Arts: Sponsorship

(asked on 7th October 2016) - View Source

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to encourage corporate sponsorship of the arts at a local level.


Answered by
Matt Hancock Portrait
Matt Hancock
This question was answered on 17th October 2016

We believe strongly in public investment in culture. As well as core Exchequer and lottery funding, government supports culture through tax breaks and encourages philanthropy and volunteering. The UK arts sector has a unique mixed funding model and it makes good business sense for cultural bodies to continue to look to diversify their revenue streams. There are many cultural organisations outside London who are successfully building long term relationships with corporate donors and sponsors for mutual benefit.

In the Culture White Paper government committed to talking more about the mutual benefits of such partnerships, and how they make a difference to cultural organisations and to public life. DCMS with Arts Council England recently commissioned work from the Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy Programme with Brunswick Arts to provide insight into how the current corporate sponsorship landscape in England has changed in recent years, including at the local level. The findings will be published later this year.

Arts Council England have commissioned a new Private Investment in Culture Survey, to explore the current state of private philanthropy, including from corporate sources. This is due for publication later this year. They have also invested in programmes such as the Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy programme and Catalyst Evolve to support skills development across England including corporate engagement and to attract more private giving including through corporate sponsorship.

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