DCMS gives advice on giving

A set of practical recommendations to help cultural organisations outside London boost their fundraising is the subject of a new DCMS report. ‘Philanthropy Beyond London’ was written by Peter Phillips, who as well as being a Council member of Arts Council England (ACE), is Chair of the Birmingham Opera Company. In his foreword to the report, Phillips says: “Philanthropy is not finite but infinite if you know how to go about accessing it!” and suggests that the cultural sector should follow the lead of the Higher Education sector in terms of its “fundraising skills and attitudes”. The core recommendations in the report relate to the need for more investment in fundraising skills and capacity; a commitment to fundraising by Chief Executives, with fundraising performance integral to ACE-funded organisations’ annual reviews; making a stronger case for support; forming partnerships for joint fundraising; encouraging trustees to give; better research into potential donors and analysis of box office data; making the most of friends and membership schemes; and payroll giving schemes for staff.
Over the past ten years, while ‘generated income’ by arts organisations has increased compared to public funding and now averages 50% of all income in “successful organisations”, philanthropy as a proportion all funding has not increased. Philanthropy makes up nine per cent of arts organisations’ income nationally, but only 5.1% in the regions compared with 12.2% in London. Phillips describes the purpose of the report as “to help smaller organisations with limited budgets to make best use of resources and training to increase their income from philanthropy…”, but recognises that “there are no quick fixes. The longer term goal is for a generational change in attitudes to giving.” Recognising that some cultural organisations are “more focused on increasing the participation and involvement of new audiences, particularly those from less advantaged communities”, he indicates that these are still the ones most likely to “require a proportionately higher level of public support” from ACE.

Welcoming the report, Culture Secretary Maria Miller said: “Government funding has always had – and will continue to have – a huge role in supporting the arts. But in these tough economic times it is more important than ever for arts bodies to develop the fundraising skills that mean they are not reliant on public funding alone.”