In March a group of arts leaders including Chair of Arts Council England, Sir Nicholas Serota, met in Manchester to discuss the future of philanthropy in the arts. Michelle reports for The Culture Vulture on some of the findings.

The arts in the UK has the lowest number of donors, with just 2% of all charitable donations going each year to arts and culture, according to the latest Charities Aid Foundation report.  

Having your own charitable foundation, it seems, is as much a part of being a 21st century business leader as TED talks and flashy product launches. Most of the multi-billionaire CEOs of Silicon Valley based their company origin stories around their motivation to ‘make the world a better place’. Once these beneficiaries of the digital revolution reach a certain level of ultra-wealth, many are keen to apply their innovative, ‘fix it’ problem-solving mindset and business acumen to achieving that goal in the charity sector. This solutions-focussed approach, known as ‘philanthrocapitalism’, can also bring with it the added bonus of greater influence on Government policy, as well as improving the public perception of these highly profitable companies and their CEOs. What are these high profiles initiatives, though, doing for – or indeed to – the charity sector as a whole?

“When you say cost review at an SME people get frightened as they think it means job losses. But it can mean the opposite, reducing costs and freeing up cash for investment,”