ACE relaunches Private Investment in Culture survey

The Private Investment in Culture Survey, which was the main source of information on private investment in the arts until it was discontinued following the 2011/12 survey, has been revived by Arts Council England (ACE).

Senior managers at England’s arts and cultural organisations are being invited to complete the 15-minute online survey, which collects data on business investment, individual giving and income from trusts and foundations.

ACE said it was moved to relaunch the survey by the growing importance of private philanthropy within the sector and the lack of high-quality data relating to this.

“Its findings will generate valuable insights to help arts and culture organisations optimise their approach to private fundraising, as well as providing guidance for funders and donors as they look to shape policy and invest in the sector,” it said.

The survey was previously conducted by Arts & Business for more than 30 years until 2011/12, after which it lost its core funding from ACE. The contract has now been handed over to research consultancy MTM.

The combination of a gap in time and a change in research methodology will mean that the new findings will not be directly comparable with the previous figures.

The last survey revealed a year-on-year rise in private sector investment of 7.6%, with individual giving and income from trusts and foundations rising significantly.

Publishing the findings, then Director of Arts & Business Philip Spedding said: “Two main concerns arise from the figures. First, the increasing dominance of cultural organisations based in London in terms of who is raising the most money. Second, the increasing reliance by the cultural sector on trust and foundation support.”

The survey will remain open until 29 April and the findings published in the summer. All respondents will receive an advance copy of the report, allowing them to benchmark their organisations.

Click here to complete the survey.