Measuring private sector support for the arts in 2008-09, Preliminary findings

• Australian Business Arts Foundation

Read the full text

13 July 2010This survey tracked the value of sponsorships and donations to Australian not-for-profit arts organisations in 2008-09 and provides some preliminary findings.

Summary

Snapshot of the current situation

For the 2008-09 financial and 2009 calendar years:

• Overall private support for the arts was $212.1 million, an increase of four per cent from 2007-08.
• Sponsorship exceeded $100 million for the first time, rising to $100.7 million, an increase of almost two per cent.
• Giving increased to $111.4 million, rising six per cent from 2007-08.
• Private support as a share of total income remained relatively steady at 9.3 per cent.

Longer term trends

To complement the annual private sector support surveys AbaF has undertaken for the last three years,  historical figures collected date back to 2001-02 provide, for the first time, a good sense of trends in private support for the arts over the past decade:

• Overall private support has almost doubled, increasing 90 per cent from $111.6 million in 2001-02, at an average annual growth rate of 13 per cent.
• Sponsorship has increased 56 per cent from $64.5 million, at an average annual growth rate of 8 per cent.
• Giving has more than doubled, increasing 136 per cent from $47.1 million, at an average annual growth rate of 19 per cent.
• Private support as a proportion of total income has increased from 6.7 per cent in 2001-02 to the current levels over 9 per cent.