Conference on October 18th to address topic of 'Philanthropy and the Arts'Wednesday, October 3rd - Jimmy Deenihan TD, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, has outlined to Dáil Éireann the work being undertaken by him to broaden and deepen private support for arts and culture in Ireland.
The Programme for Government stated that the Government would "work with stakeholders in the Arts community to develop new proposals aimed at building private support of the Arts in Ireland exploring philanthropic, sponsorship or endowment fund opportunities."
Minister Deenihan commented:
"Today, it is estimated that total philanthropic income in Ireland is in excess of half a billion euro annually. This is a very sizable amount for a country of our size. However, the arts sector in Ireland receives only approximately 0.6% of this amount.
"Today’s obvious constraints on the taxpayer mean that we have to look for innovative ways to address funding issues. At a time when taxpayer funding to arts and culture is under pressure and decreasing it is more important than ever that organisations seek to tap whatever reserves of private support may be in place for funding.
"This year I have allocated more than €63 million to the Arts Council in direct support. However, it is abundantly clear that the pressure on funding that my Department faces for 2013 will have an impact here and across all funding priorities of my Department."
Earlier this year Minister Deenihan launched the Philanthropy Leverage Initiative designed to encourage philanthropic sponsorship and endowment funding of the arts from private sources. The initiative, established with funding of €230,000 for 2012, is managed by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.
Furthermore, following a policy direction from the Minister, the Arts Council has launched a new pilot initiative - RAISE: Building Fundraising Capacity. This programme will provide one-to-one professional support to the eight selected organisations for two years through planning and implementing a tailored fundraising programme.
Minister Deenihan will host an important seminar on the topic 'Philanthropy and the Arts' at the Smock Alley Auditorium, Exchange Street Lower, Dublin 8 on 18 October 2012. The conference will feature speakers from key organisations and arts institutions in Ireland. The speakers will outline the positive impact that philanthropy can bring to arts organisations and businesses and the greater associated social benefits that it can generate.
Minister Deenihan concluded:
"Our new focus on philanthropy is also one which sees philanthropy as a mainstay of arts and culture funding for the years and decades ahead, even when State funding to arts and culture begins to increase again at some point in the future. Philanthropy has a long term positive impact, and instilling a new culture of philanthropy in Irish arts and culture will be of manifest benefit for the future vitality of the sector."