London. In the cultural sector across the Channel, public investments play a trigger role to attract other sources of funding. This conclusion is taken from a report by the Council England (ACE) arts, the National Agency for the Development and Promotion of Culture, through the analysis of eight British cultural institutions. This report takes into account organizations based on a mixed economic model, which has prevailed in England since the late 1940s and the creation of the ACE (1946). It is based on three pillars: public subsidies (ACE aid, support for local authorities, national lottery, government programs, etc.), revenues from their activities and services, and private contributions (business donations, individuals or philanthropic foundations).
The study shows that public aid not only does not replace private funding, but that on the contrary it stimulates them in several ways. First there is an effect “Starting impulse”mechanism according to which the public funding assigned upstream strengthens the credibility of cultural sites. “Organizations of all sizes and in all artistic disciplines regularly tell us that the public investment of the ACE is perceived as a guarantee of quality”, confirms Nicholas Serota, the president of the agency. To illustrate this case, the report notably cites the creation of the “We Invented the Weekend” festival in Salford, in the Grand Manchester. When it was launched in 2023, this music festival, Dance and Theater benefited from aid of 99,500 pounds Sterling (€ 118,500) of the ACE and 100,000 pounds (€ 119,200) of the Local Council of Salford City. This contribution made it possible to attract 100,000 pounds (€ 119,200) of private funds mainly by Landsec and Peel Holdings, two players in the real estate sector. In 2024, for its second year, the festival managed to obtain 250,000 pounds (€ 298,000) in private funding.
Certain aids impose a prior private contribution, which strengthens their incentive effect. The study cites, among other things, the “Creative People and Places” program, aimed at increasing cultural engagement in areas where participation in artistic activities is low. This subsidy requires a co -financing of at least 25 % from other sources than the ACE. For a private donor who hesitates to commit, knowing that help will only be obtained if the project is deemed viable and solid by the agency is reassuring. A similar mechanism has also helped the Royal Ballet and Opera (RBO) of London to revive its activities after the Cavid-19 pandemic. To benefit in 2020 from the Recovery Fund Culture Loan Program (Cultural Recovery Fund), up to 65 million pounds (€ 77 million), the RBO had to mobilize private equivalent contributions via A communication campaign. If private donations were necessary to obtain public funding, the loan program reassured the donors, despite the period of crisis.
Reinforced resilience
When public aid supports the action of a cultural structure, they also offer stability that allows these organizations to plan their activities in the long term and make their projects more attractive to private investors, according to the report. Finally, subsidies also strengthen the resilience of cultural places, as demonstrated by the pandemic period. When the attendance of cultural places has increased upon the series of confinements, there was an increase in fundraising and revenue, at the same time when emergency government expenses decreased.
According to official statistics published by the Ministry of Culture in 2023, the major cultural institutions of England generated 24.20 cents of fundraising fundraising books for each government subsidy book in 2021-2022.
