A pioneering new fund that promotes collaboration between Scottish businesses and arts and heritage organisations to deliver new arts and heritage projects has been officially launched by Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop.
Evolving from Arts & Business Scotland’s renowned New Arts Sponsorship Grant programme which recently celebrated a decade of success, the Culture & Business Fund Scotland incorporates a new dedicated heritage strand. It also offers projects that have already received grant support in a previous year the opportunity to benefit from second and third year sponsorship.
Funded by the Scottish Government via Creative Scotland and Historic Environment Scotland, the new Culture & Business Fund Scotland is managed by Arts & Business Scotland and aims to encourage greater partnership working between business, arts and heritage by match funding private sector sponsorship of arts and heritage activities pound for pound. Eligible projects can receive grant funding between £1,000 and £40,000, matched by business sponsorship to the same value. In the inaugural year of the fund £300,000 will be provided by the Scottish Government, via Creative Scotland, while via Historic Environment Scotland an initial contribution of £36,000 will be made towards developing and raising awareness of the fund within the heritage sector.
The new fund is launched as a new public opinion poll shows that a majority of Scots would be more likely to buy goods and services from businesses that support arts and heritage projects in their local area. Commissioned by Arts & Business Scotland, the poll also found that 69% agree that it is important for businesses to support such projects in their local community. Meanwhile, more than three in four (77%) Scots agree that supporting local cultural and heritage projects reflects well on businesses.
Commenting on the launch of the new Culture & Business Fund Scotland, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop, said:
“I am pleased to announce the transition to this new incentive funding programme which will build on the success of its predecessor, encouraging longer term cultural and business partnerships to benefit Scotland’s wider economy and society.
“The Scottish Government is committed to further enhancing Scotland’s contribution to the arts and heritage sector, a key part of Scotland’s culture.
“This is why I am honoured to confirm renewed support to Arts & Business through an investment of £300,000 in 2017/18 for the Culture & Business Fund, which will encourage the development of new partnerships and business investments in supporting arts and heritage activities across the country.”
David Greig, Artistic Director and Joint Chief Executive at The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, commented:
“The Lyceum has already benefited from business sponsorship through the previous New Arts Sponsorship Fund so we know from first-hand experience the huge benefits it can bring. With public funding under ongoing pressure, these are challenging times for Scotland’s cultural sector. So it’s more important than ever that we seek to build positive partnerships with business as an alternative source of funding to help make cultural projects happen.”
Brian Inkster, Founder of Inksters Solicitors, said:
“Speaking on behalf of a business that has already enjoyed a fruitful partnership with the cultural sector, the spin-off benefits to business of collaborating with the arts and heritage sectors should not be underestimated. The opportunity for projects to benefit from second and third year sponsorship is particularly welcome, helping to sustain successful partnerships between arts, heritage and business and ensuring those partnerships are able to achieve their full potential.“
For more information please contact Alex Bruce on 0131 603 8996 or alex.bruce@orbit-comms.co.uk
AUDIO INTERVIEW WITH ARTS & BUSINESS SCOTLAND HEAD OF PROGRAMMES CARL WATT
About the Culture & Business Fund Scotland
Funded by the Scottish Government via Creative Scotland and Historic Environment Scotland and managed by Arts & Business Scotland, the Culture & Business Fund Scotland aims to:
- encourage businesses to sponsor arts and heritage activity within Scotland for the first time;
- entice back businesses that have not sponsored the arts or heritage in Scotland within the previous two years.
- support arts and heritage organisations in building new business sector partnerships;
- attract non-Scottish based companies to sponsor arts and heritage activities in Scotland; and
- encourage businesses to sponsor arts and heritage activity within Scotland with a two and three year commitment.
A dedicated website will be live at the end of April 2017 for online applications to the Fund. More information at this stage can be found at www.culturebusinessfund.scot. In the meantime, you can download an application form and guidelines from the Arts and Business Scotland website. www.aandbscotland.org.uk/culture-and-business-fund-scotland/
About the public opinion poll
All figures from the opinion poll, unless otherwise stated, are from Progressive Partnership in conjunction with YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1,015 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 2nd and 6th March 2017. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all Scottish adults (aged 18+).
