56%
of arts organisations reported in the Financial Year 19/20
Welcome to Giving Attitude 2, the second edition of our survey of private sector support for the arts and culture, designed to inform policy and aide in advocacy for investment in the arts.
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First published in 2019, Giving Attitude presents both quantitative data and a reflection of sentiment towards fundraising from arts industry CEO’s and fundraisers. It is designed to track trends over time, as well as provide arts organisations with a reference point against which to measure their own achievements in attracting and maintaining private sector support.
This edition saw a rise in private giving despite the COVID-19 pandemic with cash contributions through donations and sponsorships to arts and cultural organisations growing from $351 million to over $377 million.
total value of private sector support for the Australian arts and cultural sector
total value of cash donations increased by 28% compared to Giving Attitude 1
total value of cash sponsorships increased by 7% compared to Giving Attitude 1
The final four months of the 2019/20 financial year were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This was a time of significant challenge as 55% of all arts and cultural organisations reported a decline in overall revenue of an average of 45%.
of arts organisations reported in the Financial Year 19/20
of arts organisations reported in the Calendar Year 19
Arts and cultural organisations are spending more on fundraising with a $23.4 million increase from Giving Attitude 1.
Results indicate that 70% of arts and cultural organisations in Australia have a turnover of less than $250,000. Understand the arts and cultural landscape in Australia through the size, location, activities, primary focus and key characteristics of the industry.
Pro bono hours contributed to 33% of support hours in the 2019 calendar year, but only 16% in the financial year 2019/20. This is likely because COVID-19 restrictions forced venues to close, while capacity limits were in place when restrictions started to ease.
$124.3 million volunteer and pro bono dollar value in Giving Attitude 2
$180 million volunteer and pro bono dollar value in Giving Attitude 1
High agreement with the importance of private sector funding has significantly increased, in comparison to 46% reported in Giving Attitude 1. The strengthening of knowledge and experience of, and success in, private sector funding was led by a general improvement with fewer low responses and more moderately agreeing.
of organisations don’t have fundraising strategies or improved their profile-raising activity
of organisations created internal fundraising strategies and improved profile-raising activity
The total value of the arts and cultural industry turnover was estimated to be 2.7 billion in the 2019 calendar year and 2019/ 2020 financial year, with private sector support reaching $540 million. Deep dive to learn more about the trends found in cash contributions, income sources and private sector support attributions.
In Giving Attitude 2, fewer organisations found it difficult to find fundraising staff (31% from 42% in Giving Attitude 1) or to retain skilled staff (6% from 12%).
don’t have a dedicated fundraiser on their staff
have a dedicated fundraiser on their staff
By having more skilled and experienced staff and volunteers, arts and cultural organisations believe they would have a greater capacity to undertake fundraising activities.
The role of boards in fundraising is always contentious and a key area of improvement to work towards in future years. It was reported that 13% board members donated frequently, while 32% did so once a year.
of board members participate in fundraising
of board members don’t participate in fundraising
Insights show that securing the right skills and expertise was the main challenge facing arts and cultural organisations when seeking private sector support. The most common fundraising activity was directly approaching individuals for donations (77%). Drawing on the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, a major impact on attitudes can be seen in this section.
Learn more about Giving Attitude 2 research methodology and survey design.
UP NEXTExplore the data from Giving Attitude 2, and compare it across surveys, analyse trends, and share your insights using our interactive Giving Attitude dashboard.
EXPLORE DATARead a detailed presentation and analysis of the survey results by downloading the Giving Attitude 2 PDF Report.
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