A Ministry for Culture and Heritage report on giving and sponsorship in the cultural sector illustrates the low level of private fundraising and sponsorship taken up by cultural organisations, something which the Ministerial Cultural Philanthropy Taskforce is currently investigating. The Ministry's research, which covers the 2007-2008 tax year, found that just 3%, or $9.9 million, of the $383.2 million in gifts, grants and sponsorships received by cultural organisations came from individuals. Another 6%, or $22.6 million, came from companies. The rest came from central and local government, and from the Lottery Grants Board, trusts and foundations.
"Increasing charitable giving by individuals on top of the government's commitment to funding could have enormous benefits for the arts sector," asserted the Minister for Culture and Heritage, Christopher Finlayson. "I've asked the Ministry to work with a range of partners across the cultural sector to help promote better awareness of recent changes to the tax system such as the payroll giving scheme that came into effect in January this year," Mr Finlayson said.
Cultural Philanthropy Taskforce member Margaret Belich has been chairing an online discussion forum on arts fundraising and attracting philanthropy, hosted on The Big Idea website. For more information about the Ministry's research, including an Overview and the Full Report, click here.