First three investments announced by Arts Impact Fund

20 Apr 2016 01:31 PM

We are hugely pleased to announce these first recipients of loans from the Arts Impact Fund. We know that social investment has proved to be successful in other sectors, such as health and energy, and we hope this unique fund can further demonstrate the role of different kinds of finance to strengthen the resilience of arts organisations.  Helen Goulden, executive director at Nesta and on behalf of the Arts Impact Fund

The Arts Impact Fund brings together public, private and philanthropic investment from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Nesta, with support from Arts Council England and additional funding from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.. It is the first to offer loan finance specifically to arts and cultural organisations across England for capital and non-capital projects that show a combination of social, artistic and financial return.

The Arts Impact Fund demonstrates demand for new and innovative sources of funding from organisations and follows publication of the government’s Culture White Paper, which observed that social investment can help grow the sector’s resilience and sustainability.

The first Arts Impact Fund investees are:

• South East Dance - £350,000: The Brighton based dance agency will use the loan to bridge fundraising and allow work to start on its new hub The Dance Space. The new building will provide a rental income from its studio and office space, reducing the need for public funding and supporting its work with local artists and community development programme.

• Titchfield Festival Theatre - £150,000: Run by volunteers the theatre group will use the funding to repair and improve the functionality of one of its two venues to grow its rental income and allow it to install solar panels. Excess energy will be sold back to the grid. The improvements will support the group’s theatre education programme and free ticketing to local schools.

• Bow Arts Trust - £600,000: A London based organisation providing affordable studio space for artists and education programmes in local schools will use a loan from the Fund to purchase and develop property on its own balance sheet. The committee approved the offer of a credit facility to Bow Arts, allowing the organisation to approach property development opportunities with financing already in place.

The three organisations will document their artistic, social and financial impact quarterly for the duration of their loans, with the Fund sharing the findings from all of the investees. As a demonstration fund, there is the potential for the model to be scaled or replicated in other sectors.

The Arts Impact Fund is giving organisations the opportunity to show how social investment can have a positive impact on the sector.  The environment in which arts and cultural organisations are operating is changing and business models need to adapt to reflect this.  As part of our work to increase the resilience of art and culture in England, we want to support organisations in exploring alternative sources of non-grant income and this is an important step in the right direction. Darren Henley, Chief Executive, Arts Council England

More than 60 organisations have already applied for the Fund, spanning theatre, visual arts and music among others sectors. The Arts Impact Fund hopes to support a total of 20-30 organisations and application enquiries are invited via the website - www.artsimpactfund.co.uk. Organisations can apply for an unsecured loan ranging from £150,000 - £600,000 with an interest rate of between 4 and 7 per cent.

You can read more about the Arts Impact Fund and the investees at www.artsimpactfund.co.uk.