Creative Partnerships survey shows declining private sector support for arts organisations

June 30, 2023

With its functions and funding being transferred to the Australia Council for the Arts from 1st July, of Creative Partnerships Australia has released results from a survey that shows a decrease in private funding for micro, small and medium arts organisations.

The newly released Giving Attitude 2.5 survey highlights a decrease in private sector support for organisations with a turnover below $50,000 (micro) and between $50,000 (small) and $250,000 (medium), experiencing declines of 41% and 47% respectively at the start of the pandemic, and a further 27% and 40% as the pandemic continued.

Aiming to capture arts and culture industry resilience and adaptability during COVID-19 disruptions, Giving Attitude 2.5 follows on from Giving Attitude 2, providing a snapshot in between Creative Partnerships Australia’s biennial survey, providing a more complete understanding of how external factors, such as the COVID 19 pandemic can significantly disrupt private sector support in the industry.

Giving Attitude 2.5 reveals varying experiences among arts and cultural organisations, particularly when analysing the organisation’s size, based on overall turnover.

Emphasising the importance of private sector support and the role it plays alongside government support and earned income, Creative Partnerships Australia Chief Executive, Fiona Menzies stated “Giving Attitude 2.5 shows an increase in recognition of the role of private sector support, however currently only one in four companies employ dedicated fundraising staff, and three in five have never done so.

“To succeed in attracting and maintaining business partnerships and philanthropic gifts, organisations need to apply a whole-of-organisation approach, led from the top; employ dedicated fundraisers; and understand that building relationships requires the investment of time and resources.”

In addition to the research report release, Creative Partnerships Australia has launched Giving Attitude Online, an interactive dashboard that allows users to dive deeper into the data. This includes a purpose-build data analysis page, where users can compare the results of Giving Attitude 1, 2 and 2.5 by filtering data sets and exporting or sharing data to use and reference elsewhere.

Transfer of Creative Partnerships Australia functions
As of tomorrow (1st July), Creative Partnerships Australia’s activities will be under the auspices of the Australia Council, a move announced by Federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Tony Burke in the October 2022 budget.

Menzies paid tribute to the those who contributed to the organisation's achievements over the past decade including its mission to foster private sector support for arts.

Most Creative Partnerships staff, including those in the states, will retain their roles after the transfer, continuing to run programs like Plus 1 and Match Lab and the Australian Cultural Fund.

This year, the latter has already facilitated more than $10 million in donations to artists.

Menzies went on to say that it had been a pleasure to interact with people that were working towards the common good of artists, organisations, donors, and the philanthropic community.

Click here for more information on Giving Attitude 2.5.

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