The following tables summarise selected key findings from the poll:
To what extent, if at all, do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
1) “If I knew a business supported cultural or and heritage projects in my local area, I would be more likely to buy its goods or services”
| Scottish Region |
| Total: Scotland |
NE Scotland | Highlands & Islands |
South Scotland | West Scotland | Central | Mid- Scotland & Fife |
Lothians | Glasgow | |
| Strongly Agree | 11% | 9% | 10% | 11% | 16% | 8% | 18% | 10% | 9% |
| Tend to Agree | 41% | 42% | 33% | 37% | 41% | 44% | 39% | 49% | 39% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 35% | 32% | 46% | 40% | 33% | 34% | 29% | 27% | 42% |
| Tend to disagree | 7% | 12% | 8% | 7% | 3% | 8% | 6% | 6% | 5% |
| Don’t Know | 2% | 1% | 1% | 3% | 4% | 2% | 4% | 3% | 2% |
| Net: Agree | 52% | 51% | 43% | 48% | 56% | 52% | 58% | 60% | 48% |
| Net Disagree | 9% | 13% | 9% | 10% | 6% | 10% | 10% | 9% | 7% |
“I feel that it is important that for businesses to help support local cultural and heritage projects”
| Scottish Region |
| Total: Scotland |
North East Scotland |
Highlands & Islands |
South Scotland |
West Scotland |
Central | Mid-Scotland & Fife |
Lothians | Glasgow | |
| Strongly Agree |
19% | 13% | 14% | 18% | 19% | 16% | 24% | 27% | 19% |
| Tend to agree | 50% | 56% | 50% | 45% | 52% | 46% | 49% | 55% | 49% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 23% | 23% | 33% | 28% | 21% | 27% | 21% | 13% | 23% |
| Tend to disagree | 5% | 4% | 2% | 5% | 5% | 6% | 3% | 4% | 6% |
| Strongly Disagree | 1% | 2% | 1% | 1% | – | 2% | 2% | 2% | 1% |
| Don’t know | 2% | 2% | – | 2% | 3% | 2% | 2% | 1% | 3% |
| Net: Agree | 69% | 69% | 64% | 63% | 71% | 62% | 73% | 82% | 67% |
| Net: Disagree | 6% | 6% | 3% | 7% | 5% | 9% | 5% | 5% | 7% |
3) “Supporting local cultural and heritage projects reflects well on businesses”
| Scottish Region |
| Total: Scotland |
North East Scotland |
Highlands & Islands |
South Scotland |
West Scotland |
Central | Mid- Scotland &Fife |
Lothians | Glasgow | |
| Strongly agree | 22% | 19% | 21% | 19% | 23% | 12% | 28% | 36% | 21% |
| Tend to agree | 54% | 58% | 50% | 53% | 56% | 57% | 55% | 47% | 59% |
| neither agree nor disagree | 16% | 12% | 23% | 23% | 14% | 23% | 11% | 12% | 11% |
| Tend to disagree | 3% | 4% | 5% | 3% | 3% | 5% | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| Strongly disagree | 2% | 3% | 1% | 1% | – | 1% | 3% | 2% | 2% |
| Don’t know | 3% | 5% | 1% | 1% | 4% | 2% | 2% | 1% | 4% |
| Net: Agree | 77% | 77% | 70% | 72% | 79% | 69% | 83% | 83% | 81% |
| Net: Disagree | 5% | 7% | 5% | 4% | 3% | 6% | 4% | 4% | 4% |
About Arts & Business Scotland
Arts & Business Scotland is an independent Scottish charity. We act as a conduit between the cultural and business sectors, helping to nurture the creative, social and commercial relationships that will enrich creativity and cultural engagement across Scotland. More information can be found at: www.aandbscotland.org.uk/culture-and-business-fund-scotland/
David Watt, Chief Executive of Arts & Business Scotland, said:
”I’m delighted to be able to launch the new Culture & Business Fund Scotland and very grateful to the Scottish Government, Creative Scotland and Historic Environment Scotland for their crucial ongoing support. We can already look back on more than a decade of success with the New Arts Sponsorship Grants Fund that has delivered so many successful collaborations between arts and business organisations of all sizes and located throughout Scotland. With a new wider scope that takes in Scotland’s crucially important heritage sector and will allow for second and third year sponsorships, I’m confident that this new fund will deliver even greater success in the years ahead.
