GIVING DR: Giving to the Arts

Q: I’d like to give to an arts organisation but feel like I should be fighting world poverty instead. Are the arts a worthy cause?

When it comes down to it, our giving habits are influenced by what we care about. A love of the outdoors might lead to support for environmental conservation. A first-hand experience in a developing country might prompt us to sponsor a child. The same can be said for patrons of the arts, whose “care factor” is best described as “passion”. At face value, it’s not a word we’d normally associate with bringing relief to someone or something in need. But a passion for the arts amounts to much more than an extended season of amateur Shakespeare. As one arts patron countered, “A world without art is just as poor.”

The arts – which describe creative endeavours and disciplines in visual arts, literature and the performing arts (music, drama, dance and film) – offer immeasurable benefits to society.

Arts for art’s sake

Intrinsically, the arts give meaning and a distinct type of pleasure and emotional stimulation that transports us out of our reality and connects us more deeply with the world around us. They inspire, thrill and challenge us emotionally and intellectually, increasing our capacity for empathy, creative thought and communal bonding.

Arts for health’s sake

The arts are also an instrument for economic benefit and social outcome. Research shows that an engagement with the arts improves academic performance, basic skills and self-discipline in school-aged children. It has positive therapeutic effects on the mental and physical health of the elderly, caregivers and the ailing. And as a forum for social interaction it creates a sense of community identity and spirit, fostering social cohesion.

Small acts

While the major state and national arts companies are bolstered by corporate sponsorship, partnerships and government funding, smaller grassroots arts outfits rely on local government grants, private donations and community support.

Distributions from foundations and trusts are a valuable source of funding crucial to the organisation’s growth and sustainability.

Behind the scenes

Project funding is not always what the players are seeking. Before the curtain rises there’s research, development, production tools (from computers to stage lights), promotional material, professional consultancies and infrastructure. Seating for a new performance space or the installation of a new computer system can make all the difference. Non project-based arts organisations seek funding for education, outreach, publicity and preservation of existing works.

Your role

You don’t need to be a Guggenheim to make a valuable contribution to the arts. Subscribing to community radio, collecting the works of an emerging artist or providing space to a community arts program won’t cost you a fortune but might mean the world to those on the receiving end. Offering your professional skills pro bono can save expensive consultancy fees. Passing on office furniture, art materials and even significant artworks can make a critical difference to not just one group’s creative output, but also the wellbeing of the wider community.

Now showing

GiveNow’s register of Arts and Culture causes offers a colourful snapshot of arts organisations and their range of different funding requirements:

- The Adelaide Youth Orchestra Fund is raising funds to provide young musicians with tutorials, scholarships, discounted concert tickets and purchase of orchestral instruments.

- The Australian Rock Art Research Association will use funds to conduct public campaigns, educational programs and research into the causes and amelioration of Indigenous rock art deterioration.

- Community Radio 2XX 98.3fm wants to fund an active community radio station, providing a voice for the voiceless.

- Rawcus, an ensemble of performers with and without disabilities, is hoping for support to fund a new work called Small Odysseys.

The Song Room

The Song Room is a national not-for-profit organisation providing free, tailored, long-term arts-based programs designed to improve students’ educational and social outcomes and help schools create and sustain their own music and arts programs. It reaches 45,000 children each year with six-month courses taught by specialist arts teachers on a weekly basis. Programs are targeted at schools with marginalised communities.

Last year, in over 200 Song Room schools:

•  90% of teachers reported that students were more engaged and enthusiastic in the classroom

•  89% of teachers reported that students demonstrated new arts-based skills, knowledge and techniques

•  84% of teachers observed increased levels of student self-esteem

•  74% of teachers reported increased student ability to concentrate on tasks

The Song Room’s recent PlayAir campaign was an example of how the organisation brokers significant non-government funding and resources into schools. The media campaign was developed and designed by leading communications agency BADJAR Ogilvy pro-bono. Executive Creative Director Michael Knox explained that the seven-year affiliation is part of his agency’s commitment to social responsibility: “Support for the arts improves the health of the community – it’s in the national interest.”