The value of arts sponsorship in the UK has suffered a dramatic decline, according to the annual statistics published by Arts & Business. Total UK business investment is down by an estimated 24%, standing at around £114.4m in 2000/2001, having dropped from an all time high of £150.4m in 1999/2000.
Four categories of business support for arts showed some increase on the previous year, by far the largest of these being sponsorship in kind, which rose by £6.8m. Prizes and awards rose by £500,000, corporate memberships by £400,000; and Millennium projects by £3m. But these were all more than offset by major losses in core areas, including an £8.3m drop in corporate donations, a £36.7m drop in sponsorship of capital projects and a fall of £2m in general business sponsorship.
London-based organisations still receive by far the largest share of business support, though this has fallen by 37% to £50m. There is similar picture in Scotland, where business support was estimated at £16m last year and now stands at £8.3m. Bottom of the league is the Eastern region, where business support amounted to only £719,000; but the West Midlands, on the other hand, has seen significant growth, with a 1999/2000 figure of £5.9m becoming £9.6m in the latest figures. In terms of artforms, museums and galleries have suffered the most serious decline in support, from £38.7m to £25.2m; opera from £18.1m to £8.3m; and drama/ theatre from £15.4m to £11.3m.
Arts & Business Chief Executive Colin Tweedy said ?Over recent years, business has been increasingly called upon to support the great Lottery funded capital projects ? from the Royal Opera House to the Lowry Centre. As the Lottery is no longer investing on this scale, business sponsorship of capital projects is also in natural decline...The task of convincing business of the value of the arts to their companies, their communities and to themselves as individuals, is as important as ever.?
The decline in corporate support has come as no surprise to many arts organisations, though experiences vary widely. Ruth Mason, Head of Development at Opera North, said ?the days of Chairmen having a passion for opera and spending a personal sponsorship budget are gone. Perceived value for money is key now, and corporate social responsibility, rather than corporate entertainment, is top of many sponsorship agendas.... there will always be a place for opera because of the total experience it offers, but we?re having to work harder to sustain relationships.? Tim Joss, Chairman of the British Arts Festival Association, also sees sponsorship, and major sponsors in particular, as being harder than ever to secure; but he believes that few disaster stories have resulted from this. ?As sponsorship has declined, festivals have diversified their fund-raising efforts and although sponsorship will always be important, individual giving, charitable trusts and new Lottery streams are filling some of the gaps.? And despite the fall in sponsorship in London, Judith Serota, Manager of Spitalfields Festival, reports best-ever levels both in cash and in kind. ?Our education and community programme is long-established as a substantial part of our work, so we are able to offer sponsors a great opportunity to involve staff and address issues of social responsibility, as well as engage with an artistic programme of the highest quality.?
In the next issue, Colin Tweedy, Chief Executive of Arts & Business, writes exclusively for ArtsProfessional about his view of the latest figures, and the future of business support for the arts.