Our performance and achievements in 2016-17
Our CEO Fiona Menzies shares our highlights and milestones from the 2016-17 financial year
Our annual report for 2016-17 has been released and I am excited to share with our performance and achievements over the year.
It has been a productive and rewarding year for Creative Partnerships as we continue to support the sector to secure private investment, and provide the resources and expertise needed to help artists and arts organisations prosper.
The reach and impact of the Australian Cultural Fund continues to grow, with more donors and artists than ever before using the fund to bring their projects to life. We’ve experienced a 54% increase in the volume of donations to the fund, with 9,556 donors investing $2,677,663, and a 42% increase in artist registrations this year, with a total of 402 fundraising campaigns completed. We also celebrated a significant milestone, with more than $20 million donated through the fund since 2003.
This year we’ve focused our efforts on tracking trends in philanthropic giving and business sponsorships and assessing the capacity of the sector to secure private support. We led research commissioned by the Department of Social Services for the Prime Minister’s Community Business Partnership on collective giving and its role in Australian philanthropy. This is the first time the Australian Government has commissioned specific research on collective giving, and the report shed light on the benefits, challenges,
impact and outcomes of this relatively new trend.
In June we released a report on private sector support for the arts in partnership with the Bureau of Communications and Arts Research, to provide the first estimate of private contributions to the arts in Australia since 2009-10. In the coming year we’ll work with state and federal funding agencies to produce more consistent reporting mechanisms, leading to our first sector-wide survey on private sector support. This project will provide national benchmarks of fundraising capacity and add weight to the advocacy work of arts organisations, peak bodies and policymakers.
Through our matched funding programs, Plus1 and MATCH, we granted $1,396,400 to 61 organisations, artists and artistic groups. Through their fundraising efforts, the leverage incentive of our matched funding and the generous support of the private sector, a total of $3,211,601 was injected into the arts sector overall. This shows the longer-term impact of private sector giving; with the flow-on effects for artists and arts organisations.
We continue to host and support a range of events to give artists, arts organisations and their boards access to experts and best practice, innovative funding and fundraising models and networking opportunities. This year we delivered 23 professional development events around the country on fundraising, sponsorship and bequests, among others. Our state managers continued their great work sharing their expertise and providing coaching and mentoring services to arts organisations and their boards.
I would like to acknowledge Senator the Hon. Mitch Fifield and the Department of Communications and the Arts for recognising the importance of strong relationships between the arts and the private sector and the economic and creative benefits that arise from these partnerships.
I thank our Chair Carol Schwartz AM for her leadership and guidance, and our Board members for their commitment throughout the year.
I especially wish to thank the hard-working Creative Partnerships staff; through their efforts we remain well positioned to help steer artists and arts organisations through the challenges and opportunities facing the sector.
Lastly, I’d like to thank Australian artists and arts organisations for their work, and the donors, philanthropists and businesses that support them. Partnerships are at the core of the development and growth of Australia’s artistic culture, and we look forward to continuing to support the sector to secure and nurture great partnerships in the coming year.
View our annual report in full here, or read a summary of our achievements here.
Fiona Menzies
