Inaugural Big Give Arts for Impact campaign launches
Melanie May | 19 March 2024 | News
Big Give launches its inaugural arts-focused fundraising campaign today, in partnership with New Philanthropy for Arts & Culture (NPAC).
Until Tuesday 26 March, the Arts for Impact campaign will match donations to 239 arts charities across the UK, multiplying the public’s generosity. A variety of different art forms which have a social impact in their local communities are being funded, including music, theatre, dance, visual arts, museums, galleries and literature.
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The charities taking part have been allocated match funding totalling £1.25mn from Big Give’s champion donors, including The Reed Foundation, Arts Council England (via Stoke Creates), West Midlands Combined Authority, as well as individual philanthropists.
159 (or 66%) of the charities participating have an income of £1mn or less, and 76% of funding is going to charity projects working in regions outside of London.
A number of celebrities are also backing the campaign, including Simon Cowell (supporting London Music Fund), Julia Donaldson (supporting Stratford Literary Festival), Julian Lloyd Webber (supporting The Nucleo Project), Adrian Lester (supporting The Primary Shakespeare Company), Katie Derham (supporting Music in Hospitals & Care), Clive Rowe (supporting Shapeshifter Productions), and Samira Ahmed (supporting New Earth Theatre Limited).
James Reed CBE, Chair of Trustees for Big Give, said:
“Today marks the culmination of many months of hard work to launch this important campaign. Arts charities play a central and crucial role in the lives of the people they support, and their time and services are being called upon now more than ever. They have endured many cuts and disappointments, so securing funding for the charities from our match funders and the public is especially important. I am pleased that today is the start of our financial fight back, and I hope the campaign is widely and generously supported.”
Sir Vernon Ellis, Chair of NPAC, said:
“I am delighted to see this campaign come to fruition and through it to empower 239 arts organisations across the country to participate in this matched funding campaign. NPAC’s focus is on building philanthropic support for arts and culture, and I hope many philanthropists will join me in supporting this new initiative, and enable the powerful work of all these organisations to continue.”
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.