Report reveals over €6.5 million private investment in Irish arts
Howard Lake | 29 April 2014 | News
Arts organisations in the Republic of Ireland received over €6.6 million from voluntary income and sponsorship in 2012, according to a new report commissioned by the Arts Council in Ireland.
Voluntary income totalled €3.5 million while the balance of €3.1 million came from sponsorship. Voluntary income was defined as donations, membership, charitable trusts and legacies while sponsorship included both cash and in kind support.
The report found that theatre received the bulk of private investment (24%), followed by music (17%) and film (14%). Visual arts, opera and festivals at around 8% were the next biggest categories. Not surprisingly, arts organisations in the Dublin area accounted for most of the private investment at nearly 50%.
The largest arts organisations received the bulk of private investment while small organisations received the least both in real terms and as a percentage of their overall income. Despite the funding received from private sources, state funding still made up between 94 and 96 percent of total income.
The report drew comparisons with the experience in the UK and found that voluntary income in Ireland represented 53% of private investment compared with 88% in the UK, with the balance made up of sponsorship.
The report, ‘Irish Arts Sector, Private Investment Report for the Arts Council,’ was compiled by the agency 2into3 from 189 arts organisations in Ireland.
Photo: Luis Santos / Shutterstock.com
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.