Corporate Support for the Arts Declines

Corporate giving to the arts has significantly decreased, leaving arts organizations pressed to find new sources of funds, reports The New York Times.

Emblematic of the decline is the Altria Group’s announcement last year that it would stop providing support for the arts, to which it had given $210-million over 40 years. According to the Giving USA Foundation, corporate philanthropy for the arts has been slashed by half over the past decade. In 1994, support for the arts accounted for 9.5 percent of total corporate giving. During 2004, that figure dropped to 4 percent.

With fewer funds available, arts groups find themselves dealing with corporate marketing departments and issuing free or discounted tickets to company employees.

Nancy Perkins, a fund-raising consultant, said such pressures are a cause for concern, stating, “You’ve got to be careful that the art institution doesn’t turn itself inside out to get the money and lose their identity.”

For more on corporate giving, read The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual survey.

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