Directors of regional galleries and museums have said more needs to be done to secure private funding, following the publication of Arts Council England’s (ACE) Private Investment in Culture Survey in December.
The survey found that private investment accounted for 18% of arts and culture organisations’ total income in 2014-2015. Donations accounted for 79% of total individual giving over the same period.
Museums attracted £41m in private investment, compared with £154m for the visual arts.
London-based organisations, according to the survey, attracted 66% of the total private investment in the arts and culture sector.
Steven Parissien, the director of the Compton Verney art gallery in Warwickshire, says: “It’s very good news for London but, as we know, less good news for the rest of the country.
“An awful lot of the arts sector is outside London. What we need is support from the government, not just words saying that it is expected that private philanthropy will cover the reduced government spending.”
Lagging behind the US
“Private philanthropy is getting a lot better in Britain, but we’re still a long way behind the American idea that there’s an obligation to give to the arts,” Parissien says.
He adds that it is unrealistic to believe that private philanthropy will fill the void in public funding, particularly outside London.
Birmingham Museums Trust’s private fundraising totals are largely in line with other ACE Major Partner Museums, says Rachel Cockett, the organisation’s director of development. She says fundraising accounted for about 8% of the trust’s total income over the past five years. Birmingham City Council and Major Partner Museums funding provided about 40% of its income.
“London organisations get a huge amount of the private investment, partly because of the profile of some of those organisations,” adds Cockett. “That profile will attract not only corporate and individual donors, but also the trusts and foundations.”
She says many of the bigger donors are based in the capital. “I think the issue’s been publicly acknowledged by the arts council that there’s been a heavy London weighting, and they do seem to be positively changing that.”
Cockett highlights the fact that much of the public does not know that many museums are charities.
“As a wider sector, museums need to make sure people are aware that museums are quite often charities, or at least have a charity they can accept money through,” she says.
Cockett praises recent fundraising initiatives across the sector, including the Heritage Alliance’s Giving to Heritage Programme, which provides training for those involved in fundraising within museums and heritage projects.
Elsewhere, a programme run by the Arts Fundraising & Philanthropy Consortium, which is funded by the arts council, will run until March 2018. Among its objectives is “ensuring more income is generated for the arts from private giving and business”.
The survey found that private investment accounted for 18% of arts and culture organisations’ total income in 2014-2015. Donations accounted for 79% of total individual giving over the same period.
Museums attracted £41m in private investment, compared with £154m for the visual arts.
London-based organisations, according to the survey, attracted 66% of the total private investment in the arts and culture sector.
Steven Parissien, the director of the Compton Verney art gallery in Warwickshire, says: “It’s very good news for London but, as we know, less good news for the rest of the country.
“An awful lot of the arts sector is outside London. What we need is support from the government, not just words saying that it is expected that private philanthropy will cover the reduced government spending.”
Lagging behind the US
“Private philanthropy is getting a lot better in Britain, but we’re still a long way behind the American idea that there’s an obligation to give to the arts,” Parissien says.
He adds that it is unrealistic to believe that private philanthropy will fill the void in public funding, particularly outside London.
Birmingham Museums Trust’s private fundraising totals are largely in line with other ACE Major Partner Museums, says Rachel Cockett, the organisation’s director of development. She says fundraising accounted for about 8% of the trust’s total income over the past five years. Birmingham City Council and Major Partner Museums funding provided about 40% of its income.
“London organisations get a huge amount of the private investment, partly because of the profile of some of those organisations,” adds Cockett. “That profile will attract not only corporate and individual donors, but also the trusts and foundations.”
She says many of the bigger donors are based in the capital. “I think the issue’s been publicly acknowledged by the arts council that there’s been a heavy London weighting, and they do seem to be positively changing that.”
Cockett highlights the fact that much of the public does not know that many museums are charities.
“As a wider sector, museums need to make sure people are aware that museums are quite often charities, or at least have a charity they can accept money through,” she says.
Cockett praises recent fundraising initiatives across the sector, including the Heritage Alliance’s Giving to Heritage Programme, which provides training for those involved in fundraising within museums and heritage projects.
Elsewhere, a programme run by the Arts Fundraising & Philanthropy Consortium, which is funded by the arts council, will run until March 2018. Among its objectives is “ensuring more income is generated for the arts from private giving and business”.