Business to Arts responds to Minister Deenihan’s Philanthropy Pilot Initiative

Business to Arts today welcomes the announcement of thePhilanthropy Pilot Initiative by Minister Jimmy Deenihan TD, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, designed to encourage philanthropic, sponsorship and endowment funding of the arts from private sources.

Business to Arts have worked for over 20 years to broker and advocate for greater private support of the cultural sector, and having focused specifically on developing fundraising skills in arts organisations over the last two years via its new New Stream training programme, supported by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and the Department of Arts, Heritage & the Gaeltacht, are pleased that the Minister has created a pilot incentive for private funders to invest in arts programming.

Stuart McLaughlin, Chief Executive of Business to Arts, said “I am delighted that Minister Deenihan has taken this step to incentivise private support of the arts in Ireland. Business to Arts has advocated for this model, which has proven successful in other countries, for a number of years and we look forward to working with our partners in business and the arts to enable them to take advantage of this opportunity.”

He continued “In the last two years the Business to ArtsNew Stream programme has invested over €300k of private support into professional development for fundraisers. Those participating in the programme have raised over €3min the same period as a result of the training and supports received. We feel many organisations are now well placed to engage with sponsors, foundations and philanthropic donors in a professional and effective way which will allow the Minister to achieve his ambition to achieve a multiple return on his Department’s support.”

With regard to the proposed Arts Council Philanthropy Capacity Building Initiative, McLaughlin commented that “We welcome this initiative from the Arts Council and look forward to further information on the nature of the supports for arts organisations so that Business to Arts might work with the donor community to prepare them for this new approach from selected participants.”

Business to Arts is continuing its focus on professional development for the arts sector in Ireland, and has recently launched the next phase of New Stream in the form of a partnership with the Kennedy Center’s DeVos Institute of Arts Management in Washington DC. This partnership will deliver a comprehensive one-year programme of strategy development for 15 arts organisations selected via a competitive application process. This new programme, bringing world class arts management training to practitioners in Ireland will develop the planning, marketing, fundraising, board development and audience development skills of participants through a blend of local and international support.