects 53.0
Sponsorship in kind 11.2
Millennium projects
(not inc.Dome)3.4
Awards & prizes7.0
Total business investment in the arts156.6
Taxes made simpler
An updated tax manual for arts sponsors and donors is now available. Business partnerships with the arts – the tax essentials by Patricia Cook and Andrea Clarkson, both Arthur Andersen tax managers, reflects the more straightforward and generous tax legislation for givers to charity introduced in April last year. These changes include:
• cash gifts eligible for relief against income and corporation taxes with minimum paperwork;
• Dresdner Kleinwort Benson is marking its merger with Wasserstein Perella by commissioning a series of artworks from the East London Small Business Centre – which helps new businesses to start up and grow – as part of the bank’s investment in education and enterprise initiatives in East London. Contact Rowena Kilmartin, DKB, on 020 7623 8000
• CGNU is the lead sponsor of a new exhibition at Tate Modern, entitled Century City , which focuses on the relationship between cultural creativity and the metropolis. Contact CGNU on 020 7269 7107 (http://www.cgugroup.com)
• The BarclaysStage Partners spring/summer 2001 season includes the largest single project to be funded by the scheme to date. The sixteen week national tour of an Olivier Award-winning musical comedy, is the primary recipient of £350,000 sponsorship, announced January 12. Contact Alice McQuillan, Kallaway, on 020 7221 7883
Comment
Hats off to Arts & Business for its continued success in leading the growth in corporate funding for the arts, rather against the odds. Sponsorship of the arts routinely comes low down the list when surveys of the general public ask about corporate priorities. Arts organisations have long feared that companies would focus on perceived ‘mainstream’ concerns – such as environmental impacts – or the ever growing list of social issues. Back in 1997, the worry was that the election of a Labour government would reinforce this trend.
Later in this issue, A&B’s chief executive, Colin Tweedy, sets out how this success has been achieved – in essence, by focusing on the business case and finding links between the arts, their social impact and commercial strategy.
Hats off to Arts & Business for its continued success in leading the growth in corporate funding for the arts, rather against the odds. Sponsorship of the arts routinely comes low down the list when surveys of the general public ask about corporate priorities. Arts organisations have long feared that companies would focus on perceived ‘mainstream’ concerns – such as environmental impacts – or the ever growing list of social issues. Back in 1997, the worry was that the election of a Labour government would reinforce this trend.
Later in this issue, A&B’s chief executive, Colin Tweedy, sets out how this success has been achieved – in essence, by focusing on the business case and finding links between the arts, their social impact and commercial strategy.
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